i cant offer concrete advice, since everyones husbandry methods are different. this is just how i keep, feed, and anything else with MY collection.
1. i wouldnt feed outside of the enclosure. like a mans home is his castle, a snakes cage is its territory. some snakes feed ok outside of their cages, others do not, when you remove a snake from its territory its often times very stressful. not to mention if it was a larger snake it would be VERY dangerous. if youre housing the spotteds together i would suggest seperate cages, even if you feed outside of the cage the snakes still smell like mice, and if one smells like a mouse and the other is still hungry enough it could lead to problems. i always house snakes seperately, its easier to keep records, feed, clean, handle, just about everything is easier. and you also dont have to worry about moving them back after they eat....another bonus.
2. i judge this by mother nature (kind of). a snake in the wild would never be "full", there are exceptions, but more often than not most snakes are still a little hungry after a meal. different species of snake also have different metabolic rates, some digest incredibly fast others not so much. i judge meal size per snake, i give them something big enough to put a lump in em, not a huge one, but a decent buldge. if its smaller prey ill offer 2 or 3 smaller prey items. snakes are opportunists by nature, theyll eat and eat till they litterally cant eat anymore. think of it this way, a snake that gets enough to maintain its weight is better off than a snake that gets too much food and becomes obese. its harder to underfeed alot of the time. and i have to agree with the other posts, at 2 feet small - medium adult mice should be just about right.
3. this is a personal preference type of deal, with a smaller python like any of the Antaresia id say every 7 to 10 days is fine. you could go longer, but if they are younger every 5 to 7 days is ok, they are growing and they need more food, same as growing humans. however, dont keep feeding if too much time elapses between defecations. with some species this is normal, bloods go for a notoriously long time between bowel movements. spotteds are more regular, keep records and it will be far easier to tell if somethings wrong!
4. i wouldnt refer to any snake as tame, or any other wild animal. snakes are not domesticated, they still have the vast majority of their wild behaviors, these include being defensive, sometimes aggressive. getting to know your snakes will take away a world of issues we as keepers can have. learn their body language, when they tend to be more docile...it comes with time, but its also some of the most valuable information youll get. now, after all of that, snakes are individuals, some will tolerate handling, some will not, some better some not so much.
its actually quite easy to over handle some snakes. the easiest way to a docile snake is short handling sessions, 5 to 10 minutes at a time 2 or 3 times a week...doesnt sound like alot but it works. i dont usually handle my snakes outside of cage cleaning and a once a week check over. only one of my snakes is what i would call aggressive...the other 11 are all pretty docile, some have their quirks, i have a manakwari barneck scrub python that doesnt like to be handled by anyone wearing short sleeves, odd but true.
J
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Jaymz
"got a bowlin ball in my stomache, got a desert in my mouth. figures that my courage would choose to sell out now..."
