Snake Obesity?

[d_virginiana]

I've heard a lot of people talking about the problems that can come from having an obese snake, but since Houdini has always been more on the lean side I have no clue what an obese snake would even look like! I also probably couldn't recognize a snake that was too thin until it got really bad.

Just wondering if anyone has any pictures of overweight/underweight/normal snakes that they could put up for comparison purposes?

[EasternGirl]

I think this is a really good idea for a thread.

[chris-uk]

OK, here's one for starters. I took a picture 2 days ago of Lightning and Bethan together. Bethan is our non-eating (well little eating) checkered, Lightning is her sister and will eat everything that is offered to her (and has on occasions managed to sneak up on the tongs and steal food were offering to Esk or Binky).

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Yes, those two are sisters, both born on 2 August. Lightning is on a restricted feeding plan (we're not giving her as much as she begs for) and an exercise plan because we think she's a bit porky. Bethan is certainly under weight.

[infernalis]

One thing I have been giving a lot of thought to is fat content in diet.

Pinkies contain fatty tissues that fish/worms and amphibians simply do not have.

I know other colubrids consume exclusively rodents, it's that train of thinking that makes people immediately assume that Thamnophis should also thrive on this same rodent diet.

I'd love to see a study done to determine if garter snakes consuming exclusively rodent diets are any "fatter" than snakes fed a more natural fish/phib/worm diet.

[chris-uk]

But also consider that some of the fish fillets we feed our snakes on are relatively fatty fish - I'm sure salmon is a fattier fish than their natural diet.
It would be an interesting study though. You'd need a couple of snakes of same species, similar starting size, and, age-wise probably around a year old so that they are still growing reasonably quickly (I wouldn't want to use young snakes because I'd want to know they were otherwise healthy and feeding well). I'd imagine you would see some results after a couple of months.

[EasternGirl]

My snakes lived on salmon and trout for many months because it was all that I could get them to eat. They decided that they were having nothing to do with worms or pinkies for a while...neither one of them look obese. In fact, Seely is rather on the small side...now mind you he is not a very big eater...I only fed them a plate of fish each once a week or once every other week though because they were not very hearty eaters. Now that Cee Cee is eating like a pig...if I fed her fatty fish as much as she wants to eat...she may actually show signs of obesity. Seely is a little over a year old and I have no idea how old Cee Cee is.

[infernalis]

When I feed the trout, I do innclude some of the skin and fatty tissues found just inder the skin, Never dissected a minnow or guppy to see how much fat is in there, I may just have to do that now.