Jade's meal !

[GarterGuy17]

3697369836993700
I couldn't believe after a couple of hours with me she felt comfortable enough to eat ! I'm so Happy ! :D

[guidofatherof5]

That's great. What did you feed?

[GarterGuy17]

I fed her one small pink , cut in 2 half's. Had no problem at all feeding her.

[guidofatherof5]

Sounds good. Glad she's doing so well.
Nice job John and also Rhea.;)

[GarterGuy17]

Thank you means a lot coming from an expert like you. :) And a very special thanks to Rhea for jade !

[EasternGirl]

That's awesome...Okay, I see...you cut the pinky length wise...try cutting it the other way and cut it in thirds...cut off the head, then cut it off just above the rear...the smaller pieces will be easier for her to swallow. You can cut it before you thaw it and it won't be as gross to cut it if you want. ( Just a suggestion...). She looks like she really enjoyed it! That is so great that she ate for you...she must feel comfortable with you!

[guidofatherof5]

Thank you means a lot coming from an expert like you. :) And a very special thanks to Rhea for jade !

Oh, please.

x= has-been
spirt= what comes out of the end of a hose.

[GarterGuy17]

I actually did cut it before I thawed it so it wasnt so messy until it came out of the zip lock bag !

[GarterGuy17]

Oh, please.

x= has-been
spirt= what comes out of the end of a hose.

Well in no way was I trying to say you were a has-been so let me rephrase , Means a lot coming from a snake enthusiast such as yourself !

[EasternGirl]

Oh Steve knows that he is my snake guru! I always go to him with all of my important snakey matters. He knows we consider him very wise in these things.

[katach]

That is awesome! Congrats!! That first meal is always the best!

[GarterGuy17]

I think I didn't give her enough :(. The bulge wasn't that big and she ate with no problem at all. I still think I should try giving her more food next time. Like serve it and she eats until she doesn't want anymore. well Ill have to figure something out.

[katach]

If they are still young then the don't tend to know when to stop eating. If they get overfed it can cause problems and not to frighten you, but even death. Just feed until you see a bulge. I feed my baby who is 5mo old every 3days. Babies need to be fed more often because they use it for growth. My adult snakes that eat pinks get 2 pinkies once a week and the one that only eats worm get 2 worms every 4-5 days. I dust the worms with a vitamin powder every 3 feedings. They seem to be right on track with sheds that way. Everyone has their own preferred schedule for feeding though. You will get yours down soon.

[EasternGirl]

Kat is right John...that's what I was trying to say before. Overfeeding is very dangerous...it can kill a snake. It's better to underfeed than overfeed. You can't offer a snake food and let it eat until it won't eat anymore because many snakes won't stop eating...my Cee Cee is a pig and she would just keep eating until she was sick or worse. With babies, like Kat said, they don't know when to stop. And like she said, babies need to eat more often, which is why I suggested feeding her more than every 10 days...feed her one pinky every 5 days or the equivalent of one pinky every 5 days with fish and half a pinky...she will be fine with that amount of food. She won't go hungry...I promise :).

[GarterGuy17]

Even if I did have worms available I would have to introduce her to them Drache ( Rhea ) told me she tried but only ate pinks so I just have o see if she takes a liking to it.

[GarterGuy17]

Well now I definitely think I under fed her. I wake up this morning at 6 and go to her cage she had no bulge at all not even a little, does this mean she was under fed or she digested fast ?

[EasternGirl]

You gave her a whole pinky right? I'm wondering if maybe you aren't seeing the bulge right yet...sometimes it's hard at first...it isn't so much a bulge as it is that they just look a little fatter in the middle...you haven't had her long so it might be hard to distinguish the difference. She couldn't digest a pinky that fast...but one pinky is not underfeeding her. You get what we are saying about how dangerous it can be to overfeed her, John? We just don't want you to hurt her by feeding her too much. You absolutely will not hurt her by feeding her one pinky every 5 days...she will not starve. But if you feed her too much, it could hurt her. My big snake Cee Cee is almost 3 feet long and she eats 2-3 pinkies a week. Jade is much smaller. She is smaller than Seeley, I believe, and he eats one pinky at the most. I know you are being a worried father...and that is good. I totally understand...I do it all of the time myself...but trust us...we know what we are doing and we will not steer you wrong...I promise! Measure her tomorrow and tell me how long she is and we'll go from there. But I really think one pinky every five days is going to be good for now. In fact, it may be on the heavy side...especially if Rhea was feeding her every 10 days.

[GarterGuy17]

She was feeding every 10 days but that was before she stopped eating , and I dont have a real measure meant but when I look at her she looks almost about the size of my foot maybe an inch or 2 smaller I wear a size 12 so maybe about 9 or 10 inches might be 8 not completely sure. but I did notice that she looked like she grew in girth a bit maybe its the food she had yesterday. Other then that next feeding time im going to give her half a pink with some fish to see if she eats it. I'm always going to try to combine fish and pinks hopefully she takes it.

[katach]

Take a picture of her before and right after she has eaten. It's much easier to see the difference in girth. If you are only feeding pinks then I personally would go every 4-5 days between feeding. I'm guessing you are feeding the extra small pinkies? No need to use vitamin powder with pinkies in the diet. Are you keeping her active or is she still hiding and adjusting to her new home? Quantity and frequency of food also depends on activity level. Our snakes get out of tank time every day so their activity level is high, thus the 2 large pinks a week.

[GarterGuy17]

Well I sometimes make her speed away from me by putting my fingers behind her tail and she runs away shes still adjusting to everything i'm guessing but she does go around the tank unless she is in one of her hides. Other than that then not much.

[katach]

That sounds good. I personally would feed every 4-5 days with the whole pinkies. Maybe we could get some other forum members input though.

[EasternGirl]

By the looks of her and the length that you are guessing...I am thinking that she is about the size of Seeley around this time last year. And now he is about 2 feet long but not a whole lot bigger around and I still only feed him about one pinky's worth of food a week, if that. In fact, I used to feed him every two weeks. Now, granted, he is not a big eater...but Jade is still pretty small. I still think she will be good with one pinky's worth of food about every five days...but Kat is right...maybe we could get some input from other members...

[GarterGuy17]

That's what I will do then , so like every 4-5 days meaning Thursday or Friday. Hopefully she accepts fish :(

[EasternGirl]

What kind of fish are you going to feed? Your family has a seafood store right? Get Alaskan wild-caught salmon, or American wild-caught tilapia...those are good choices...cut it up into little pieces like I told you and cut the pinky half in little pieces and mix it all together and put it on a little dish for her...make sure to take her out of the tank or lay a towel down over the substrate so she doesn't drag it off the dish into the bedding. Get some of the pinky blood and guts (sorry!) on the fish if you can...that should work.

[GarterGuy17]

What kind of fish are you going to feed? Your family has a seafood store right? Get Alaskan wild-caught salmon, or American wild-caught tilapia...those are good choices...cut it up into little pieces like I told you and cut the pinky half in little pieces and mix it all together and put it on a little dish for her...make sure to take her out of the tank or lay a towel down over the substrate so she doesn't drag it off the dish into the bedding. Get some of the pinky blood and guts (sorry!) on the fish if you can...that should work.

I can handle it my stomach isn't weak :D had no problem cutting it in half on sunday !

[EasternGirl]

Okay good...some people have a hard time with it. It doesn't bother me either. It takes some serious, serious gore to gross me out. Plus my view on the matter is..if you are going to have a snake as a pet, then you do what you have to do to feed it. I would never have a snake if it had to have live rodents because I could not feed live rodents...but therefore, I would not get the pet in the first place. Of course if my snakes suddenly had to have live rodents to live...that would be a different story...you also do what you have to do for your pet. If you get what I mean...it's late..I'm babbling...lol.

[tress29]

now he is about 2 feet long but not a whole lot bigger around and I still only feed him about one pinky's worth of food a week, if that.And don't forget that pinkies come indifferent sizes too. A large pinky is probably the same as two smalls...

[GarterGuy17]

I feed small pinks and both tilapia and salmon. Just Ill feed her this thursday and see how she likes it.

[EasternGirl]

Yeah...Theresa has a point, John. You may actually be able to feed her a little more if you are feeding small pinkies. If you are going to give her a combo of the pinkies and the fish...try giving her half a small pinky and enough fish to equal about a pinky's worth of food..so you are giving her a total amount of about a pinky and a half....if you can look at the fish and try to judge that by looking at it. Then see if you notice her looking a little fatter after she eats.

[GarterGuy17]

I did notice the next day even my sister said she looked bigger so I guess she ate well enough. Today I went And picked up 2 fillets 1 salmon and 1 tilapia for her hopefully she eats it :confused:

[EasternGirl]

It's been pointed out to me by Steve that farm raised is okay to buy and that you can't get wild-caught tilapia...just make sure to buy U.S. fish. It may take a couple of tries before she eats it, John...if she doesn't right away, don't be discouraged. It took me a while to get my easterns to go from eating nothing but worms to fish and pinkies too. It took a couple of tries before Hermes, my albino checkered would try fish.

[GarterGuy17]

what happens if she eats wild caught tilapia ?

[EasternGirl]

Steve said there is no such thing. It's all farm-raised. That's what I meant. Sorry for the confusion. I reread what I wrote and saw how it appeared.

[GarterGuy17]

So this means that all salmon and tilapia are safe for them to eat right ?

[guidofatherof5]

I don't believe there is any U.S. farm raised tilapia or wild caught U.S. tilapia.

[GarterGuy17]

So tilapia is a no go ? but salmon is fine ?

[guidofatherof5]

I use tilapia but make sure I buy if from a fresh(never frozen)seafood counter.
I don't buy frozen fish of any kind for my snakes.

[EasternGirl]

Okay..now I am confused...so the tilapia is just not from the U.S. is what you are saying? Yes, John...tilapia is fine...just make sure it is fresh. Always buy fresh fish...I always buy fresh fish from a seafood counter or seafood store as well. And I feed wild-caught Alaskan salmon to my snakes too. I always buy it fresh from the seafood counter and I freeze whatever I do not use. Then I thaw it as needed. I buy small pieces and use it for a couple of months and then I buy a fresh piece.

[guidofatherof5]

I don't know of or have ever seen any U.S. farm raised tilapia.
Remember I'm in Iowa. Can't say we're known for our fish markets.

[GarterGuy17]

Well as I said before I have my family's market everything is fresh nothing frozen , They fillet the fish themselves so pretty sure its trust worthy :)

[EasternGirl]

Yep...I think you're good to go on fish ;). Now you just have to convince your family to let you make a two hour drive once a month to bring me fresh fish from your shop...:D. J/k...

[GarterGuy17]

Lol Imagine , even so I dont drive at the moment :D

[EasternGirl]

;)

[tress29]

Now you just have to convince your family to let you make a two hour drive once a month to bring me fresh fish from your shop...Maybe you could meet in the middle and trade worms for fish!

[EasternGirl]

Right? I was thinking...I have a friend who lives in NYC...she comes to DE sometimes, but somehow I think I would have a very hard time convincing her to take a bunch of worms home with her and dropping them off to John! Lol....I can just imagine that conversation...ha ha...she is not a snake person!

[tress29]

I think I would have a very hard time convincing her to take a bunch of worms home with her and dropping them off to John!It's not like she'd have to touch the worms! How hard could it be to hand over a plastic bag with a tub of worms in it?

[EasternGirl]

I think it would be more of how to go about having the conversation in the first place and convincing her that I am not completely nuts for asking her to take worms to someone. You have to remember, Theresa, we are talking about non-snake people here...they don't think like we do. She already thinks I'm nuts because I have snakes. Now if I called her up and said "Hey...would you mind picking up some worms and taking them to a friend of mine for his snakes?"...she'd probably do it...but she would think I had gone over to the bad place....lol. She would probably give me a lecture about needing to get out more and needing a healthy hobby and so forth...ha ha.