Reptile & Amphibian Forums

At some point I know I will need to feed my Burm rabbits...as Large rats will not be big enough. I prefer to feed pre killed or F/T.

At what size do you begin to switch them over. My albino burm is only 6 feet and feeding on 1 large rat every 10-14 days. I figured once she is eating 2-3 large rats she will need to be swtiched???? I do not power feed, I don't believe in it. I'm happy with her rate of growth right now.

Any advise would be wonderful.

Trish

Most burms will readily switch to rabbits. Some need a little coaxing in the form of rubbing a dead rat all over the rabbit to give it a more "pleasant" aroma. Soon after, you won't have to scent any longer.

You are doing the right thing in not overfeeding. Most captive burms are severely overfed which is why most don't live a full life. We have a 30 year old burm that is still going strong yet this adult is only fed one large rabbit per month. Our other older burms are only fed one or two appropriately sized prey as adults as well. In your situation, I would wait until your burm is at the 10' mark. At that size, they can easily handle 2-3 pound rabbits (it will seem like a huge meal at first but your burm will be fine). Once on rabbits I would recommend feeding only once or twice a month to prevent obesity....gauge the activity levels of the snake to determine the rate at which you should be feeding (some burms just have higher metabolisms and as such, may need to be fed a bit more frequently). Hope this helps.

Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
Lake Forest, IL

>>At some point I know I will need to feed my Burm rabbits...as Large rats will not be big enough. I prefer to feed pre killed or F/T.
>>
>>At what size do you begin to switch them over. My albino burm is only 6 feet and feeding on 1 large rat every 10-14 days. I figured once she is eating 2-3 large rats she will need to be swtiched???? I do not power feed, I don't believe in it. I'm happy with her rate of growth right now.
>>
>>Any advise would be wonderful.
>>
>>Trish
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

Along the same lines as Mr Carmichael, it has never been a problem with switching prey items with my burms.
But...you can start before the 10'mark if you'd like, by using smaller rabbits.
I buy the smalls from Rodentpro, which average 1-1.5lbs.
It may be more economical than multiple jumbo rats.

Carmichael, I herd that is recomended to feed an adult burm 10% there body weight every 2 weeks. Is that acceptable? Also If i feed a 6ft burm 1 jumbo rat a week is that too much food?
thanks
Rob

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to feed....the only one would be to prevent overfeeding. One jumbo rat for a 6' burm is plenty....you might even fast him one week each month to prevent overdoing it. I use behavior to dictate how much and how often to feed; its something that just becomes instinct after many years of working with them. Hope this helps. Rob Carmichael

>>Carmichael, I herd that is recomended to feed an adult burm 10% there body weight every 2 weeks. Is that acceptable? Also If i feed a 6ft burm 1 jumbo rat a week is that too much food?
>>thanks
>>Rob
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL