Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is it possible to overfeed a snake? From what I've read, it they are readily accepting prey and not reguiritating, then that means everything is ok feeding wise. I've been feeding our two babies (a cal king and milksnake) 1 thawed pinkie every 4 - 5 days (IE, last three times were on 12th, 16th, and 21st). Is this ok? My king definitely looks a little fatter than he was when I got him.

To my understanding, the more you feed them, the faster they grow. I don't want to make them obese though...thanks for your help.

It's nice to know there's a board out there that has knowledgeable people to refer to.

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My understanding is that "powerfeeding" will cause snakes to grow faster, but will shorten their lifespan significantly. I've definitely seen obese snakes, and I'm sure they would have the health problems that all obese animals have. I once had a friend who was sure his snake was pregnant, about six months later he finally had to admit she was just fat! I dont think you are overfeeding right now. I feed my younger snakes about every 5 days, and my older ones about once a week.

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The hatchlings that I keep for future stock are fed every 3-5 days depending on the size of the food item. Pinks seem to digest quicker, maybe due to not having a solid skeletal system and no hair.

Those that are fed on this schedule seem to be a little larger as adults compared to those that are only fed once every 7 days. Most will reach 28-36" by their first birthday. I have some 16 month olds in brumation this year. All are around 40" and well over the 400 gram mark. The female pictured was hatched in August 2002 and is brumating now.

Overfeeding is a possibility......you just have to use good judgement. Your animals appearance and behavior will tell you if they are being overfed.

Good luck.
Brandon Osborne

I feed my hatchlings and yearlings every 3 days. Right now I have 2 hatchling rat snakes(everglades and yellow) and 2 king snakes (black and prairie). They are all 4 about the same age, maybe a month apart, and the rat snakes are longer and thicker than the kings. But that is just because the rats are generally larger than these two types of kings. The rats are up to 2 pinkies every 3 days and the kings are still at 1 every 3 days. The rat snakes act like they could eat 3 pinkies, but I dont want to feed them too much, dont want to chance regurge. Ill keep them on pinkies until they can take peachies, then Ill do the same until they can eat hoppers. Its hard to "powerfeed" hatchlings, they just grow too fast. An adult can get overweight, because their growth slows down so much that their metabolism cant compensate for the extra food.
Hope this helps.

>>Is it possible to overfeed a snake? From what I've read, it they are readily accepting prey and not reguiritating, then that means everything is ok feeding wise. I've been feeding our two babies (a cal king and milksnake) 1 thawed pinkie every 4 - 5 days (IE, last three times were on 12th, 16th, and 21st). Is this ok? My king definitely looks a little fatter than he was when I got him.
>>
>>To my understanding, the more you feed them, the faster they grow. I don't want to make them obese though...thanks for your help.
>>
>>It's nice to know there's a board out there that has knowledgeable people to refer to.
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Good luck and Happy Herping
Brian