Reptile & Amphibian Forums

04 male Thayeri. Is it just me or do these guys grow very sloooow. Russ

First off that is one nice clean thayeri there Russ.

And to tell you the truth the Mexicana species does grow slower than any Getula king. Most female thayeri will reach breeding size (I use 30" & 300 grams) at 30 months...just in time for brumation.

There are different views as how to feed snakes.....
I feed my snakes numerous smaller meals often rather than 1 or 2 larger meals less often. Economically the larger less frequent meals is the way to go, but will result in a slower growing snake. This will work well with already full grown snakes though.

Another thing that has worked well is the feeding of Rat pinks and pups rather than mice......But I have seen some obese snakes resulting from this method and some with fatty deposits.
These are just my opinions and observations....Just wanted to share what I do with my younger mexicana.....Multiple smaller meals more often......

John Lassiter

Thanks for all the input John. This guy get fed every 7-10 days and get a large mouse pink that realy dont leave a bulge.I think I will step it up a little. I never have believed in pumping my snakes although burms are geared for eating massave amounts of food, just unbelieveable. Always have fed the colubrids on a weekly basis with good growth.

Hey post some pixs of your mex mex. those are on my list to get next. did you produce a lot this year?
Well I'm out....Russ

A weekly feeding is considered healthy enough in my opinion, but I do feed mine every 4 to 5 days. The yearlings get 3 pinks each feeding and the subadults get 3 to 4 fuzzies each feeding. I usually don't breed my females until their 3rd year. At 30 months they go into hibernation if they meet my criteria.

As for the Mexmex....I did not have any luck producing any this year, but next year should prove better luck.

Here are some Mexmex shots.....enjoy,
John Lassiter

They do grow more slowly than other kings/corns/milks. I feed my adults weekly, but have started feeding neonates/juveniles twice a week. I haven't had much luck getting them to take multiple prey items at one time. I think that part of it is that the ones that miss out on a month or two of meals at the beginning are slow to catch up.
-Lee