Hi guys,
My girlfriend and I bought our first snakes together in May this year. We each got a Coastal Carpet Python, supposedly from the same hatch (feb 08 ). Mine is a male called Mr Squiggles and hers is a female called Evie.
My snake, Squiggles, has been growing at a rapid rate, and is a keen feeder - only refused to eat once and that was for about 5 hours. He is roughly 100cm long and developing quickly.
My girlfriends snake, Evie, has been a bit more of a fussy feeder, maybe refusing 1 of 4 feeds, but does eventually eat. Evie is only about 50cm, roughly half the size of her brother, and doesnt seem to be growing very fast. We're not sure if we are underfeeding her, but we feed her the same amount as Squiggles, at her size - usually 1 - 2 pinkie rats. We're getting a little worried as one snake is growing rapidly, and the other seems to be developing a lot slower.
Is this normal from snake to snake, or should they be growing at a similar rate? We should probably mention that they live in the same enclosure, but are separated at feeding and tend to keep to their own territory in the cage. Although soon we will get another cage as Squiggles will probably grow out of it soon, or will possibly become aggressive as he gets older and more territorial. They have all the mod cons that most snake houses do, heat mat, heat lamps and thermastat with a temp gradient in the cage from 28 - 22c, hides, water bowl etc.
We're a bit clueless as to what the problem could be, if any? We love our snakes and want to look after them as best we can. Thanks in advance for the help.
Mike and Amy.
My girlfriend and I bought our first snakes together in May this year. We each got a Coastal Carpet Python, supposedly from the same hatch (feb 08 ). Mine is a male called Mr Squiggles and hers is a female called Evie.
My snake, Squiggles, has been growing at a rapid rate, and is a keen feeder - only refused to eat once and that was for about 5 hours. He is roughly 100cm long and developing quickly.
My girlfriends snake, Evie, has been a bit more of a fussy feeder, maybe refusing 1 of 4 feeds, but does eventually eat. Evie is only about 50cm, roughly half the size of her brother, and doesnt seem to be growing very fast. We're not sure if we are underfeeding her, but we feed her the same amount as Squiggles, at her size - usually 1 - 2 pinkie rats. We're getting a little worried as one snake is growing rapidly, and the other seems to be developing a lot slower.
Is this normal from snake to snake, or should they be growing at a similar rate? We should probably mention that they live in the same enclosure, but are separated at feeding and tend to keep to their own territory in the cage. Although soon we will get another cage as Squiggles will probably grow out of it soon, or will possibly become aggressive as he gets older and more territorial. They have all the mod cons that most snake houses do, heat mat, heat lamps and thermastat with a temp gradient in the cage from 28 - 22c, hides, water bowl etc.
We're a bit clueless as to what the problem could be, if any? We love our snakes and want to look after them as best we can. Thanks in advance for the help.
Mike and Amy.
