Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I ask b/c I've heard people talk about overfeeding. Then i here other people say you truly can't overfeed a BP.
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billy jean king
BugBusters

..... too much, too often, too big, etc. can lead to regurgitation or feeding issues in the short term - over a long period of time - (at the very least) you'll end up with an obese snake - which can cause health issues. Why would you want to overfeed your snake anyway - would you over feed a dog, fish or yourself? OK Strike the last one as lots people overfeed themselves (LOL).
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Tosha

"Nihil facimus sed id bene facimus"

7.33.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and gang)
1.0.0 Angolan Python (Anakin Skywalker)
0.0.1 Green Tree Python (Verdi - yeah I know but my kids love the book)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Desert Tortoise (Pope John Paul aka JP )
2.2.1 Fish (1,2,3,4)
0.0.2 frogs rescued from pool skimmer

Snakes are opertunists(sp), and if the opertuniy presents itself they will over eat. You won't see this in the wild simply because they must make an effort to eat enough to become obese. Pythons and Boas are generally ambush oriented, but if something doesn't come along in a decent amout of time they will go looking and however slowly that might be, it does burn calories. In captivity the control is in the hands of the owner. Ya toss em in there they will get eaten . On the other side of the coin,there are those that won't over eat no matter what you might think. Snakes, like anything else, are individuals and each has it's own way. Sorry for the ramble. Hope some of it made sense.

Quig

Mine does a good job of regulating itself... He wants to eat he does, he does, if he doesn't want to eat (or if the rat is white) he doesn't. I know that some people try to fatten/bulk them up, which IMO can not be a good thing. As for Toshamc's comment, people are definitely not a good example, especially this time of year. I'd write more on this but I am late for my after breakfast / before lunch snack!
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Rescued Ball Python - Apep
0-1-0 Rescued Mountain Horned Dragon - Ki
0-0-1 Rescued Aggressive Bearded Dragon - Zeus
0-0-1 Rescued Non-Alpha Green Iguana - Bud
1-1-0 Rescued Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet
0-0-1 Rescued Dieting Panda Hamster - Mr. Fluffy
0-1-0 Rescued Little Angelic Kitten - Isis
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids

HEY!!!! Save me some!!

Quig

The rainy season where food is plentiful, to the dry where food is much harder to find. Snakes have been provided a very adaptable system when it comes to feeding - hence the long periods in between meals. It is MHO, that any animal has the potential to become obese through overfeeding. Some snakes may refuse food, while others will gorge themselves. I have seen photos of animal necropsies where the animal was clearly obese.

Now, what effect this has on the animal, I don't know. I have not seen any studies on Ball Python obesity.
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles