Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi I recently acquired a hatchling female bt cribo and I was wondering how often to feed? What I'm trying to say is I breed kingsnakes and have for a few years now and they all eat 3 times a week, will a young bt eat that much that often or do they tend to be a little more finicky? So far she is turning out to be an awesome snake! Thanks
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Dustin Smith

I'd offer as much as it will eat every 4 days. I don't believe you can overfeed for at least the first year. Mix in quail with mice as soon as it's large enough. Good luck!

I think most colubrids and Drymarchon grow very rapidly if supported in the first few years. They tend to grow slowly after this time of rapid growth, often gaining girth but only minimal length. To me, bigger is better, so I advocate feeding them a lot, and the frequency depends on size of food items, total quantity, and housing temps etc. I feed my indigos every few days, they eat very frequently in the warmer season, and they reduce their feeding frequency somewhat in the cooler season. I see no harm in feeding as often as they would like, but be sure they are growing and not getting obese. Most of my Indigos even feed when in ecdysis...they are real go-getters. Just remember you will probably clean up at least 2x for every feeding session... Good luck and grow'em fast and big with frequent small to moderate meals I think...but moderation in all things applies. I reduce feeding frequency in mature adults. Vic H.

Three times a week for a baby BT sounds fine to me, just make sure that the meals are reasonably sized. I've fed babies as often as that with no problems, but with BTs you might want to feed just one item at each feeding. If you over stuff her at each feeding, she might regurge on you, and that isn't something you really want to start.
Ubiquitous Serpent