Reptile & Amphibian Forums

just wondering if anybody follows a strict feeding schedule i.e. every 5 days? i tried but now i wait till she passes the last meal then feed her a couple days later. new snake own just gettin info tryin to do what's best for my albino cal. king

No reason to "powerfeed" anything, so feeding right after an excrement is just fine regardless of size. Of course, as your snake grows, increase the size of the food appropriately, but I'm sure you knew that.

As far as "whats best".....clean water, multiple hides, thermoregulaton opportunities (warm spot/cooler spot), clean substrate, and regular feedings. Cal kings are forgiving and not too demanding as long as you provide the basics. If you're not sure, throw up a photo of the enclosure and we can verbally tackle you if something is off.....LOL.
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Jerry Kruse

And God said, "Let there be zonata subspecies for all to ponder..."

thanks i did my research first and have always been interested in snakes. she feeds well is active and puppy dog tame
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>> "she feeds well is active and puppy dog tame"

*** Maybe you ARE feeding it enough then, since it isn't chewing on your fingers and trying to consume them..LOL!

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

5 days is a guideline. The reality is there will times during the year when the snake will eat every day if given food, and there will be times when it may refuse food for periods of time.

My advice is feed the snake as often as needed to keep the snake's weight in the middle of too fat and too skinny.

Also, if you have a cool end of the cage, the snake can and will use it to conserve energy when it doesn't have food. So a temperature gradiant goes a long way to enable the snake to manage its activity with the amount of food given.

Of course if you go on vacation, no problem letting the snake go for awhile. A well-fed snake will survive the occasional withholding of food easily.

Alot of times when I see once-per-week fed snakes (like at pet stores), the snakes are skinny. Temperatures are kept high but food is spared. Not good for the snake for a longterm strategy. I guarantee that if the cage had a cool end (notice that many pet stores have caging with no appreciable temp gradient) the snakes would look a little better even if fed once per week.
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Mark