Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

I recently acquired a young female Burm who appears to be severely underweight. She seems healthy in every other respect but needs to get her weight up quickly -- what is a healthy feeding schedual to bulk her up? She's nearly three feet long and only has the girth of my two-foot ball python. I want to get her weight up fast but don't want to make her sick -- how often should I feed her?

Any help would be much appreciated,

Thanks,
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Kitt

I would start out about once every 5-7 days, and then work up to every 3 if she will eat that often. Mine is a little picky, and will only eat about every 7-10 days, and yours may be too. If she is underweight, dont overfeed her too much at the beginning. But within a month or so you should be able to feed her as often as 3 days, if she will eat that much.

Good luck

Dustin
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1.0 Albino Green Burm
0.2 Normal Burm
1.1 Java Retic

For starters, Ball Pythons are going to be fatter than Burms on a "per foot" basis. It is going to be natural for a 3' burm to be nearly the same girth as a shorter Ball Python. So if you're basing her being under weight by comparing her to the Ball, She just might be where she needs to be and not under weight at all. If you have a 3' burm next to a 3' ball, if they are the same girth then the burm is probaly over weight and that's not too healthy. If she truly is under weight, start out by feeding a small meal such as a mouse for the fist few feedings and work up to a small to medium rat. Then go download a Burmese Python care sheet for the proper feedings for a snake of whatever size it is at whatever given time.
http://www.anapsid.org/burm.html
High Desert Herper

Hi,

She is actually slightly thinner than the ball (and about a quarter of the girth of my blood python, who is also about two feet -- though that's certainly to be expected). She's certainly not emaciated, but I think she's a bit thinner than is healthy (and I generally do prefer to err on the slim side, as this is typically healthier for pets and people in my opinion -- which is only opinion, and subject to debate by some vets.)

Thanks to everyone that replied; it sounds like her feeding schedual really shouldn't be any different from what I had imagined. She ate a medium f/t rat yesterday (appropriate for her girth) and seems to be doing fine today. I'm going to watch her weight for awhile and adjust her schedual accordingly, and I am keeping her well-hydrated.

Thanks again for your help,
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Kitt

Our wildlife center rehabs many abandoned burms (and many are severely emaciated). In these cases, we take a very conservative approach. Snakes are started off with disproportionately small meals in frequent intervals. In your case, I might start off with large jumbo mice and feed 2-3 at the first meal. I will then wait 5-7 days and repeat. Within several feedings I will then move up to small rats and feed only a couple. Within a few more weeks or a month or so, we will move up to medium rats which is what a burm of that size is capable of handling. Keep a close watch on things like stools (should be hard and firm), regurgitation (if you experience this, reduce the size of prey and consult with a good herp vet). We will then increase the size of prey and reduce the intervals over time. What we are trying to do is to put on weight slowly but steadily. During this time, we also do complete fecal exams and treat accordingly. Also, keeping the snake well hydrated via fresh water, frequent soakings and mistings will help quite a bit. Hope this helps. Rob

Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
City of Lake Forest Parks & Recreation