Reptile & Amphibian Forums

>>Hi Jason,
>>
>>I didn't scroll down to check it out but I think you were asking about a rack system for snakes. The ones I built were identical to the one at Mark's site (www.ballpython.ca). This rack breeds eating machines!!! My 341g ball I bought on July 6/03 is now (after 5 rat pups in 10 days) 544g!!! My adult female I bought as a "problem feeder" (live only) will take EVERY TIME offered, and I offer every 2 to 4 days (130g F/T Rat).
>>
>>

Man Dude Dave:

That is cool. Your rack system is great (in the way that it magically turns non-eaters to rodent-pounding machines. I also love the growth of your BP. I have two BP's. The male is not growing as fast as I want him to (has not shed in about 50 days. Ideally I would like for him to shed at least once every 25-30 days.

I like your feeding schedule. You don't find that to be too often? Your snake is not obese? I am afraid to feed every 2 to 4 day, (I hear snakes can become obese).

Also, the only way I have ever been able to get that male BP to eat rats was by sewing rats to mice that the snake kills himself. What I do is let the snake strangle a mouse and while mouse is being constricted, I sew a f/t rat to the mouse. Mouse does not feel any pain because it is busy dying.

The first time I did this, the snake was 500 grams and I was able to feed him a 200 gram meal (185g rat and 15g mouse). But after that he didn't eat for two months.

Today, he finally ate again because I scented mouse with gerbil. After he struck the mouse, I took the opportunity to sew another f/t rat and both rodents went down fine.

From now on, I am going to try frequent feedings. I will use gerbil scent if I have to.
www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=longtang&AID=804697
Click here to see 500 grm BP eating a 200 grm meal

-----
Longtang. I like snakes and rats.

It works very well for us.

MJ
Markus Jayne Ball Pythons

You sew a f/t rat to a live mouse!?! I know you say it doesn't feel anything, but how do you know for sure? Yes, the mouse is dying anyway, but is it really necessary to add to its pain? I normally wouldn't respond to a post like this, but I was quite put off by your post and your pictures. If I'm really worried about one of my snakes not eating enough, I just follow its meal with another prey item while it's swallowing. This has never not worked for me.

Have you ever thought that maybe the reason your snake isn't eating rats is because the ones you are offering are too big? They sometimes can handle it, but often not. I've had a couple regurg on rats that I thought were on the big side, but were swallowed. Why not just give it smaller meals more often if that's what it prefers?

>>
>>Have you ever thought that maybe the reason your snake isn't eating rats is because the ones you are offering are too big? They sometimes can handle it, but often not. I've had a couple regurg on rats that I thought were on the big side, but were swallowed. Why not just give it smaller meals more often if that's what it prefers?

Hi:

You are right. I have seen people being put off by my methods. I am going to consider changing my methods so that it is more humane. I still have not been able to get my BP to feed on f/t yet. It still needs to eat live. However, I may stop sewing. I like your method of just placing the head of another f/t prey into the mouth. I have done this with my neighbor's Burmese. Maybe next time my BP eats, I will try it with my BP. I think it will work.

Previously, I had thought that BPs are so head shy that I wouldn't be able to get close to him when he is eat--that was the reason I sewed. However, the BP may not turn out to be so head shy @ feeding time after all because in yesterday's meal, even with the sewn rat, I did assist by picking up the rat to take the weight of the BP. What happened was that the BP tried to drag the rat around (the rat was attached to the mouse and when he got to the end of the mouse, The BP kept on backing up and dragging the rat with him. I picked up the rat and followed the snake and actually helped guide the head of the rat into the snake's mouth). So in future, I may be able to skip the sewing altogether.

I am sorry that you were put off by the size of the prey. Other people have mentioned this before. You are definitely not alone. Please don't feel out of place by feeling that way. It appears to be a natural reaction from what I have seen. I get a large variety of reactions to my pictures. For the record, I have obtained smaller sized (more appropriately sized rats) for future feedings.

By the way, can you comment on the feeding schedule? I am of the mind that I should feed no more than once a week. But the other thread was on a schedule of every 2 to 4 days. In fact the thread mentioned a 341 g snake that went to 541 grams in a very short time by feeding 130 gram f/t rats every two to four days. What is your thinking on that? Will I hurt the snake too much if I tried to do it like the other thread does? See it: forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=88072,88960

thank you for your opinion. I will take it into account in my future feedings. I am still learning and rethinking my methods. I have not been at it long enough. I am still learning every day.

cheers.

thanks in advance.
click here to see the thread of a very well eating BP that is putting on weight very impressively !!

-----
Longtang. I like snakes and rats.

..

Hi. I wrote what ended up being a kind of long response, but after I was done and tried to post, I realized my computer was disconnected... hate it when that happens! Anyway, I said that I was happy that you didn't take my post the wrong way, since it can be hard to read a person's tone in writing. I hope that the other method of following the mouse works for you. I recieved 6 problem feeder adult BPs last fall and being WC they were very head shy and wouldn't take food in front of me. For those that did, this method worked very well. I had to do this with one of my other adult females also. She was a pain to get to actually take anything in the first place.

As far as the feeding schedules, my goal isn't to make my snakes gain as much weight as possible as quickly as possible. I'm just trying to keep them as healthy as possible. I don't think people have really looked in depth at the effects of overfeeding on lifespan, etc. Most of my adults will eat a small-medium rat every 2-3 weeks, but a couple prefer smaller food (mice or younger rats) more often and a few will only take live rat crawlers which are followed with larger f/t rats. I don't think feeding 20% of the snake's body weight every few days is necessary at all, so I wouldn't worry that your snake doesn't want to eat that much.

Another thing, coming home to a partially digested meal regurgited on the warm side of the cage after being at work all day is no fun at all...