Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Got my python to eat a baby quail. He took about an hour to finish it (snake is roughly 18-20 inches) and it was about the same size as a fuzzy. im just worried if it is too much for him to handle. anybody ever have problems with serving your snake a dish too big?

Overfeeding, whether it be size or frequency, can lead to regurge and/or obesity, with obesity being the more common issue from what I have read.

Bart

>>Got my python to eat a baby quail. He took about an hour to finish it (snake is roughly 18-20 inches) and it was about the same size as a fuzzy. im just worried if it is too much for him to handle. anybody ever have problems with serving your snake a dish too big?

Your meal does not sound too large to me. At it's size, I would guess it's several months old and should be feeding on large fuzzies. I have never heard of a chondro regurging from a meal that is too large.

Good luck.
Brandon
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www.brandonosbornereptiles.com

I always believed regurging an oversized prey item was a possibility in most snake species. I have only heard of it happening with chondros one time. In that instance, the prey item was actually another young chondro it was housed with. From what I remember, it regurged then died shortly after.

As far as the quail being too large, can't really comment on that but the fact that it took an hour to swallow doesn't mean much. I have had young chondros take a long time with appropriate sized mice before. Some just don't seem to be in a big hurry.

Bart

>>I always believed regurging an oversized prey item was a possibility in most snake species. I have only heard of it happening with chondros one time. In that instance, the prey item was actually another young chondro it was housed with. From what I remember, it regurged then died shortly after.
>>
>>As far as the quail being too large, can't really comment on that but the fact that it took an hour to swallow doesn't mean much. I have had young chondros take a long time with appropriate sized mice before. Some just don't seem to be in a big hurry.
>>
>>Bart

Bart, I would agree another chondro would definitely be an oversize meal, and good cause for regurge. I could be wrong, but I think quail chicks are around 5-7 grams at hatching and large fuzzies are around the same weight. I think a meal at 10% of the animal's weight would be appropriate and just guessing, I would think a 18-24" animal would weigh in the 50-75 gram range. I don't think any meal that equals 100% of body weight is good for any snake.....unless you're a HUGE kingsnake or indigo that just loves to eat everything. It's never a bad idea to err on the small side.

Brandon
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www.brandonosbornereptiles.com

Thanks for all your input. Unfortunately my python regurgitated shortly after I posted. Hopefully the next meal will go smooth.

Give it a few weeks before offering the next meal and keep the next meal smaller than usual.

I want to point out my first response was only to answer your question regarding the general "possible" problems associated with overfeeding and not my opinion on your specific food item. I agree with Brandon in that, based on your description of the animal and prey size, it should have been able to handle it. Don't rule out the possibility that the regurge was the result of something other than prey size.

Good luck,
Bart

Bart, you took the words right out of my mouth.

Brandon
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www.brandonosbornereptiles.com

If this is an import or farmed baby, I'd second and third the thought that perhaps this baby is regurging from something other than size. Parasites and other diseases are a more common cause for regurge in chondros.
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5.5~Cornsnakes
3.4.2~Green tree python
3.3.1~ATB
0.1~Sibon Nebulatus
Dogs, cats, horses....
www.franclycac.com

>>If this is an import or farmed baby, I'd second and third the thought that perhaps this baby is regurging from something other than size. Parasites and other diseases are a more common cause for regurge in chondros.>>

I've had imports loaded with parasites that did very well, and again, I've never, ever, seen a chondro regurge unless it was stress related. IMHO, I think stress and temps are the root cause of regurge....but stress more than temps. I still feed every 7-14 days and my room gets to 68 at night with no basking spots available to sub-adults through adults. We all learn from our own experiences.

Brandon
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www.brandonosbornereptiles.com

Interesting Brandon. I had been told time and again by people on the other forums that regurge in chondros was most often caused by parasites and that in imports especially, this was the first thing they thought of. I've never had a regurge in my animals, so it's never been an issue. In other species, it's either stress or temps.
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5.5~Cornsnakes
3.4.2~Green tree python
3.3.1~ATB
0.1~Sibon Nebulatus
Dogs, cats, horses....
www.franclycac.com

I've never had a chondro regurge so I don't think my input to "why" is going to be very valid. But, I am curious as to why you fed him a baby quail? Is he refusing mice? Is this what you normally feed him? I don't know, It seems to me the only time I would ever offer my chondro a bird would be if there was a serious eating disorder and I was getting desperate to get a meal in their belly. I've always heard that even though they are tree snakes, they rarely eat birds. I am just thinking out loud I guess...

I agree though, wait about 2 weeks to feed again. If the throat was damaged at all, remember snakes take a very long time to heal. Keep us updated though on his health!
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1.1.0 Green Tree Pythons
0.0.2 Ball Pythons
0.0.1 California King
2.0.0 Ball Pythons (pet sitting)

Hey just updating yall. Turns out the prey was too large and he has been eating like a champ until recently. He has began to shed his skin and is having problems getting it all off. I spray him intensively every night and mist in the morning but his skin is still stickin ti him. I plan on giving him a supervised bath as well to help speed up the process. Any tips to get him going?

Just make sure the temperature is appropriate and the humidity itself is staying up. Even if you spray the little guy 10 times a day, water is not the same as humidity. Plus, if you spray to much water you will run the risk of bacterial growth. I recommend 1 spraying per day in an enclosure that has minimal ventilation. Usually the vent will do better if it is at the bottom of the cage. This way, the humidity stays up, the snake is not soaked all the time, and the temperature stays regulated.

Sometimes not all of the skin will come of each shedding as well. If you don't want to stress him out, you can just let the leftover stick to him as it will come off with the next shed. If you dont think you will be stressing him, you can try to get some paper towels soaked in luke warm water and use those to remove the old skin. It won't come off in one piece and will take you a while but eventually it'll all come off.
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1.1.0 Green Tree Pythons
2.0.0 Ball Pythons
0.0.1 California King
2.0.0 Ball Pythons (pet sitting)