Overweight????

[Snake lover 3-25]

so.... i think some.... 2 wow that's sad... half my collection... well quite frankly... they're fat.... but i don't want to brumate them..... both are good eaters... too good lol :o but i've only had sooty since april and i really am not comfortable putting her down.... :( so what should i do??? it's really strange too...... bc sooty was deathly thin when i found her.... and she was preggers......:rolleyes: so....???????

[ssssnakeluvr]

if the scales are separated long after eating...then they are overweight....need to cut back on the feedings.

[adamanteus]

I agree.... if they're overweight you risk shortening their lives. Cut back Shanley.

[Snake lover 3-25]

ok so how do i do that???? how much should i feed them??? sooty always feels kinda squishy and i can pretty much always see her skin...... i think it's just bc they're lazy....... but i need to get tilapia....... i was trying to fatten her up...... but not this much lol:o

[adamanteus]

I would cut their intake by half.... or brumate them.

[Lori P]

Can you post pics so we can see if they really are fat? It would be a good learning experience for me, too, especially with these Florida Blues who eat like every meal is their last!!

[ssssnakeluvr]

once a week feedings are enough for adults...

[Snake lover 3-25]

lol ok pics'll come soon.......

i've only been feeding them once a week i SWEAR!!!!!
too many/fat filled pinks??? idk.... but i'll cut feedings by half:D thanks:D

[ssssnakeluvr]

how big are the snakes and how much are you feeding each????

[infernalis]

A couple things Shanley.

I know there must be a "Save A Lot" store in your area, they have Tilapia fillets cheap. "Dollar foods" has a package with 2 small fillets for a buck.

Recently found 4oz fillets of Keta Salmon for a dollar as well.

Secondly, if Sooty is as big as she looks in the photos you have posted before, small hopper mice will be better than pinkies, Pinkies contain more fat and the stomaches are full of mouse milk (High in fat) thats the white circle in the pinks belly area, mouse milk;)

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Secondly, if Sooty is as big as she looks in the photos you have posted before, small hopper mice will be better than pinkies, Pinkies contain more fat and the stomaches are full of mouse milk (High in fat) thats the white circle in the pinks belly area, mouse milk;)


Funny I should say... when I am cutting up pinies for the babies... I always have fed that part separate... and the snakes seem to really dig it!!


the other is the liver... not sure why but my snakes enjoy liver! We even went catfishing earlier in the summer and we use chicken liver... well when we were finished we had all this grimy chicken liver left over that we obviously were not going to eat... and sure enough my garters went CRAZY for that.... even though it was new even the most finicky of snakes ate!

[GartersRock]

My garters and ribbons LUV chicken liver!! :D:D

[Loren]

For the most part, my adult garters get one meal a week max if they are in good condition. Some get stretched to 2 weeks at times, if they look fat enough. I feed more by looks/condition than by schedule, when it comes to non-breeding adult reptiles in general- even though I do still have a schedule. They typically get just one appropriatly sized rodent per feeding.

[Snake lover 3-25]

i've been feeding her 2 hoppers each feeding.... but i don't even really feed them once a week.... that's what's strange to me..... i fed them once every ten days or more???? so should i cut it down to one hopper on the same time schedule???

[drache]

since I've been more conscious of my overfeeding problem, I've been paying much better attention, and I've come to the conclusion that even at the same approximate size and within the same species, snakes have differing metabolic rates, and when fed the same, one might get fat, while the other doesn't
I'm still trying to find my balance with the feeding, but I am learning that paying attention to the snakes works better for me than a regimented schedule

[Snake lover 3-25]

yeah.... i think maybe i'm feeding them all too much but meadow skips a bunch of meals so it doesn't matter for her..... i'll just feed the others less each feeding.....