Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Whenever I feed my snake, she always roams around her tank going crazy looking for more food. She has never turned down a meal and always seems to be extremely hungry. I am feeding her a full grown mouse once every week.

My problem is I want to increase her diet because she is obviously hungry, but if I feed her twice a week the amount of time I can handle her goes down quite a bit.

So is it ok to feed more than one mouse to her? Like two at a time once every week or will that cause indigestion or something?

what size mouse are you using. Is it full grown "pet store size" or retired breeder size.

Here is a comparison of large pet store mouse (and even this is generous as most pet store mice are even smaller) vs full grown retired breeder. Pet store size mouse is on the left.

pet store size is on the right!!!

If the mouse you are feeding is large enough to cause a visible "lump" in the snake after the meal, then one should be fine. If not, if it seems that she has outgrown the prey you are presently feeding, then a second is fine. I often give some of mine a second meal if the prey size is a bit small for them.

That said, I really don't think that the behavior you are describing is uncommon or suggestive of a problem. Many will "cruise" after a meal to see if there is more to come. I think that their instincts tell them that if there is prey available they should go ahead and eat. And once they have had a meal, they are often in "feeding mode" whether they NEED it or not. Some of my snakes do this almost all the time, and others rarely do. I don't see it as much of a NEED as individual differences in feeding response/style. In other words: not to worry

Also how large is your snake?

an adult could probably easily eat 2-3 adult mice or a small rat per feeding.

I know my adult gophers used to eat 2-4(usually 3-4) adult mice per feeding. I should have had them on rats but feeder rats were much harder to come by at that time.

Sean.

Lol, most of my snakes do a victory lap after they finish eating, I think it helps them get the lump down.
It has been my experience that if your snake is kept at the right temps, and doesn't regurg, you can really hammer the food and get away with 2-3 small mice at once, or a big mouse every 4 days.