Reptile & Amphibian Forums

another newbie question here guys, how can u tell ur overfeeding ur BP'S?

if the snakes scales are spread apart and the bp does not take food right away, you are probrably overfeeding----with yearlings up to two years there are no real problems overfeeding unless you have to make a real effort to pack that food in---feed until you see a general plumpness --1/4 of the length of the snake's head back to just before the cloaca should be plump --this is when you have absoultly packed your snake--I adv this once in a while just to get length on a snake under 30 months but at that point it is pushing it and anymore will run the risk of regurging and or dying. If you do this you will see that the snake might not take food for two-three weeks--don't be discouraged after that you will see--the snake will shed and grow exponetially within the month--Adult bp's (4'-5') are easier to overfeed---they will appear sluggish and overthick---towards breeding season the females should be on the fat side don't get me wrong but in general the pumping of multiple rats a few times a week is not necessary for adult BP's. Many breeders pump to get bigger females for greater egg count but in my personal opinion you should let the female just grow and lay her clutch at her own pace --I think this would give you a few more years out of the female---if anyone objects post it up, I'm curious as to your opinions on female overfeeding

tnx draconian, just curious bout the topic. Another question, is it ok if i feed chicks with my BP's? some BP owner here in the Philippines were able to feed their BP with chicks. Is it safe? One of their reason is because its cheaper than mice or rat and is abundant here.

I haven't had experience with chicks but I know you can feed them to the BP's--not quite sure how healthy they are but give it a try, make sure to change it up every now and then just to make sure they are getting what they need. besides are you going to feed a bunch of chicks to and adult when one or two rats would do the trick---post up some more info on the chicks I'm curious, like I said I haven't had to much experience with them.

just fed my BP with chicks, I fed my female 4 chicks and a rat. She looks full to me after that. I would like to post her pic eating chicks but i dont know how. How can i post my pictures here?

go there and you can post pics through there---then when you post on the forum it will give you the option of attaching a pic at the bottom of the box(like the box i'm typing in)

----look under this text box

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