Reptile & Amphibian Forums

There are too many so called experts out there that try to under estimate the size of a mouse or rat your snake can eat satisfactorily. These experts whine and cry about possible dangers. What in the hell do these snakes do in the wild? Do they eat a prey and die? Almost never- unless it it a Horney Toad- as we call it here in Texas. Although the idiots will say different. If a snake cannot eat it, he will not or regurgitate. Very simple - forget the BS reptile science.

.. thanks for sharing, i guess.

yes, a 36 inch cal king can eat a full grown mouse. i myself would rather feed 2 hoppers, but whatever floats your boat.

a full grown rat is another story..

Back in my young and dumb days I wondered if my 3' bullsnake could get down a baby pidgeon. He attacked it with gusto and spent the next hour and 1/2 getting down. Once he did get it down he could barely slither because the lump was so big. Lord only knows why he didn't yack it up. He spent the next week motionless is his hide which was not like him at all. I would never, never, never do that now.

Once you've come home from a long hard day and walk in the door and get knocked on your @$$ from the smell of a barfed up mouse you will not want to repeat that experience again. Also regurging is hard on the snake and it is easily avoided by ensuring appropriate sized meals.
Yes, in the wild snakes are capable of consuming amazingly large prey items but they have no choice. If they encounter something they think they can get down they are not going to pass it up because they have no idea when the next opportunity will come along or even IF it will come along. We have an obligation to provide the healthiest envirnment possible for our critters and a big part of that is providing them a good diet that enhances their well being and does not add to the stress of a captive envirnment.

"ARE YOU THE EXPERT"
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rbichler

Every population study on snakes that I've ever had presentatoin sited eating too large of a prey item as a common cause of death. Specifically I remember pictures of a dissected massasauga rattlesnake with an oversixed shrew in it.
You're right, a 36 inch cal king probably can eat a full grown mouse. However I would think the chances of dying from eating a prey item, while slim, would be increased as the size of the prey increase. So....why risk it?
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Martin Whalin
My Email

Quotes from guys named Carl:

"Science stops at the frontier of logic. Nature does not, she thrives on ground as yet untrodden by theory."
-Carl Jung

"It is foolish to let singleness of purpose deprive one of the joy and delectation of the many wonderful sights and sounds incidental to the quest."
-Carl Kauffeld

I totally agree with you. A three foot common king (any sub-species) can easily handle an adult mouse. In fact my 3' easterns usually feed on 3 jumbo mice per meal or a 5"-6" rat. To feed a snake of that size hoppers is kind of silly, not to mention a waste of time, money and fat calories. Also, contrary to popular opinion, all of the snakes that I have seen on the multiple hopper diet, you know the diet that is supposed to achieve a good growth rate in young animals, are short and fat.

Snakes (mine anyway) grow when they are fed large meals on a regular schedule, every 1-2 weeks depending on the particular stage the snake is in (growth, reproduction, recovery from brumation). If they regularly eat this way in the wild, why shouldn't they be able to do the same in captivity? There are two reasons why snakes puke from large meals, and both are directly related to husbandry. 1. Disease/parasites 2. Inadequate temperature choices. Both of which are controllable by the keeper.

I absolutely agree that regurgitation is very, very bad. I also agree that one should feed a snake that has vomited very small meals infrequently, until the animal's GI tract is healthy again (possibly several months).

But the notion that a 3' common king cannot handle a large adult mouse is laughable. My 33", 2 year old Burlington Co. NJ eastern female just ate a 5" rat last night. She does this every week. Interestingly, she sometimes chooses the cooler side of the cage when digesting and sometimes the warm side. Oh yes, my yearling easterns, at 24"-27" eat small adult mice no problem. It may take them 30 minutes to get the meal down, but they keep it down, they digest, and they are bigger the following week when they are hungry again.

I guess feeding small food items frequently in not necessarily wrong, I have just found it to be counter productive. Everyone should experiment a little, and learn from observing their animals regarding which feeding method is best. Please don't just take the word of the jacka$$ at the pet shop.

From a former petshop jacka$$
(Will)