Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Guess what? I got a Ridleyi! Actually I've had him for a few weeks now but didn't get a chance to post. I'll post pictures of him when I can actually take a good picture of him.

My question is actually about my Blue beauty. She is about 4ft now. She is now eating one large hopper and one small hopper. I just fed her yesterday and she has already started wandering around in her tank. Usually she would not come out of her hide for about two days. I assume that she's digesting. Does this mean that I should feed her more? How can you normally tell when to feed the snake larger food items or more items?

Sorry I already posted this but I like it so I'm posting it again. Heehee. ^_^

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Belle

1 Blue beauty
1 Taiwan beauty
1 Cave beauty

I have a Beauty snake about that size that eats two adult mice per sitting and usually passes them 2-3 days later. You can definitely step up the feeding if you'd like.

Alright, thanks for the advice, I'll definitely feed her more.
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Belle

1 Blue beauty
1 Taiwan beauty
1 Cave beauty

Nice looking blue. I would assume it is a yearling at that size. A rodent or two about the size of it's largest diameter or one slightly larger than it's largest diameter every few days is a good guideline to go by with blues. I would not usually recommend feeding most species a rodent up to a little bigger than their largest diameter but anyone who has watched them feed and process their food they know why I dont hesitate in their case. As far as how often to feed one that size, thats a whole other ball game that you will get 10 different opinions on. Some think that you should feed them every 3 or 4 days since they have a fast metabolism. I would say not to feed one that size more than about every 5 days or so and although it would not grow nearly as fast, it would be perfectly healthy if fed only every 10 days. Good luck and I like your taste in taeniura......I mean snakes. Later, Randy Whittington

Congrats on the ridleyi! As far feeding your blue, I have exactly zero experience with the beauties (but am getting a pair of chinese beauties in the spring - thanks TC!!), but do have experience with NA rats. For comparison, my male yellow who is around 3 feet long, takes 2 rat fuzzies every 6-8 days and does really well on that diet. How often does your blue defecate? I typically like to only feed my snakes after they have completely processed their last meal. Depending on the species and age/size of the snake, that generally runs between 5-7 days for my rats and amazon tree boas and 2-4 weeks for my CA boas. The only exception to this would be my ball python who will typically take 3 meals before defecation. Anyway, a general rule of thumb would be for the meal to leave a slight lump for about 36-48 hours. I'm not a big fan of schedules and believe you should taylor your animal's feeding through observation. Good luck with the new cave rat and post up some pics!! Billy

>>Guess what? I got a Ridleyi! Actually I've had him for a few weeks now but didn't get a chance to post. I'll post pictures of him when I can actually take a good picture of him.
>>
>>My question is actually about my Blue beauty. She is about 4ft now. She is now eating one large hopper and one small hopper. I just fed her yesterday and she has already started wandering around in her tank. Usually she would not come out of her hide for about two days. I assume that she's digesting. Does this mean that I should feed her more? How can you normally tell when to feed the snake larger food items or more items?
>>
>>Sorry I already posted this but I like it so I'm posting it again. Heehee. ^_^
>>
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>>Belle
>>
>>1 Blue beauty
>>1 Taiwan beauty
>>1 Cave beauty

She defacates about a day or two after she eats but sometimes she will also eat two meals before she defacates. So I think it depends. I'll probably try going with a larger food size first and see how she handles it. Then maybe two. Thanks foor all your help!
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Belle

1 Blue beauty
1 Taiwan beauty
1 Cave beauty