fat snake

[Ruth89]

I'm pretty sure my snake is getting fat. I only feed him once a week; he eats fuzzies. He is pretty round. It kind of looks like he has hips but then again, he hasnt pooped yet since I fed him last thursday.

should i be feed him less?

[bitsy]

Sounds like it. There aren't any hard and fast "rules" for feeding - what works for one will cause another to put on weight and might leave a different snake underweight. They're individual so you can tweak the feeding regime as necessary.

In your case I'd try going down to one fuzzy every ten days, but don't be surprised if it takes a while to see any weight loss. It's unusual for a youngster to get chubby on one fuzzy a week, but it can happen. Metabolism can be a very individual thing.

[Dreamsnake]

Get a scale and weight him so you know for sure. Than you can compare him to others of the same age group. He may get really long after the next shed. Or he may be backed up and have a large poo waiting for you. Are you sure you have a boy, females are typically larger?

[Ruth89]

He is just over 6 months old but he is about 19 inches. He was growing really fast, so I also thought that maybe he is just filling out but I just looked at his ventral and he is pretty squishy (for lack of a better adjective). I'll try feeding every 10 days.

Thanks for the help!

[Ruth89]

I asked the breeder and he is positive its a male. he last shed on Nov 22. I have been keeping track, he has shed roughly every 4 to 5 weeks and last I measured he averaged growth of about an inch a week.

[bitsy]

Wow! He has quite a growth rate. Sounds like gearing back the feeding won't do any harm. Shedding every 4-5 weeks is what I'd expect from a new hatchling.

Just to put your mind at rest, I don't think there was anything wrong with your original feeding regime in theory, but your fella is quite the exception to the rule. He really is built for speed!