Food lumps, or hernia?

[saximus]

I don't think it has nutritional value. More just that it helps keep things moving in the digestive system. Like fibre for us. That's my understanding anyway

 

[kawasakirider]

Fair enough, they certainly have decent bowel movements, that's for sure.

I did a full clean of the enclosure the other day, all furniture out, new bedding etc. When it was all done, the male stretched out across the vine, so I went to take some pics... He shat all through the enclosure and all l got were some less than favourable kodak's of him undoing my work, haha.

 

[marteed]

Fair enough, they certainly have decent bowel movements, that's for sure.

I did a full clean of the enclosure the other day, all furniture out, new bedding etc. When it was all done, the male stretched out across the vine, so I went to take some pics... He shat all through the enclosure and all l got were some less than favourable kodak's of him undoing my work, haha.

lol, i know what you mean. Mine seem to do that to me all the time.

 

[kawasakirider]

Lol, can't help but laugh about it :/

 

[Bluetongue1]

A lot of posters publish information on the net which if followed can cause problems, so be wary of opinions as opposed to facts.

You could have posted your information and opinions without putting my post above it. Why didn’t you?

I cannot but agree with above statement. I only hope people follow your advice and are wary of your posted opinion below.

The University of Western Sydney has done feeding trials on pythons. At one end of the scale pythons were fed minimal amounts of feed ; the other group was fed to refusal which resulted in consumption of in excess of 30% of bodyweight each week.

You can stipulate the average amount of food (% of bodyweight) for the experimental group, which the experimenters were unable to pre-determine, yet when it comes to the control group where the amount can be pre-determined, all you can offer is “minimal amounts”. Why?

There was no measurable difference between feeding groups except that the refusal group grew faster and reached maturity quicker than those on a restricted diet.

What species were involved? What age were they when they started. How long was the study conducted for? What were the sample sizes of each group? What conditions were they kept under? Was an assessment made of body condition at the start and completion of the experiment? Was there any check done on ultimate longevity? What exactly were they fed? Is this typical of what most keepers feed their animals.

Sounds like a great scientific investigation to me. Over feed one group and under feed the other. Gee, I wonder why one group grew faster?

There is a point at which restricting feed will cause death. I suggest (opinion not fact) that 5% of bodyweight each week would be at or below that point.

Your opinion that 5% of body weight per week is at or below the point that will cause death is laughable. It demonstrates a lack of understanding of the physiology of snakes and does little for your credibility. But please don’t take my word (opinion if you must) on it. Have a read of “Care of Australian Reptiles in Captivity” by John Weigel Pg 42 and the following article by Simone Stone PhD, owner/operator of Southern Cross Reptiles for over 15 years, during which time he has kept and bred thousands of pythons: http://www.southernxreptiles.com/RA%20ARTICLE%20PAGE.htm paragraph 19. While you are at it might be worth you reading Breeding Australian Pythons edited by Mike Swan. pp 28-29.

Those interested may wish to seek out the facts from the University study.

If you could post an address or study title that will allow me to chase up the document I would be very grateful.

 

[Squinty]

I love it when you have to clean an enclosure 3 times within 20 minutes!!! Haha!!