Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My brooks is about 5 months old i believe and he has nearly doubled in length, 13 to about 26 inchs. Just wonder what the normal length for half a year for brooks or how large they grow in one year? He seems to be getting alot longer and slowly growing thicker. Right now i feed him about 3 pinkies every 4 days, thinking about moving him up to peach fuzzies, as regular fuzzies are too large yet.
So how does he sound, recently he has been more couragous also as he hides less and is willing to chase my finger when i place it next to the glass lol but he is very tame when i pick him up
o well i best stop ranting, thanks for any responses ahead of time. Its nice to have feedback.
may i add lastly Brooks are the best, ie. he freaks out when i put him in his feeding cage lol, he will even go straight up in the air about 7 inchs to get the mouse when i dangle it. Oh and his aim has got alot better lmao.
later thanks for your time.

The "normal" growth rate is about a foot per year. Pumping the animal can produce more rapid growth (which a lot of people do to make them larger-faster so they may be bred sooner and make the return on the initial ivestment, or just because they are in a hurry to get size) This is an unhealthy activity as snakes can (and do under these circumstances)exibit the same problems with obesity that people do. Watch the girth of your king. personally I find that a little lean is healthier.
Frank

I somewhat agree and disagree with you. In my experience, the first two years of growth are optimal for reaching maximum size potential. I think this snake is way underfed if it's only eating pinks at 26". I would switch to hoppers or small mice at this size. I've been keeping and raising brooksi for over 10 years now, and believe me, they need a little more food than most kings. I've raised them on one meal per week, and one 2-3 meals per week, and as adults, the snakes that are fed more often during the first 2 years, end up being larger(lengthwise and girth) than those fed only once a week. Larger females produce larger clutches. BTW, brooksi are supposed to be a very robust snake. Have fun.

Female 2x het ghost pictured. 5' and 1312 grams. A good size for brooksi.
Brandon Osborne

I will politely agree to disagree... Brooks are my favorite snake and I have had at least one in my collection since my first one in 1978. Never had a problem with getting them over 6'(usually in a five year period). I have autopsied powerfed snakes (including kings) and the damage to the heart and other organs is obvious. I feed on a two week rotation and have allways had snakes with good weight (they just didn't get big as fast).
Frank

if you dont it's just his word against yours.

I don't recall saying I power feed any of my animals. For males........yes it would be ok to feed less often. For female producing eggs....one meal per week, or two weeks as you state, is not enough. I have very healthy 10 year old brooksi, which are very large and robust.......no obese snakes here. Just from my experience.

Peace.

Brandon Osborne

What I said was not making a personal attack Brandon. I am aware that Brooks are a robust snake as are Floridas. I have seen or collected hundreds of both from the wild (being from South Florida)and base my opinion on those (healthy)specimens. I would feed a 26" 1-2 hoppers every two weeks and my snakes are not skinny or underfed.
CURIOUSITY:I observed autopsies (in the late 70's-80's) that were done by herp societies and also Have done several of my own (secondary to the purpose of skinning the snake.) Some with a friend who was a doctor and hobbiest and who could interpret to me what I was seeing. I am a layman so I won't get hot about degees and all that. What we saw was in the "mystery deaths" of snakes that were powerfed (by me and others)the bodyfat was excessive. there were two instances where the heart was undersized and more where the fat had compressed the organs. Snakes can and do suffer from obesity-just like people. It is not an absoulute that every snake with a healthy appetite will die of obesity. But kings will overfeed if given the chance. I advise against powerfeeding because there is a risk involved with trying to grow your snakes too fast.
We never saw fit to make notes and I never published anything so it is "a matter of opinion". That is why this is a Forum-Not a Classroom. It is up to you to interpret and decide the merit of any information posted here. Frank

looking back at your posts...I will say feeding two to three times a week is definitly overfeeding....Funny, I have never had a king of any kind starve to death on my feeding schedule. But then, I am not raising a crop for sale (I merely study them...as an ametuer)..so I can take my time and enjoy the natural growth of my animals.
Frank

I've heard a story about a 12 year old cal king, less than two feet long, feeding on one to two pinkies a week it's entire life. It was seemingly healthy, but what if you tried to breed her. I would trust info from soemone who is (raising a crop) over the hobbyist anyway. After all, they have their livlihood involved. If I was wondering what was the best way to grow tomatoes, i'd ask Chef Boyardee, not the back yard gardener. I'm not saying your snakes aren't completely healthy, I'm sure they are. But the post that started this thread is about an animal that needs fed more.
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That is two sides of the same coin...If you noticed, I also said the amount he was feeding was too small...But feeding two to three times a week puts your animal in a constant digestive mode that supplies far too many calories for the snake to properly burn off. Those calories are stored as fat cells (the same as people) and leads to obesity. Especially when the kings are not getting the exersize they would in nature while being exposed to a far superior food supply.
Frank

Well i am feeding based on the idea that you shouldnt feed a snake a mouse larger around then the biggest part of its body, and fuzzies are bigger then that. Thats the reason i was thinking about peace fuzzies.

I'd have to see a picture but from your despcription so far, I'd say your snake was underweight. At 26" they should be past pinkies, fuzzies and hoppers and eating weanlings. This is when I switch over to rat pups. what I consider a fuzzie has a diameter of about a half inch. Are you sure your snake isn't wider than that?
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n/p

That is an impossible one to put an exact figure on because snakes (like people vary in needs). The best rule of thumb is too see how much it will eat while maintaining a healthy appearance (not too skinny not too fat). As I said, I hold to the rule that for most kings, about 1 ft per year is about a normal growth rate.
Frank