really confused about feeding schedule

[cornonthecobsnake]

I need some major advice! My Corn is a little over one year, and I have had him since he was a baby. Anyways, I have been feeding him once a week since te very beginning, and he always eats, and then chills out for a few days, and then reappears when he gets hungry and roams the cage. Well, right now I am feeding him hoppers, and im not sure if i need to move up a mouse size or not. The last few times i fed him he has been acting like he's still hungry! He is still "hunting" and does not go to the UTH for a few days like he used to. When i put him back in the cage he is definitely in "hunting" mode. Should I move up a mouse size, or feed him 2 hoppers, or keep feeding him one hopper?? I don't have a gram scale so I can't weigh him, but the hoppers definitely are 1.5x my snake's belly width, so I thought one a week would be fine. Any help would be much appreciated!

[fatman]

I would double his food as it seems it's not enough what he's getting now! It wont hurt him!

[bitsy]

The last few times i fed him he has been acting like he's still hungry! He is still "hunting" and does not go to the UTH for a few days like he used to. When i put him back in the cage he is definitely in "hunting" mode. Should I move up a mouse size, or feed him 2 hoppers, or keep feeding him one hopper??
Hunting behaviour immediately after eating is a natural instinct - it doesn't mean that he's hungry or actually needs any more.

Having said that, there are a couple of guides as to when to try increasing food. The first is that the food should leave a visible bulge in his body immediately after swallowing. The second is that the bulge should remain visible for around 48 hours after eating.

So basically, don't trust his behaviour - it will lead you astray. You have to make that decision for him. If the food doesn't leave a bulge when swallowed, or the bulge goes down sooner than 48 hours after eating, *then* it's time to try the next food size up. *Not* when he decides to "look hungry". That's just nature telling him to find food while he can because the next meal isn't guaranteed., when in fact it is definitely guaranteed.

You're right that the food you offer should be about 1.5 times the girth of the snake's body (not the head or the neck immediately behind the head). If you think that the "Bulge Gauge" means he should go up and the next size up seems bigger than that, try two of whatever he's eating at the moment until he's big enough for the next size up.

Remember to reduce the frequency of feeding as you increase food size/amount. Digestion of larger items takes longer (especially when you start them on things with proper fur and larger bones) and you want to avoid overfeeding.

[cobained]

i know a lot of people don't weigh their snakes, but i've found the $15 walmart gram scale to be really useful to have around. when snakes are growing so fast it's hard to always know what the right size prey is...i've often caught myself way underestimating what they can eat. so a scale is really a good investment, and then you can always check the munson plan if you're not sure what to feed.

[cornonthecobsnake]

Thanks a tone for the advice guys! Yea, maybe ill invest in a scale just to be sure, i would feel terrible if I overfed him and he got hurt

[cornonthecobsnake]

Ok, so I fed my Corn a large hopper on monday. It had been 2 days, and the food bump is gone (completely!) and he is hunting. Is it normal for the bump to be gone this fast??

[Gungirl]

Yes 2 days is normal...

[Naagas]

Remember that underfeeding is better than overfeeding.

Bitsy said it all up there.

Two days is normal :-)

[hetfeildfan]

my girl gets fed every five days and I think she hunts more after her meal than she does before I feed her. And she gets plenty to eat.

[Naagas]

^^^ Very true! Mine go into 'feeding frenzy' mode after eating.

[Definitions]

I have a 7 month old thats 115 grams I just weighed her. I she is on hoppers and I have been going by the Munson plan but haven't had the time to weigh her hee lately. Should I move up a prey size sinc the Munson plan says a weanling should be fed at 91 to 170 grams. The hoppers I have are a decent size and I think they are about the same size girth as she is. I thought about going 2 hoppers every 7 days what do you think about that? I didn't wanna feed 2 at one time though. Can I split the feedings up between days like 1 every 3 days?

[Definitions]

I do 1 hopper every five days at the moment.

[Dreamsnake]

I do 1 hopper every five days at the moment.

Isn't that over feeding? I give my '10 a hopper every seven days; he was 105 grams last weigh in.

[Definitions]

To be honest I don't know. That's why im posting.

[Asbit]

Definition, each snake grows and gains at different rates so comparing your snake to Dreamsnake's is not the way to know if you are feeding an appropriate amount. For example I have 16 snakes here and I have two groups of two that were born at the same time. I use the same feeding plan(Munson) for all of my snakes and in both of those different pairs the snakes have grown to different weights and lengths. Pair number #1 have Zeus and Hera, both born at the same time and fed the same and Zeus is 215 gms and Hera is 168 gms. Pair number 2 from another clutch are Thanatos and Athena, Thanatos is 98 gms and Athena is 81 gms. I have only one snake who is not fed on the Munson plan and that is because her metabolism is quite fast and if she is not fed larger meals or on a 5 days cycle she looses weight and becomes to thin.

Having said the above, you definitely do not want to be feeding every 3 days, it will not allow enough time for proper digestion and for the snake to build up enough digestive enzymes between meals (they use up a store of enzymes to digest a meal and then have to produce a new store for the next meal, they do not always have them handy like us), thus leading to a regurge.

I noticed you said the hoppers you are feeding about the same girth as the snake, you can safely feed a prey item that is 1.5 times the girth of your snake, so feel free in moving up to weanlings so long as you pick out ones that are no larger than 1.5 times the girth of your snake. Or you can just feed two hoppers, but you did state you do not want to do that.