Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Maybe I am loosing my mind but I though I read here that burms rarly drink and it is even more rare to catch one drinking. I just wanted to share that my burm drinks nearly every time I put him back in his cage. He is not at all bashfull about it either. I was joking around with my buddy just last night as he was slithering back in (me still holding his tail) he drank for nearly 2 minutes.
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1.0 Ball Python
1.0 Burmese Python

In general, burms drink fairly often. A few times, I've cleaned my burm's cage, brought him back and held him while he drank. Most are little more shy and some won't drink while anyone is around (I think they feel vulnerable).
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Larry D. Fishel
Side effects may include paralysis
and death but are generally mild.

.... just kidding,. again, I couldn't resist, though sometimes I wonder if anyone in these forums really has a sense of humor anymore, lol.

No, I don't know where you read or heard that but burms love to drink often. They noticeably prefer fresh water too. I wash all my water bowls every Sunday and fill them with fresh water (I call that day "Super Bowl Sunday" and I again replace all drinking water every Wednesday or Thursday (mid week refresher). Almost every burm will roll on up and immediately drink when I freshen their bowl on those two days. They drink on other occasions as well, most particularly after they eat on "Feeding Friday", but they do show particular interest in new, fresh water too. It's almost neither here nor there, but I use only purified water for all my snakes and for the animals raised for them to eat.

>>Maybe I am loosing my mind but I though I read here that burms rarly drink and it is even more rare to catch one drinking. I just wanted to share that my burm drinks nearly every time I put him back in his cage. He is not at all bashfull about it either. I was joking around with my buddy just last night as he was slithering back in (me still holding his tail) he drank for nearly 2 minutes.
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>>1.0 Ball Python
>>1.0 Burmese Python
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Believe in yourself and your abilities and you can accomplish anything.

What kind of a feeding schedule do you keep? Why is tap water so bad for them? I understand the chlorine thing but what does it do to them?

I feed mine about every 2 weeks. He's almost 9', 18 lbs and about 2-3 years. I just got him last October. At this size I feed him 5 medium or 3 large or 2 jumbos every 2 weeks. I don't want him overweight but I do want him longer. I was told they do most of their length growing in the first couple of years.

Do you recommend a different feeding cycle for growth?
Why is filtered water so important?

Technically,.. every day is a feeding day. I keep well over 100 large boas and pythons as well as smaller species too like Irian Jayas, Jungles, Coastals, Amazons, Dumerils, Bloods, etc,.. and something certainly needs to eat every day. But I generally have one big feeding day per week where I make a concerted effort to feed every snake. Mainly to keep some dietary structure in their lives, but also because I have different days to do different things in my operation and it just plain makes the most sense. This feeding day is Friday and of course we refer to it as "Feeding Friday". There is always some snakes that are blue, or breeding, or just not hungry on whichever Friday that don't eat and these are the ones that often get a mid week meal on any given day.

I personally just don't trust tap water. It generally has more than just chlorine, but a whole long list of polutants, heavy metals, toxins and chemicals that I filter out through a series of multi-stage, R.O. filtration. Some cities are worse than others for having poluted or tainted tap water, but I think for the most part most water is just not completely polutant free. So I advise anyone to filter their water, for themselves as well as their animals. Filters are relatively cheap these days.

It sounds like your guy is on a solid maintenence diet. If you really want him to grow get him on rabbits and feed him weekly. If he is almost 9 feet then you can start him on 3 pound rabbits and increase them about a pound for every foot he grows after this. (ergo: 9 ft-3 pound rabbit, 10 ft-4 lb, 11 ft-5 lb, and so on) This should result in good steady, and above all healthy, growth.

>>What kind of a feeding schedule do you keep? Why is tap water so bad for them? I understand the chlorine thing but what does it do to them?
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>>I feed mine about every 2 weeks. He's almost 9', 18 lbs and about 2-3 years. I just got him last October. At this size I feed him 5 medium or 3 large or 2 jumbos every 2 weeks. I don't want him overweight but I do want him longer. I was told they do most of their length growing in the first couple of years.
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>>Do you recommend a different feeding cycle for growth?
>>Why is filtered water so important?
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Believe in yourself and your abilities and you can accomplish anything.

The last time I fed him a rabbit, it stretched him out like an overtsuffed sock. It was sick. I felt like a horrible owner. The corner of his mouth bled a little. I don't know how many pounds it was but here is a picture. My 15 year old daughter is holding the rabbit. What poundage does this look like to you. Thanx for the filter idea.

Here's while eating an hour after he started. It just doesn't look right.

That looks like a 2 1/2 to 3 pound rabbit. And the stretch and time involved consuming the larger prey is very normal and natural. I have had 6 foot pythons take 5 hours to consume 5 pound rabbits. I don't usually do this, but this is to demonstrate just what can actually be consumed. But it is entirely up to the keeper/owner (you) what size prey your snake "should get". In the wild the snake will capture, subdue and consume any animal that it can overpower and swallow. It's very natural for them to take enormous meals. They are built for it. And they are not as selective as one might think about what they eat. Burmese (and other python species) will capture and eat crocodilians. (please don't ask me how I know this, but I know it to be fact)

Just feed him what you are comfortable feeding him.

>>Here's while eating an hour after he started. It just doesn't look right.
>>
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Believe in yourself and your abilities and you can accomplish anything.

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