Is he to fat?????

[Crackajack]

I am just after some opinions on my stimi boy. Hes 2 and half years old.
Last summer he never missed his weekly feed, which was 1 or sometimes 2 adult mice per week. My problem is i have kept his temp to around 32 all winter and he has not eaten for the last 3 months, except for last week he finally had 1 mouse. I have been told hes over weight!!!! and this is why hes not wanted to feed. Can you please tell me if you think he is!!

 

[snake_boy]

looks plump to me. im no expert tho just wat it looks like to me.

 

[Crackajack]

Should i be concerned? will he just start wanting to feed again when hes ready

 

[Vincey]

I'm no professional, but im almost certain looking at his size, he can last a decent amount of time without a feed. If he refuses it, try again a week later or what-not. I'm not sure when it comes to obesity or fat snakes =p

Gonna have to ask someone else.

 

[Danny.Boy]

holy ****... you gave that snake one big feed ay? by the looks of the first picture the snakes ready to take a dump so after it does so it will slim down a bit. In my honest opinion i think the snake is fairly overweight but we'll see what others have got to say.

 

[Stark]

He does look a little plump. Just going by what ive seen on the forums etc. I'm no vet.

But I wouldnt worry about him not wanting to eat, snakes sometimes know when its winter regardless of their cage temps Ive heard. And snakes can go a very long time without eating, 6 months some people have mentioned.

 

[SnakePower]

If you want an honest opinion, I would say he is definitely on the chubby side. Again, you will get different opinions from different herpers, but if you look at his head size in comparison to the thickness of his body, he looks out of proportion. I would put him on a serious diet, cut back his feeding to a mouse a month at most for the next year or so and let him trim up. It will not affect him eating a lot less, and he should slowly even out his proportions. He could comfortably go well over a year without feeding without harming his health at all and in fact if it were my snake I would stop feeding him completely for at least 6-12 months and let his body even out and his head grow a little more. That would make him more active and tone up, probably the best thing for him and I certainly wouldn't be concerned about him not wanting to feed. Also if you are wanting to breed with him, he will be a better more active/agressive breeder with a much leaner body condition. JMO.

 

[Crackajack]

He has had 1 mouse last week and nothing for a good 3 months before that, but he was sucken down ....most of the time 1 mouse per week , sometimes 2 mice a week in the warmer months. He has remained active all winter.

 

[dickyknee]

So he has only had 1 adult mouse in 3 months ......how big was it before the 3 months of non feeding

 

[hornet]

looks a little big to me. As said cut feeding back, i feed my adults every 2-3 weeks but i'd cut him back to every month or 2

 

[waruikazi]

He doesn't look too bad to me. I've found wild snakes bigger than that. That said i would cut him back from a mouse a week to one every two weeks, not because of his size but because of his age. Or you could stop feeding him altogether during winter and then back to one a week for the summer months.

 

[Stergo]

Just thought i would join in the "I'm no expert but he does look a little chubby to me. My boy didn't eat over winter either and just recently gobbled a couple of fuzzies so don't worry too much now that yours is back to eating but it wouldn't hurt to cut back on maybe one mice.

 

[pythonmum]

Yes he's plump, but he probably stopped eating because of winter. My stimmie always takes a few months off in winter, even though I keep her temps up and the same light cycle all year. Don't sweat it, but feed fortnightly for a while.

 

[Crackajack]

Thanks everyone...i will keep the porkers food down from now on and see how he goes.
Guess i just over spoilt him:?

 

[Simple]

Cut his meal sizes down. Don't stop feeding all together. as snakes can go into what is called starvation mode. That is where food is not available they will reduce their metabolism and it will take alot longer to shed the weight. We have a stimmie that stops feeding in jan/feb (regardless of temps) and won't eat again untill sep/oct.. He maintains good condition (although he is a fairly lean snake)through his period. He is one of our best breeders, so a snake in condition can go a long period of time without eating.

 

[notechistiger]

I wouldn't cut the food sizes down. Actually, given his size, I'd be giving him rats, and lots of stimulation in his enclosure. He looks perfectly fine to me. Just give him some exercise, by putting different things in his enclosure, such as sticks from outside (the new smells will encourage him to explore), or completely rearranging his enlosure. You can also take him outside and let him explore your yard. Just make sure you keep an eye on him.

 

[Clitybangspython]

i just want to know who probed your snake coz im pritty sure he is a she and dosent look that fat but could poss use some exercise

 

[notechistiger]

... You cannot tell a snake's sex by physically looking at them. What are you basing your facts on?

 

[Dan19]

... You cannot tell a snake's sex by physically looking at them. What are you basing your facts on?

Here is an example of many. http://www.pilbarapythons.com/sexing.htm Lots of people have and do sex snakes visually.

 

[bundybear]

... You cannot tell a snake's sex by physically looking at them. What are you basing your facts on?

not too sure how much truth is in it, but i've been told by a few people that the females generally but not always, have a shorter tail