What contributes to weight gain....

Today was weigh in day at my house and I noticed something I dont really understand.

Two snakes in particular, same age, on the same diet (Munson Plan) after two weeks, one gained 8 grams and one only gained 3.........their eating on the same days, same sized, same weight prey........Why is one gaining more then the other at a faster rate?


Is it just genetics?

Another member on this site and myself both have snakes bought from the same breeder, from the same parents and from the same clutch.

It was interesting because as of a few months ago, his was twice the weight of mine. I would say genetics are certainly playing a role...even in siblings. Why am I taller than my brother who is 6 years older than me???

Regards,
Steve

I would say that it is probably a combination of things. One would be genetics- I'm 110 lbs. and 5'3", and my brother I think is around 200 lbs and is 5'11.5". The same would apply to snakes, whether it's if one has the gene for a longer/shorter body or if it's the amount of enzymes the genes order to be produced to digest food. (If that makes sense.)

Another could also be the Butterfly Effect. While seemingly getting the same food, same scheduled treatment, there could be very minor differences among it. It's entirely possible these minor changes that we would normally overlook can effect the outcome of weight gain. Say one mouse is 4g and the other is 4.5g. We wouldn't normally look at that, but if the snake who got the 4.5g mouse keeps getting the minutely larger mice, it could easily effect how much it gains weight.

Thirdly is personalities (in a way) and excersize. If one snake is more active, it's way more likely to have less weight gain than one who mainly hides all day and night. Being handled also is a part of this, as handling is like sports practice in that it forces excersize on the snake.

There are probably many, many other factors such as enviornment, etc. that I'm not going into right now. It really is hard to tell, because there ARE so many different possible causes. Just my input.

Thanks for your responses.


Its just weird.....the one who is always out, climbing and getting exercise is the one who is fatter. The other is an Amel who is always in her cave. The smaller one, I even bumped her size up, to the point of 48 hours later I can still see the bump, after 3 days its gone.....still, she is just slowly putting on weight.


The only difference is the fatter one is an animal when it comes to eating, she strikes, coils and drags it around, and the one who is skinny is a pain to get to eat, 2 hours in a deli cup it takes..........I dont see how thatd make a difference though because even though it takes more time and she isnt as into it, she is still eating same size, same day, every 5-6 days.


Weird.

Stress can be a factor. The fact that the one that is gaining weight slower, is also taking longer to eat, there may be a outside stress variable. If it were me, I would check the enclosure just to make sure everything is within the correct ranges. If so, I wouldnt worry too much since she is eating. I would just keep feeding her according to the "Munson Plan". Also, just to be sure, I would check her enclosure closely just to make sure there have been no hidden regurges, the next time you have her out feeding her.

Rich in KY said:

Stress can be a factor. The fact that the one that is gaining weight slower, is also taking longer to eat, there may be a outside stress variable. If it were me, I would check the enclosure just to make sure everything is within the correct ranges. If so, I wouldnt worry too much since she is eating. I would just keep feeding her according to the "Munson Plan". Also, just to be sure, I would check her enclosure closely just to make sure there have been no hidden regurges, the next time you have her out feeding her.

Click to expand...

I have the probe suction cupped to the glass and the warm side reads 82......its usually between 82 and 84.....but shes on the other side in her hide....my room is warm during the day when Im at work so thats probably why.


This is my picky one, currently only eating chicken broth mice. She stopped eating for me in Feb, and I got her to start eating again with the broth.....she was real excited over eating after that, it seems the fun in broth has worn off though. And unless she is in a tiny tiny cup with the mouse she'll be totally distracted.


My other ones can be on a football field with a mouse and theyd find it.

I would continue doing what your doing to get her to eat.

Maybe, if you feel it is safe for both snakes, try switching the enclosures. You may be able to see if there is a stress factor in her enclosure.