Over/Power-Feeding
 

Since i joined the online reptile community for about a year ago, i've heard about people over/power-feeding their animals to get them breeding earlier.. Now i want to know what is considered power-feeding over normal feeding.. What i know of, normal feeding is about once a week for corns up to 2 years, then every 10th day or so.. and then every 14th day.. Then what do the power-feeders do?

There's no exact science (that I know of, at least) to what exactly is power feeding, but basically, feeding more than would be considered normal/healthy to speed up the growth process would be power feeding, in my book. Say for example feeding every 3 or 4 days for a hatchling/yearling, instead of the more accepted 5 to 7 day interval.

That would be my quess as well, but still want to hear more oppinions ;)

Is power feeding ever acceptable, like if the snake is very thin from double clutching or after an illness?

I such a situation i would seperate male from female, and slowly get her weight up again.

Feeding every 3 or 4 days for a hatchling is perfectly fine, assuming the snake is thriving well. For a yearling, every 5 to 7 days is advisable.

Unfortunately, my own take on the term 'Power Feeding' is that it is a red flag, to alert me that I am dealing with someone with limited information and experience. Powerfeeding originally meant putting another feeder item in the snake's mouth, before it has finished swallowing the first prey item, forcing it to eat multiple prey items. Now the word has been adopted by others who have redefined it to mean anybody who feeds their snake more than once a week. When you understand that it is normal for hatchlings to eat more frequently, you can't rationally apply such a rule. In Kathy Love's book, she says 2 TO 3 TIMES PER WEEK is normal for a young hatchling. If someone feeds excessive amounts and/or too often, why not just say that?? I for one will reseve the use of Powerfeeding for its original, intended meaning. I guess 'Overfeeding' just doesn't sound dramatic enough for some people.

Adults can be fed every 7 to 10 days or even less frequently, so it's obviously not a 'one size fits all' type of situation, as far as how often to feed. Snakes also eat more in the spring and summer, which is often when people are feeding young hatchlings. Snakes may not want to eat at all in the winter. All of this needs to be kept in mind. Forget you ever heard the term 'power feeding' and you'll be better off.

Yes sir, capitan. My apologies for breathing the same air as you :bowdown:

You know, I'll never understand the point of responding to a thread just to try and make yourself look so much better than everyone else. Sorry, I may be fairly new, but I've done tons of reading and research and have come across the term "power feeding" many many times and used by people with plenty of experience. I may be low on the experience end, but I consider myself fairly well-versed on the information end.

I think this sums it up. From what I've seen in my own collection, you could be feeding two snakes at the same rate and simultaneously be underfeeding one and overfeeding the other. I've also seen some snakes that love HUGE food items, and others that easily gurge if the item is even a little bigger than normal.

There is simply no rule you can apply to all cornsnakes. They are all individuals, and IMO the best policy is to get to know each individual's preferred feeding pace and food size (which will change as they grow and mature) and do your best to match those parameters for them. In larger collections that can be difficult, so a lot of people try to find a happy medium.

But just because you've found what works for you doesn't mean that everyone who feeds more than you is powerfeeding and/or harming their snakes, nor that anyone who is feeding less than you is starving and/or harming their snakes.

There seems to be an air of this type of "I have THE ONLY answer" (to questions that do not have clear or absolute answers) attitude growing on the forums lately... :-puke01:

As i wrote..
Thanks for the useful information you gave, but i didnt ask for the origin of the title.. And i did write Power/Over-Feeding..

Im not asking for an precise answer, just what people do when they make their snakes grow faster than if fed in the "normal"(the way all the caresheets tells) way.

Do they feed more often, less bigger items, more small items, mice/rats etc..