# How Often Do You Feed?



## davobmx (Jan 29, 2012)

Simple question: how often do you feed your python and what species is it?


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## JUNGLE-JAK (Jan 29, 2012)

*hey i got a black headed python
i power feed it, so about once or twice a week
but i do that with all my snakes spotteds, carpets and stimis.*


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## Vincey (Jan 29, 2012)

Every ~6 days, yearling Morelia Spilota Imbricata. He hasn't denied yet but if he does i'll wait 2 days then offer again.


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## Cockney_Red (Jan 29, 2012)

When I can afford some chicken necks


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## nikki84 (Jan 29, 2012)

Can pythons eat chicken necks?


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## AirCooled (Jan 29, 2012)

Cockney_Red said:


> When I can afford some chicken necks



When you can afford to buy some chickens and a axe


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## Aussie-Pride (Jan 29, 2012)

I feed my younger jungles, diamonds once a week or once I know they have passed there last meal then I"ll give them a feed and I feed my adults once a fortnight. 
I don't see the point in power feeding it just cost me more and makes them obese and less active and can also cause fatty liver problems.


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## nagini-baby (Jan 29, 2012)

power feeding is bad for snakes. Shortens their life span. I feed my young guys weekly and my older guys fortnightly


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## davobmx (Jan 29, 2012)

i have been feeding my juvie carpet every 7-8 days but i might shorten this to 6-7 aswell as uping the food size


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## Aussie-Pride (Jan 29, 2012)

nikki84 said:


> Can pythons eat chicken necks?





There's a few people on here that feed there snakes chicken necks, I give my adults an occasional feed on chicken necks just to give them a change.. There not nearly as nutritious as Rats/mice are though..


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## Ramsayi (Jan 29, 2012)

davobmx said:


> i have been feeding my juvie carpet every 7-8 days but i might shorten this to 6-7 aswell as uping the food size



How old is it? If still not fully grown I feed based on shed frequency and adjust feeding accordingly.For growing carpets shedding anywhere between 4 and 8 weeks is fine with 4 week intervals being on the absolute limit.


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## Joemal (Jan 29, 2012)

7 - 10 days on all of them .Scrubbie right down to the Spotted


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## davobmx (Jan 29, 2012)

9 months, around 60-70gm, he was feeding weekly on 2 fuzzies>
but i might try weanie mice are these 2 big u think >


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## -Katana- (Jan 29, 2012)

I feed my snakes when they exhibit hunting behaviours and then the food item is appropriate for their size and age.


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## leamos (Jan 29, 2012)

Feed my yearling jungle about every 6 - 8 days, 25g small hopper rat, but will extend that out to 10 - 14 days be the this time next year. I normally let her 'tell' me when she's ready for another feed, when she's sitting on her branches in her hunting pose


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## JrFear (Jan 29, 2012)

I feed my snakes weekly or monthly depending on age! n e thing over 2 years monthly under 2 years weekly!


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## D3pro (Jan 29, 2012)

nagini-baby said:


> power feeding is bad for snakes. Shortens their life span. I feed my young guys weekly and my older guys fortnightly



Has there been research done to prove this? I would love to read it.


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## Bel03 (Jan 29, 2012)

I feed my yearling bredli every 10days, which i just swapped to after feeding every 7days for the last 6mnths.


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## tarafritz2011 (Jan 29, 2012)

My 2 year old stimson (about 2 and a half foot in length) gets two adult mice once every 10-14 days (could up the food size but haven't gotten around to it yet so I just give him two to compensate).

My five foot diamond gets one sub-adult rat (decent size) once every 10-14 days depending. I'm considering whether or not I could move her up a size but for now she seems okay on these.

If they show hunting behaviour earlier, I will see if they have passed their last meal and try giving them another feed, if they take it then great, if not then oh well. They're still alive and kicking so I must be doing something right


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## FusionMorelia (Jan 29, 2012)

Power feeding produces larger fatty reserves, larger fatty reserves are bad on the organs most captive snakes are overweight compared to wild specimens, i have spoken to many people who believe this, its also touched on in the complete carpet python book. i have heard this from many breeders including the authors of TCCP and all the speakers from the Symposium last year in Sydney.

food for thought.
Nato


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## Darwin-Girl88 (Jan 29, 2012)

I feed my 2 (Male,Female) 14 month old Darwins every 7 days on (f) 30gm Rats and (m) 10gm Rats cos he is Really small as when i got him he hadnt eaten for 7 months But is gaining weight nicely They both are 

And my 14yr old Murray i feed him on 172gm rats every 7 days also, i have tried fortnightly but he is just nasty and very hungry so it dont suit him well lol


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## Ryant16 (Jan 29, 2012)

Any species under a year I feed weekly. Any species under 2 years every 10 days. Any species over three years fortnightly. Each get fed decent meals more then the what is normal. ..... Then again whats normal everyone's opinion is different.


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## Aussie-Pride (Jan 29, 2012)

D3pro said:


> Has there been research done to prove this? I would love to read it.



I don't there has been any research done on power feeding but it's more of a well known theory.


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## Garenio (Jan 29, 2012)

I feed the Spotted and Jungle Pythons whenever they're hungry, so actual frequency varies between a week to months.


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## Murtletheturle (Jan 29, 2012)

i feed my snakes once a week on the right sized rat


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## davobmx (Feb 8, 2012)

Joemal said:


> 7 - 10 days on all of them .Scrubbie right down to the Spotted


some of your carpets are huge, what species is your largest and how long is it.


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## Jake007 (Feb 8, 2012)

Feed my hypo coast 6 months every 5 days but my hypo coast 9 months once a week


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## snake_lover (Feb 8, 2012)

I feed my 2 carpets (one is 6 foot, the other is 8) every 2 - 3 weeks


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## stimigex (Feb 8, 2012)

There has been research done by the UWS (Uni of West sydney) on increased feeding rates of snakes! To date there has been NO adverse findings on this program!

I would also like to hear what all you people that are so against increased feeding rates think "power" feeding is and what your personal experience is with this subject!


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## GeckoJosh (Feb 8, 2012)

stimigex said:


> There has been research done by the UWS (Uni of West sydney) on increased feeding rates of snakes! To date there has been NO adverse findings on this program!
> 
> I would also like to hear what all you people that are so against increased feeding rates think "power" feeding is and what your personal experience is with this subject!



Please correct me if I am wrong but I am pretty certain that study was done on snakes that were still growing.
Overfeeding adult snakes to the point they are overweight can cause health issues, of that I have no doubt.

"Power-feeding" juvenile snakes to increase growth rates or to get an animal to optimum weight after breeding etc is completely different and something I personally would have no problems doing with my own snakes if I felt they needed it.


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## Banjo (Feb 8, 2012)

I feed my adult bredli every month on average, and my stimson which is close to 2 years old about every two weeks. And I'm feeding approx 15% of the snake body weight each feed.


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## Sir_Hiss (Feb 8, 2012)

Yearling Bredli, sub-adult every 10-14 days, depends, I know when he's hungry because he stays up all night jumping off his logs


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## D3pro (Feb 8, 2012)

Geckoman said:


> Please correct me if I am wrong but I am pretty certain that study was done on snakes that were still growing.
> Overfeeding adult snakes to the point they are overweight can cause health issues, of that I have no doubt.
> 
> "Power-feeding" juvenile snakes to increase growth rates or to get an animal to optimum weight after breeding etc is completely different and something I personally would have no problems doing with my own snakes if I felt they needed it.



Yeah this was my thoughts also. In the first 20 months I found that the snakes growth was increased with power feeding compared to the normal scheduled sibs. The snakes were bigger but not fat. After sexual maturity is reached then there is no need to power feed.


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## leamos (Feb 8, 2012)

D3pro, what was your feeding schedule when power feeding?


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## davobmx (Feb 9, 2012)

leamos said:


> D3pro, what was your feeding schedule when power feeding?


second this? i would like to increase my feeding but without making my animal unhealthy or chode looking.


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## GeckoJosh (Feb 9, 2012)

Feeding frequency varies so much according to meal size and whether they are about to shed but I find if you wait until the poop before feeding then you can't go wrong.
I have only kept pythons for a couple of years so I am by no means an expert on the subject.


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## rafikie_2012 (Feb 9, 2012)

i feed my year old spotted once a week, and she has never refused, i think she just loves to eat!!!!


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## spinner_collis (Feb 9, 2012)

My yearling Bredli i was feeding a rat once a week, for the past month ive been giving him 2 weaner rats every 10 or so days. Ive just bought sml rats which he will get one once every 10 days or so.


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## D3pro (Feb 9, 2012)

I fed carpets large items every 4 days. The large items seem to encourage growth of muscle and bones rather then making the snake fat.
I was able to get a 40 gram carpet python to 1000+ grams in 13-14 months.

Here it is when I received it.







Here it is now.


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## NotoriouS (Feb 9, 2012)

I feed my 2yr old Diamond (almost 5 ft) a large rat (160g-190g) every 2 weeks. He doesn't have any trouble taking it and poops after about 10 days or so.


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## davobmx (Feb 9, 2012)

D3pro said:


> I fed carpets large items every 4 days. The large items seem to encourage growth of muscle and bones rather then making the snake fat.
> I was able to get a 40 gram carpet python to 1000+ grams in 13-14 months.
> 
> Here it is when I received it.
> ...



ok thanks, i might up my feeding again as my carpet is pooing 4 days after a feed which is rather quick.


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