Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a feeding question. I just (2 weeks) got my first Eastern Indigo, an Adult male about 5 yrs old. He's not huge though (4-5 feet).
Is it better to allow him to gorge on small items once a week (or every other week), or is it better to feed him every four or five days a single smaller food item (mouse/rat pup).
It seems to me that all snakes are opportunistic eaters, and rarely have the chance to gorge in the wild. Rather, they would stalk/eat animals they come accross randomly. I guess if they found a nest/burrow of babies they could consume them all at one sitting, but that would not seem to be the rule statistically.
Any suggestions?
Stan

I feed my Easterns about every four or five days (let them take a dump & they're ready again) a big meal for growing snakes, not quite so big for adults, I don't fill them up with all they can eat (I believe some keepers do) I don't want a overweight snake & they don't get the same exercise as they would in the wild. That said I feed my females heavily after egg laying to put weight back on, and if I wanted fast growth on babies I suppose I would stuff them (I go for slower growth, never liked to overfeed) . Just how I do it, other's may have a different take.

Depends on what you want to accomplish. Also depends on time of year, weight of snake, length, and age of snake. Basicly, if he looks kinda small for his age, and this one sounds like it, I would put him in a bigger cage and try feed him a little more.

Mine are right at 5ft. and two years old. The female was getting fat so I cut her back to one large mouse a week. And now she is beginning to slim down and stretch out. The male was a bit longer and thinner so I feed him all he will eat once a week. Usualy two to four large mice at a time. Sometimes they will go up to ten or twelve days. I just wait till they take a big dump and are showing me signs of wanting to eat. Good Luck,
Tony.