Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Thanks for help!

1 pinky mouse every 10-14 days (pretty much give it a couple days after defication, then offer food again). Feeding too often you run the risk of a prolapse. BTW, these are good questions to ask BEFORE purchasing an animal.
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Female Ball possibly gravid from 66% poss het axanthic
Trio black rat snakes placed together 12/14/05

Chris LaViola
CMLReptiles
Website under construction
CMLReptiles@aol.com

Ok,i got it.Thanks

I would feed it every 7 days or so and feel safe, as long as the meals are appropriately sized. I feed a meal that makes a noticeable lump, but is usually not noticeable 2 days after feeding. The animal doesn't have to deficate before it takes it's next meal. Unless it is noticeably "backed up", I keep feeding!!

From what I have gathered, prolapse is more often related to stress(ie. parasites, illness), not feeding. You may stunt it's growth if you feed it every two weeks. Just my 0.02.

Kevin

When the baby was on pinkies I was feeding every 5 days and it was defecating about every 2-3 days. The little ones seem to be poop factories. I feed every 7 days now that it's on larger items and it still is pooping every week. My 16 month old goes about every 3 weeks. If she goes longer or really looks big, I won't feed.

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

The breeder I bought my Aru from reccomended feeding it that way, and that's the way I feel safe. I'm in no hurry to get it to adult sized, and no, you can't stunt it's growth by offering it food every 2 weeks. In the wild, you think these animals eat that consistantly? I've had snakes go months without eating, simply because they didn't want to, with no ill effects other than they didn't grow for those months. and a prolapse can happy if over-fed...as can regurg. My aru prolapsed and the temp/humidity of it's enclosure are ideal, and there's no stress as due to it's small size for safety it's very rarely handled. It also has a fairly consistant day/night cycle. So, to be safe, while I pinking/fuzzies, I feed every 2 weeks. Once moved on to small mice/rat pinks, I'll up the feedings to every 7-10 days.

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Female Ball possibly gravid from 66% poss het axanthic
Trio black rat snakes placed together 12/14/05

Chris LaViola
CMLReptiles
Website under construction
CMLReptiles@aol.com

I'm the opposite. Babies digest and are growing more rapidly. Pinkies contain less nutrition than larger mice. Once my snakes get to the larger animals that take longer to digest (fur and solid bones) I feed at a longer interval. If my snake is starting to look really full, I don't feed until they deficate, otherwise, they stay on a weekly feeding schedule. When they move up to much larger prey, such as an adult rat, then they are fed every 2-3 weeks.

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

I'm being very general with my comments, but I basically feed when the animal shows signs they are ready for another meal after they have deficated. You're probably right and it's not too dangerous to not wait, but as I said I'm in no hurry for the animals to reach adult sized...if it takes an extra year, oh well.

Thanks for all the input on this thread though, I definately picked up on a few things missing from my knowledge of this species. Guess you learn something knew everyday right?
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Female Ball possibly gravid from 66% poss het axanthic
Trio black rat snakes placed together 12/14/05

Chris LaViola
CMLReptiles
Website under construction
CMLReptiles@aol.com