Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everyone, I hope you are all well. Just wanted to see what kind of feeding regiment you all follow your young bull snakes. Is it similar to most other colubrids? I usually feed my juvenille kings 1-2 appropriately sized prey items every 6-7 days. It's usually 10-15% of their body weight. Will this work for a 4 month old bull snake (45g) as well or do they need to be fed a little more/less? Thanks for any helpful advice.

I think your plan will be fine.

I have done one appropriately sized food item every 5 days, or 7 days, and honestly, have not had different results.

Since each snake is an individual, your bull snake's metabolism may be faster or slower than others. I pay attention to their weight, and if they are a little thinner than normal before next feeding, I feed them. Or, if not, wait until the next planned time.

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Genesis 1:1

Copy that. Today will be my first feeding attempt since she arrived 2 days ago. I'll try one small hopper mouse today and see how that goes. I've got to place a new feeder order in a few weeks and will probably try to switch her, and my kings, over to rats.

If you haven't offered it already, you might want to wait a little longer. just to let the snake settle in a bit more.

I've already thawed the mice but could see if my kings will eat them. I was told she last ate almost 2 weeks ago so I thought I'd offer and if she refuses I'd give her another week. How long do you typically wait before you feed new arrivals?

Most guys suggest waiting at least 5 days to a week

Oh wow, a lot of my friends were saying it's ok to offer food after 48 hours and then a week later if the snake refuses. She did scarf down a small hopper tonight. I won't feed her again for another 6-7 days. That should give her time to get a little more comfortable.

I think the feeding of new snakes is a bit of a personal thing along with handling, and can depend largely on the individual snake.
Over here in the UK the general advice is to leave them a week or so to settle in, but I have to confess I always feed my snakes the day i get them and leave them alone for a couple of days to digest it. Did it with my latest snake, which happened to be a little bull too, with no problem.
I'm sure there will be many snake keepers who do not agree with this, and I am fine with that. We have to do what we believe is correct.
There are no hard and fast rules to snake keeping and it's better to get your cues from the individual animal.

I used to just feed them whenever their schedule dictated. If the schedule they were on had the feeding on the day they got here, that's when I'd do it.
But recently I posted something about my son's first corn, a 2013 that we go about an hour from here, offered it food two days after we got it, as per the schedule it was used to , and it refused to eat. I got totally reamed for not allowing the snake to settle in for the minimum 5 to 7 days. Our daughter got a clutch mate from the same breeder and it ate the day after we got it.
The breeder I got my northern pine from said he would wait two days . I did and he refused to eat.
So this just verifies what Paul said about it all depends on the snake.

I guess I'm going to be the square peg here. I offer mine food the same day I get them in, usually the breeders have waited to feed them before shipping, and they have all been hungry upon arrival. I normally feed on Saturdays, but if my babies are acting hungry, cruising everywhere, I feed them no matter what day it is. I also will feed them more than most other people do. My hatchlings, depending on size, are eating on average 3 pink rats every 5 days or so, and the bigger ones are averaging 2 weaned mice on about the same schedule. My yearling has been picking at the leftovers from the babies, but has yet to take off and start eating normally again even though I've kept her heated. My adults are still in brumation. I will also offer them food on their regular schedule if they are in shed. Most of the time they'll take it anyway. Bulls are great eaters, much more so than corns imo, and need more food than most snakes of their size. This is just my observation with them through the last few years since I got tagged my pit fever, and got rid of everything else I had! LOL! I might also add that all my snakes have great temprements except for one KR female, and she's just all hiss and blow, never offered to bite.

She took a small hopper on Saturday, 2 days after arrival, and it barely left a bulge. Im going to try her again in a day or two. I'll probably give her 2 hoppers this time. I've been hearing that bulls will probably eat a little more than my kings. I've also ordered some rat pinks and fuzzys and will try weaning her off mice pretty soon.