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I know, I know ... there's always more questions to be asked about feeding, but I have quite a dilemma here.

Any input would be appreciated. I don't want to over feed her, but I don't want to under feed either! Am I starving her or is she being a total miss piggy?!?!
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~ Noel ~
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Noel,
...Your snake looks like it is a healthy weight in the photos but it looks a little small for a four year old female. I would feed it a little more to let it grow some and just watch to make sure it does not become obese.
Jeff

>>I know, I know ... there's always more questions to be asked about feeding, but I have quite a dilemma here.
>>
>>I switched my snakes from mice to rats about 3 months ago. Everything has gone fine with he transition. Eve, my 4 year old BRB, is eating one small or medium (can't recall which) rat from Rodent Pro a week. I thought this would be plenty, but recently, like the last month or so, she has been acting like she's still hungry after her meal. Now, I know BRBs are know for being gluttons, so I didn't think much of it ... until last night.
>>
>>She nibbled on me! I say nibbled cause it wasn’t quite a bite ...
>>
>>See, I fed her as usual and when I went to get her out of her feeding box to put her back in her habitat, she was moving around in such a manner that made me think: she’s still hungry. As soon as I put my hands on her I thought, oh Hell, she’s gonna bite me. It was just a feeling I got. So I decided to just lift her and get her put back as fast as possible. As I lifted her, she started to travel around my hands. I walk to her cage and just before I lift her to put her in, she gets to one of my knuckles and I see her mouth open wide. I was like, oh crap! She ever so gently placed her mouth around my knuckle ... it was as if she was tasting me saying, is this food? I jerked my hand away, and as I jerked, my knuckle grazed one of her teeth and cut me (that was the extent of my injury ). I hurriedly put her down in her habitat and closed the top. I was stunned, and all I could do was laugh ... she tried to eat me! *laughing*
>>
>>So now I am wondering ... Am I not feeding her enough? Should I be feeding her two rats a week? That just seems like an awful lot to me. I don't know her weight, but the pictures I posted a couple weeks ago are recent. You can see her size there.
>>
>>Any input would be appreciated. I don't want to over feed her, but I don't want to under feed either! Am I starving her or is she being a total miss piggy?!?!
>>-----
>>~ Noel ~
>>My Email
>>My Photos
>>

>>Noel,
>>...Your snake looks like it is a healthy weight in the photos but it looks a little small for a four year old female. I would feed it a little more to let it grow some and just watch to make sure it does not become obese.
>>Jeff

Thanks Jeff. How can you tell if they are starting to get obese? I don't think I've ever seen an obese snake. Although, some of the pics of Ball Pythons I've seen in that forum look awful "thick" to me ... could just be the breed though.

...and you have a scrolling name!!! Suweeet!
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~ Noel ~
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>>Noel,
>>...Your snake looks like it is a healthy weight in the photos but it looks a little small for a four year old female. I would feed it a little more to let it grow some and just watch to make sure it does not become obese.
>>Jeff

... This means it's safe to feed her two small to medium rats every week?
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~ Noel ~
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Noel if you were feeding say 2 or 3 mice before, the snake could just be used to a multi course meal . I've seen this before when switching. We have a BCI that was used to 2 small rats and now gets one mongo one and she looks hungry and cruises her cage looking for more, she is just now getting used to just one item on the menu. Randy >>>>Noel,
>>>>...Your snake looks like it is a healthy weight in the photos but it looks a little small for a four year old female. I would feed it a little more to let it grow some and just watch to make sure it does not become obese.
>>>>Jeff
>>
>>... This means it's safe to feed her two small to medium rats every week?
>>-----
>>~ Noel ~
>>My Email
>>My Photos
>>
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I don't care if the glass is half full or half empty !
I just want the full glass I paid for !

>>Noel if you were feeding say 2 or 3 mice before, the snake could just be used to a multi course meal . I've seen this before when switching. We have a BCI that was used to 2 small rats and now gets one mongo one and she looks hungry and cruises her cage looking for more, she is just now getting used to just one item on the menu. Randy

Ahhh, I had not thought of that! Thank you for your input! It makes sense.

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~ Noel ~
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Well, it sounds like your lucky to be alive, having nearly been consumed that is...(ha,ha). I have yearling female that bites me everytime I handle her...I think I'm starting to like it....

Like Jeff said, I would feed her a little more or maybe up the size of prey item a little and then just watch her girth. I was kind of thinking what Jeff was saying about her being a little on the smaller side for a four year old female.

Chris O
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www.chrisolsonreptiles.com
Naked I see the camp of those who desire nothing

I agree with Chris O. and Jeff on this one after seeing the pics before.
As far as feeding...........my experience
My BRB has always been fed in a seperate container and definately knows or senses it's feeding time every time she goes in there. I have opened the lid to have her strike out at anything that moves and having a mouse by the tail with hemostats missing completely and she'll try again. She just knows it's feeding time and acts, behavior wise, accordingly. I would have to say my BRB is way smarter than all my other colubrids in how she acts with memory to the feeding container.
I've been biten 2 times in 2 years with my BRB. Once was when my BRB was wanting and almost made it into the interior of the sofa and I had to yank her out and she didn't like that at all. The other time was when she was about a year old and I just stuck my hand in the feeding container and she thought it was another mouse coming, but quickly let go. I almost always let her begin to climb out of the feeding container then put her back in the cage, due to this response and familiarity she has with the feeding container. I could definately relate to your story of getting bitten after feeding, it was just a surprise it happened a little bit after you had taken your BRB out and not right away to me.
With this being said, outside the container she is very trustworthy and docile even to the point I let my 4.5 yr old daughter hold her with supervision.
Never enough questions,
Uncloudy

>>...My BRB has always been fed in a seperate container and definately knows or senses it's feeding time every time she goes in there. ... I almost always let her begin to climb out of the feeding container then put her back in the cage, due to this response and familiarity she has with the feeding container. I could definately relate to your story of getting bitten after feeding, it was just a surprise it happened a little bit after you had taken your BRB out and not right away to me.

>>Never enough questions,
>>Uncloudy

Yeah, the biting thing was very strange ... especially since, not only was she out of her feeding box, but she didn't strike me per-say. She slowly opened her mouth and just laid it over my knuckles. When my dog does that, I laugh and rub his head ... when my snake does it, I am totally perplexed!

Cute Photo by the way
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~ Noel ~
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I'm a new BRB owner (yay!)- but I have seen this "mouthing" behavior- when I first fed my new young female (sorry, pics are at home, I'll try to post some tonight) I think I overestimated the size of the f/t fuzzy/hopper- she was hesitant, and a couple of times approached it, slowly opened up and mouthed it, then backed off.

I got her to bite a little more seriously by raching in with a tool and wiggling the mousie, then backed out... she had a very silly-looking big lump in her middle for like 6 days! But no regurg, so all's well.

BTW with all my snakes I always put the food item in the feeding container FIRST. Then add the snake. That way no association with anything coming at them being food, and then I can wait until they calm down to remove them.

If any still seem hungry after whatever/however many I've fed, I make an adjustment next feeding.