hopper to adult

[davina]

hello!

our snake zeus regured for the first time after we fed him an adult mouse. he usually eats a hopper every 10-15 days. he ate it fairly quickly, so i didn't think size was a problem (although after eating you can see the lump in his stomach). i'm not sure how old he is but zeus is about 35" long.

the day after feeding him, he pooped more than usual, and on the 2nd day he regurged. ambient temps on the hot side is around 75-80, but he's also got a UTM for his hide on the hot side. we always feed him in a box with live hoppers.

we'll try feeding him again after 10 days with a hopper. maybe we'll try feeding him a hopper a week, before attempting to move him up to an adult. any suggestions?

--dv

[CAV]

Initially, I'd say that your temps are too low. Since he kept it down for two days, chances are it just wasn't getting digested fast enough, likely due to the chilly temps. What is the cool side temps and what exactly are you measuring when you say "ambient"? The surface temp in the center of the heated area is what you'r concerned with.

On a seperate note, a hopper every two weeks isn't enough food for a snake that big. A meal every 7-10 days is optimal and a 35" snake should have been on adult mice long ago.

[davina]

cav-

we have a stick on guage, on the hot side, between the top and bottom of cage on the back wall. not sure what the temps are on the cool side, but i'd guess around 60-65 (it's been cold here lately)

the hot side is heated with a red bulb above and a UTM beneath the hide where he spends most of his time.

i'll try a hopper a week and see how he responds. maybe his digestive system is not used to disgesting an adult, despite his size.

--dv

[Joejr14]

Stick on therms are terrible.

Hit up walmart and get a digital one for $8.

[CAV]

You need to get a digital model with a probe OR an IR temp reader (Radio Shack sells them).

One of the no-debate husbandry rules is "know your temps". It is entirely possible that the surface temps are much warmer than you think since you're using both a UTH and bulb. Too much heat can actuallu can just as unhealthy for the snake as too little. :)

[Missie]

some may beg to differ... but I still feed my 3 1/2 foot female corn a large hopper once a week. although she is this big and just over 1 years old, she is still really thin, so I think she'd regurge a small mouse, the ones ive seen are way larger than her, so i prefer to give her just the one hopper a week.

i even tried to give her 2 hoppers thinking she wasnt getting enough food and she will only eat the one, so im going to wait for her body to get a bit thicker before i move her to mice.

i also get a lot of frowns when ppl find out how big my lil girl is... i get things like .. omg u must be overfeeding her and omg this and omg that.
my girl is completely healthy and problem free, and she just grew a lot quicker than a lot of the corns out there, so things are all good

[TrpnBils]

Same with mine. When I got him, he was about 34 or 35" and the breeder said he was on one hopper a week. I don't know if that was a maintenance diet or what, but I've since upped him to 2 hoppers every 6 days, so what your snake gets is somewhat variable, but 1 hopper every 10 days more than likely isn't enough.

[CAV]

Missie, I've posted a response on your other thread regarding this subject. Snake get thin because they don't get enough calories to meet daily requirements and has nothing to do with "powerfeeding". I'm not trying to point a finger, just stating fact. :)

[davina]

You need to get a digital model with a probe OR an IR temp reader (Radio Shack sells them).

One of the no-debate husbandry rules is "know your temps". It is entirely possible that the surface temps are much warmer than you think since you're using both a UTH and bulb. Too much heat can actuallu can just as unhealthy for the snake as too little. :)

we have digital one, but it went in the boa cage. zeus will be getting one soon! thanks for the tips.

--dv

[davina]

You need to get a digital model with a probe OR an IR temp reader (Radio Shack sells them).

One of the no-debate husbandry rules is "know your temps". It is entirely possible that the surface temps are much warmer than you think since you're using both a UTH and bulb. Too much heat can actuallu can just as unhealthy for the snake as too little. :)

i picked up a digital indoor/outdoor thermo from radio shack today. i placed the thermo on the cool side and ran the probe inside the hot side hide. i was surprised to find the temps way too high!!! i turned off the red lamp, and re-checked the temps after about 30 mins. the reading in the hide was 81* and the cool side at 70*.

the high temp is one factor that caused zeus to regurge. i guess he was able to tolerate the temps after eating just a hopper, but an adult was just too much for him in the high heat. now i'm wondering if the step up from a hopper to adult was another factor. after waiting 10 days from the day he regurged, should i proceed with another adult, or step back to a hopper?

lately, he's been hiding out in a tube that runs between the hot and cold side. i know he has been moving around because i can see the displaced substrate, and poop! is it OK to pick him up after a week from regurge???

thanks for the insights!

--dv

[Joejr14]

i picked up a digital indoor/outdoor thermo from radio shack today. i placed the thermo on the cool side and ran the probe inside the hot side hide. i was surprised to find the temps way too high!!! i turned off the red lamp, and re-checked the temps after about 30 mins. the reading in the hide was 81* and the cool side at 70*.

the high temp is one factor that caused zeus to regurge. i guess he was able to tolerate the temps after eating just a hopper, but an adult was just too much for him in the high heat. now i'm wondering if the step up from a hopper to adult was another factor. after waiting 10 days from the day he regurged, should i proceed with another adult, or step back to a hopper?

lately, he's been hiding out in a tube that runs between the hot and cold side. i know he has been moving around because i can see the displaced substrate, and poop! is it OK to pick him up after a week from regurge???

thanks for the insights!

--dv


No, stick with a hopper for this next meal, and then try to find a small adult for his next meal.