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Southwestern Center for Herpetological Research

power feeding..

HerpFreak04 Dec 15, 2003 06:07 PM

how should i go about power feeding my blood to put some good size and wieght on it with out overdoing it to the point its unhealthy.

Replies (2)

meretseger Dec 15, 2003 11:31 PM

Maybe I'm not used to big snakes (ok, I'm not used to big snakes) but mine grows pretty fast on a decent sized meal once a week. He's somewhere around 600 grams and I give him small rats.
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

AmyG Dec 16, 2003 10:52 AM

First question, what size is the animal? What does it weigh? And how thin is it?
Just a suggestion, and this is merely my opinion and experience. If you have a thin animal, even VERY thin, you don't want to "power " feed the poor thing. There is only so much a digestive tract can handle. The snake will gain weight so long as he is healthy and you are feeding him a little over what he should be eating. If he is small, give him a small rat no more than every 5 days, it takes a little while for them to gain weight, but do not be impatient, as long as the snake is eating, and there is nothing wrong with him, he 'll be fine.
I have, in the past, had an emaciated snake come to me thru a person who no longer wanted to feed it. The snake had no internal parasites and the only reason it was skinny was due to human error. Anyways, it took 6 months to get the snake back to the weihgt it should have been at. It takes time to do it the healthy way.
Make sure the animal is not sick, as this may be the cause it is so thin.

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