Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Bob Clark is shipping my new female normal (hatchling) on Monday. I was going to start her out with Rodentpro rat pups and go from there. I think Bob probably feeds live so the F/T thing may be an issue but I want to be persistant about it.
I get conflicting replies on feeding in the enclosure. My 3 boas eat in a separate enclosure. Looking for some opinions on that and if feeding in the enclosure is reccomended should I do this from the get go?
I also read various responses on frequency of feeding. My boas are on a 7 day cycle until 4' then go to a 10-14 day cycle afterwards, moving closer to 14 as they get larger. Would the same apply here?
Sorry to be winded, I'm sure I'll be asking more. I consider it a big step from a boa to a burm.

OK, here's my opinions as someone with plenty of burm experience and someone who has raised several hatchlings.
Feed your burm in its cage. Some will tell you that the snake will learn to expect food when you open the cage. This may be true if you never open the cage for any other reason. Im sure you will want to handle your burm so this shouldnt be an issue.
What I dont understand is why people dont suggest that a burm could learn that if you are taking it out, it is time to eat. Its the same conditioned response, right? Also, you do not want to have to deal with moving the animal while it is in feeding mode. You are risking being bitten as well as possible regurgitation. You REALLY dont want to deal with these issues when the snake is 10' .
As for your feeding frequency, it depends on how fast you want your burm to grow and whether or not you want to risk it getting fat or having health problems. I would assume you want a healthy, lean snake so stick to one or two appropriate sized prey items every 5-7 days. You will have to wait and see how big your snake already is to decide what an appropriate sized prey item is. If its a true hatchling (do not assume it is...if you want to know why I say this, just ask) then rat pups are fine. Also large mice are acceptable as well. A good rule of thumb is the prey item should be more than 1.5 the thickness of your animal.
Anyway, hope that helps.

Just wondering about the reply you posted...

You wrote that a good rule of thumb is that a prey item should be more than 1.5 times the thickness of the snake...

Did you mean that it should NOT be more than 1.5 times..?

I hope I haven't been going about this the wrong way all this time!

Left out the "no". Correction, prey should be no more than 1.5 times the thickness of the snake.
Thanks.

very well said. anyone who has kept large burms (over 12') will tell you that it is far safer and better (for both the keeper and the kept) to feed these snakes in their own cages. i couldn't even imagine feeding our 18' burm in a separate container and then trying to hual her back into her cage...that would be shear stupidity. As long as you practice consistent and safe management procedures, feeding a snake in its own cage is far superior.

Rob Carmichael, Director/Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center - Parks & Recreation (IL)

I know there are many different schools of thought on this subject - so I'll just let you know what I do...

- I feed in the enclosure. Not only that, but I have a strict routine that I follow when it comes to feeding time. There are several things I keep consistent when feeding. First off, I only offer prey through special feeding doors that I've installed on the enclosures (custom mod's). I've had tremendous success with this - that is, it prevents my snakes from associating food with the main doors on the enclosures.

- Another thing I do is control the lighting in the room. I know this sounds silly, and I'll probably get bashed for this, but I have a single light in the room which illuminates the room very differently from the lights I usually use. I believe that this serves as just another visual clue to them that it's feeding time when that particular light is on, and not when the other are on. I know - snakes don't develop strong Pavlonian responses, but I like the idea of using every little bit that might help.

- The only other thing I'm sure to be consistent about is not touching thier food. I wear latex gloves while handling the prey animals (during freeze/thawing, etc.). To that end I'm just trying to keep my scent and the scent of 'food' as separate and unassociated as possible.

Generally, I feed on a 7 day cycle. My burm is about eight feet now, and eating and growing at a very healthy pace. He is now as tame as I've ever seen a snake. Although I'm always sure to be aware of his potential, I have little to no concerns about his disposition. Whenever I go to take him out for a walk, or 'slither' rather, I'm very confident and comfortable in handling him.

If you can get your burm into a routine in which he/she can develop a clear association with feeding that does not involve you, I'm sure you'll find that your new burm is a great snake to have.

Sorry for being so long,
- Mark