Slow Grown Coastal Carpet

[TigerCoastal]

Hi i have just aquired my first snake a queensland coastal carpet and i have a feeling that she has been "slow grown". I have her feeding charts going back 2 years, so she is older than that, but she is roughly 1.1m (3.5Ft). Is this to small for her age and if it is will more regular feeds (5-7 days instead of 9-11 days) help her? She doesnt look or feel underweight for her size, or have i just got a small specimen?

 

[diamondbling]

dont panic to much ive been told its ok to let your snake grow slowly means they will live longer so ive been toldmaybe upsize your feed

 

[TigerCoastal]

i cant go much bigger as the rats i am feeding are already double what she is at her fattest, thats why im thinking that more frequent feeds might help, but then i dont want to go the other way any make her to fat

 

[Renagade]

take a photo with reference to something we will recognise. what do her feeding charts say? what was she being fed and how often?
how old do you think she is?
it's worth noting that good quality photos in plenty of natural light is nessessarry for assessment via internet.
ren

 

[Jarden]

Sounds abit small my coastals approx 1.5 meters at 13 months he / she is on rats between the weights of 80 - 100 grams

 

[TigerCoastal]

take a photo with reference to something we will recognise. what do her feeding charts say? what was she being fed and how often?
how old do you think she is?
it's worth noting that good quality photos in plenty of natural light is nessessarry for assessment via internet.
ren

Sorry to sound stupid but whats the easiest way to get a pic of her stretched out? have tried a couple of ways and have been tagged each time and she is starting to get stressed as she hasnt had alot of handling and if i put her down she goes for the closest hiding spot she can find.

Her feeding card goes back 2 years, but they didnt have any records of the age at which they got her, but they were unsure if she was a hatchling or not. In the first year that they had her she was fed monthly to the day, and she has been fed fortnightly for the last year. Everything that i have read so far says that you should feed more when they younger and slow down as they grow to adult size. I'm not sure of the meal size that she was getting but i am feeding her on rats (70-90g) and going off the feeding card she was gettin 1-2 mice or a small(?) rat for each feed.

 

[yommy]

Sorry to sound stupid but whats the easiest way to get a pic of her stretched out? have tried a couple of ways and have been tagged each time and she is starting to get stressed as she hasnt had alot of handling and if i put her down she goes for the closest hiding spot she can find.

Her feeding card goes back 2 years, but they didnt have any records of the age at which they got her, but they were unsure if she was a hatchling or not. In the first year that they had her she was fed monthly to the day, and she has been fed fortnightly for the last year. Everything that i have read so far says that you should feed more when they younger and slow down as they grow to adult size. I'm not sure of the meal size that she was getting but i am feeding her on rats (70-90g) and going off the feeding card she was gettin 1-2 mice or a small(?) rat for each feed.

put her on the ground against a wall and the usually strech out so to speak as they move along it. Easiest and safest way unless you like to feel the teeth

 

[TigerCoastal]

Cheers for that, here is a pic of her, its just a standard kitchen broom that she is next to for comparison, i tried to get as much natural light in the pic as i could but its hard in ballarat. I have included the second pic to show a closer view of her condition, its using artificial lighting though

 

[waruikazi]

It looks fine to me. And looks bigger than you say it is.

A friend of mine has a bredli from one of my clutches 4 years ago. Sher feeds it a mouse once a fortnight and the snake is only the size of a yearling. It looks healthy, bright eyed and sheds out regularly. There is nothing wrong with it just a little on the small side.

 

[Snake_Whisperer]

I have a coastal about that size and she's 3 years old. Nothing to be concerned about.

 

[Zoltag]

Dont worry about it, she loos in good condition. Upping her feed too much will cause her to get fat...

 

[TigerCoastal]

Thanks for that you all put my mind at ease, as the guy that i got her off was talkin about how to slow grow them, but he didnt say if he had been doing it or not, and as this is my first snake i wasnt sure and thought that i would get some opinions off people that have more experiance than me. I get her for the fact that she was a little smaller and calmer than the others as we have 4 kids that want to handle her. One other question i have is that i have her in a standard 3 foot enclosure and compared to the one she was in it is about double the size, and since getting her home she has got a little more snappy. I know she needs time to settle in but would the size of her enclosure be adding to her angst?