Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

[Lynne]

wait a minute? how the hell does a snake give you a starving 'look'?
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[Bazzer]

Hi Lynne,

If you over feed at a younger age, then yes they may pack on the weight, but is more beneficial in the long run, if you feed them moderately as they will inevitably be better breeders in the future.

I'm reading a book by Vincent Russo and although it is based on Boas, it will inevitably be just the same, if not more, beneficial for BP's. It says that overfeeding can result in trouble down the road and he says he's seen it before where the new owner proceeds to feed them as much as they will eat with the snake reaching breeding weight much sooner. This results in smaller litters and some (if not all) infertile ova produced. Basically then, because the snake loses weight, the weight is piled back on, rather than thinking of the muscle mass she needs.

In summary, over feeding them will put on weight, but they need to be in a proper feeding cycle in order that the weight they put on from the fat content can be turned to muscle mass.

Going back to Vincent Russo, he states that they grow more when you don't feed them. Why? The metabolism slows when food is in short supply, so the animal starts to store energy. When storing energy, muscle mass is gained, which is the key in getting the female into breeding mode.

I can vouch for this through my own experience with my male, Ghana. He went right off food for several weeks between about July and September, at a weight of about 800g - 900g. I got him feeding again with a small prey item, about half the size of his girth, once a week. Soon he was back feeding regularly and within a month of him having one rat per week no bigger than his girth, he was piling on the weight and is one muscular dude. He-s 1400 - 1500g now. IMO you don't need loads of food for them to get big.
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[Lynne]

well i wondered bazzer. cause no way would ghana, my spider, be able to down 2 weaners. so i will just stick to my feeding regime. one weaner every 6 days.
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[Bazzer]

You hve a spider called Ghana?
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[Lynne]

oh look. we both have males called ghana. i was advised by a guy who breeds that by overfeeding and breeding too young, you can shorten their lifespan.
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[Lynne]

[johonny]

[Bazzer]

That's exactly what I heard too. 'Ghana' cool name. lol.

One weaner every 6 days sounds enough to me. basically I stick to one rat just smaller than their girth once a week.
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[Bazzer]

cheers Johonny
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[Lynne]

what is your 'ghana'.
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