is this going to be too big?

[GeckoJosh]

Also to add to power feeding,it will possibly shorten the life of reptiles

Got any evidence to support this?

 

[AirCooled]

Power feeding is known to cause a loss in lifespan, health problems, obesity, and rapid growth. Some people do this to snakes to get them up to breeding size and weight faster, but then end up burning the snake out too fast.It can also be tricky to make sure your snake is fully digesting,overworks the digestive tract and passing its meals.

 

[wokka]

When you use "possibly" you dont need evidence as you cant be wrong. It is like having a bet each way!

 

[Skelhorn]

My stimson's are on hoppers (and they are only 60-65cm and alot thinner than that one)-If the snake is unable to digest it, it will regurg it. Those rats should be easily digested by your python.

 

[abnrmal91]

If the snake is unable to digest it, it will regurg it. Those rats should be easily digested by your python.

You don't want a snake regurgitating anything. It can cause alot of problems eg stomach acids can be inhaled.

 

[Crystal..Discus]

i do understand that snakes are opportunistic hunters mate, i probably know a lot more about snake ecology, biology, behaviour, diet, and captive managment than most of the people on here.

Not sure if troll...

 

[AirCooled]

Not sure if troll...

He was responding to abnrmal91,of course a 16 year old would know more than most,if not all on here.

 

[notechistiger]

Power feeding is known to cause a loss in lifespan, health problems, obesity, and rapid growth.

I still only see a lack of evidence here...

 

[GeckoJosh]

Power feeding is known to cause a loss in lifespan, health problems, obesity, and rapid growth. Some people do this to snakes to get them up to breeding size and weight faster, but then end up burning the snake out too fast.It can also be tricky to make sure your snake is fully digesting,overworks the digestive tract and passing its meals.

You do realise studies have been performed that show the exact opposite?
Juveniles it seems can eat as much as they want and all that happens is they grow faster, over feeding adults however can cause many issues due to obesity

 

[notechistiger]

Dont know if I am allowed to but this is from a Doc Roc article about feeding. This pic shows what they think is a good sized feed.

That "just right" picture looks far too small to me. In fact, all my snakes regularly get fed to look like the "too large" picture (I think they'd be offended if it were anything smaller tbh).

 

[Snake_Whisperer]

Power feeding is known to cause a loss in lifespan, health problems, obesity, and rapid growth. Some people do this to snakes to get them up to breeding size and weight faster, but then end up burning the snake out too fast.It can also be tricky to make sure your snake is fully digesting,overworks the digestive tract and passing its meals.

Only person I know of who ever bothered to post actual evidence in regards to "power feeding" juvies was Bob Withey. His observations were that there were no obvious health issues, the animals he used as examples lived long, healthy, and reproductive lives. Somewhere in the APS archives is the post/posts I'm referring to. It's worth noting that this pertains to juveniles. Overfeeding adults will indeed cause obesity related problems.

 

[Bluetongue1]

There are a number of common ways that people use to determine the appropriateness of the size of a feed item:

1. You can compare the maximum diameter of the item with the maximum diameter of the snake;
2. You can compare the pre and post meal maximum diameters of the snake i.e. the bulge size;
3. By “eye” from plenty of experience;
4. By weight – the weight of the food item compared to the weight of the snake.

The most accurate method is by weight. Professional breeders recommend that a weekly food item for a juvenile should be in the range of 5% to 20% of the snake’s weight. In an experiment with feeding to refusal, an Antaresia species averaged just over 30% per weekly feed for the 12 months or so the investigation was conducted. From those results, it would seem reasonable to assume if you wish to power feed your animals, then a maximum of 30% will get the results without creating other problems. As has been suggested, the feeding of two smaller items is preferable to one large item when you are looking to feed to the maximum.

Blue

 

[starr9]

Well i am so glad this post is here! As i was looking at upping my girls food sizes but now im just going to keep her where shes at!! Thank you for all the info everyone has put up (esp the pic with the snakes @ abnormal!) this has helped me so much!!!!

 

[Cockney_Red]

Feeding snakes is all about common sense....feed them well when young, and you will have a happy, and healthy adult, and in "most" cases, a docile one

 

[Slateman]

I am usually not involved in discussions in forums. But on power feeding topic I like to comment.
In my limited experience (15 years of reptile keeping) And I understand that my knowledge is very limited.

I power feed few snakes about 12 years ago, and they are all death now. Snakes from same clutch I feed in moderate way at least the ones in my collection are still healthy and Breading well. There for I always feed with moderation except the females for first 3 feeds after laying eggs.

By writing this, I am not saying that I have to be right here. There is lot I don't know about reptiles.

 

[Skelhorn]

I understand that, was mearly pointing out if it was too big the snake will spit it out.

Those rats should be fine, just reduced amount of meals per month!

You don't want a snake regurgitating anything. It can cause alot of problems eg stomach acids can be inhaled.

 

[hissnbits]

Whilst many will have different opinions on prey size to snake weight ratio's etc, I do think it is important to realise these are guidelines from people's experience. In the wild there are many factors that can influence what is consumed, and one of those is availability of food. I am just bringing to light that there may also be differences between spices as well. For example it has been documented that water pythons can gorge themselves when food is available so I would assume have adapted to be able to accomadate larger feeds. Other species it may be the availability of certain size prey for time of the year for example spring. The size of a snake and speed of its metablism would I think play a part as well. For example a small snake may have greater variation in its thermoregulation than a larger size simply due to its mass. For my own experience I have found larger prey items help develop a larger head, and have fed up to 40% of body weight in a single feed without issue on a an Olive python, yet would keep much smaller feeds for a BHP (like 10%). It doesnt mean I am right nor wrong, just from my own experience. So in short different strokes for different folks, and snakes for that matter!

 

[congo_python]

^^^^ what hissnbits said. i just looked at the comparison to weight of food item too length of snake table and IMO it's a little if not alot on the conservative side lol..... a 11 foot snake should only be fed a 1.5 lb rabbit = 700 g rabbit lol, my 11 foot olive girl takes down and has had many without any problems - a 1.5kg rabbit ( double the size ) and the lump only lasts about 10 days but does do her for 3-4 weeks easily and she is no where near over fed ( she has no scale creases ).