Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What do you guys consider,or believe is a healthy time frame between sheds for a growing GTP. Most breeders/hobbiests know that the power feeding technique is a good way to shorten the life of ones snake(s)not to mention the other ailments that may also arise. I believe i have read somewhere that to grow your chondros slower,(as compared to say a boa) will/may produce a far healthier specimen, with better breeding potential. Now that i have my sorong consistently feeding i was wondering how often he should be sheeding. For my growing boas i like to see them sheeding at least a month apart. My Biak usually sheds 4-6 weeks apart, i suspect this is about right. Any input on this would be welcomed. Thanx, Clint
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0.1 Colombian Boa-(Boa Constrictor Imperator) "Honey"
1.0 Hogg Isle Boa-(Boa Constrictor Imperator) "peeker"
1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa-(Epicrates Cenchria) "Houdini"
1.1 Argentine Boa-(Boa Constrictor Occidentalis) "Lacie" & "Oreo"
0.0.2 Green Tree Python-(Morelia Viridis)Biak type-"Smog" & Sorong type- "un-named"

I don't know if this is true of chondros or not. My young colobrids usually shed about once a month, and my new GTP seems to be following that pattern as well. She just shed for the second time in my care, and it was about 5 weeks after the last one. As they get older, they slow down. My adult corn shed's maybe 3 times a year now.

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1.0~amel corn~C.S.
1.3~Aztec Okeetee corns~Coatl,Maya,Acatl,Tepin
0.1~Green tree python~Tempest
0.2~Rhodesian Ridgebacks~Akilah, Ona
1.0~Black fat cat~Topper
3.0~Horses~Zaarah,Galliano,Achilles.....

A healthy time frame?.....every 3-8 weeks. I tend to feed my babies a little more often than most breeders do for the first year. I don't power feed chondros, but I feed aggressively and increase the food size more often. I still ask people what evidence has been shown that feeding more often causes problems. Granted chondros are not kingsnakes, but I have some kingsnakes that were raised from hatchlings to nearly 4' in a year and they are 13 years old and still producing healthy clutches....one in particular produces clutches of 18 eggs minimum......and sometimes double clutches.

I try to feed babies every 5-7 days. Sometimes I may miss and get them on day 10 or so, but I haven't noticed any negative results from this schedule. If anything, it helps them establish a better feeding pattern.....which is the hardest part of raising hatchlings. My yearlings are usually on small to medium adult mice as opposed to fuzzies or hoppers......and sometimes pinks depending on the breeder. In my experience, the best growing is done in the first 2 years. I believe this is because these TINY snakes have to increase their size quickly in order to survive. I believe this is the case with all snakes.

Enough of my endless babble. Not everyone will agree and not everyone is right...even when they think they are. Do what works best for YOUR animals and you'll be fine.

Brandon Osborne

What do you guys consider,or believe is a healthy time frame between sheds for a growing GTP. Most breeders/hobbiests know that the power feeding technique is a good way to shorten the life of ones snake(s)not to mention the other ailments that may also arise. I believe i have read somewhere that to grow your chondros slower,(as compared to say a boa) will/may produce a far healthier specimen, with better breeding potential. Now that i have my sorong consistently feeding i was wondering how often he should be sheeding. For my growing boas i like to see them sheeding at least a month apart. My Biak usually sheds 4-6 weeks apart, i suspect this is about right. Any input on this would be welcomed. Thanx, Clint

I don't understand why some are feeding fuzzies at a year of age. My Sorong is 15 months old and eating 12-16 gram mice. He was a stubborn eater since i recieved him last Sept. The result of which is, as far as i'm concerned a smaller than average yearling. I would be of the opinion that under feeding, which has been rumored can stunt a snakes potential growth, is just the opposite of power feeding. I guess my main concern with power feeding is the stunted heads which is known to happen with boas. I suppose the whole feeding/growth issue is purely subjective unless someone has done a field study on the gtp's feeding habits, hatchling-yearling growth rates and so fourth. Thanx for your input and the thinking behind it. Clint
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0.1 Colombian Boa-(Boa Constrictor Imperator) "Honey"
1.0 Hogg Isle Boa-(Boa Constrictor Imperator) "Peeker"
1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa-(Epicrates Cenchria) "Houdini"
1.1 Argentine Boa-(Boa Constrictor Occidentalis) "Lacie" & "Oreo"
0.0.2 Green Tree Python-(Morelia Viridis)Biak type-"Smog" & Sorong type- "un-named"
2.0 canines Husky-Cody & Husky/Shepard-Trail
0.1 Wife-Michele
2.0 Kids-Chris & Bodhi(still in the oven)

Mine is just over 12 months and eating rat pups which are a little larger than small adult mice. The small mice I was feeding were only a little larger than the hoppers, so you have an idea.
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1.0~amel corn~C.S.
1.3~Aztec Okeetee corns~Coatl,Maya,Acatl,Tepin
0.1~Green tree python~Tempest
0.2~Rhodesian Ridgebacks~Akilah, Ona
1.0~Black fat cat~Topper
3.0~Horses~Zaarah,Galliano,Achilles.....

slow starters are generaly smaller.

snake size varies through out a clutch. However in most cases all siblings in a cluch catch up to eachother at around 2 years of age.

I wouldnt worry about it.

Clint--
From my experience I have seen a large amount of variation in growth rates during the first two years in Chondros, and I'm sure that both genetics and feed regime have lots to do with it. Brandon states many good points....and I've observed varying shed rates from 4 weeks to about 10 weeks in neonates to yearlings (with shorter intervals during max growth periods). I tend to feed my neonates once every 5 to 7 days...but also toss in a few 10 day intervals as well. I tend to be a bit conservative with the size of the food offering as I hate to see baby chondros "floored" or grounded due to being giving a food offering that may be of quesitonable size.

To further reinforce my genetics point...my recent clutch of Sipperly/Nicoli X Hickner critters are now close to 8-months old and they are all feeding on fuzzie mice! My Aru clutch in contrast definitely was still on large pinks at this time. But the Dam to this Sipperly clutch was the size of a yearling when she was only 6 months old.

As Brandon suggested....take your cues from your animal and you should be fine

Rich Culver