Fasting

[Kilala]

My friend has an anery corn that's about 6 months old. Circumstances have made him unable to feed it for a couple of weeks. He gave it 3/4 of a rat fuzzie (couldn't swallow the whole thing) on the 15th to prepare for this. But even before the rat, because of these circumstances he's been really late with feedings for the past month. He will be able to resume normal feedings very soon. The corn doesn't look too skinny. He's been trying to help it conserve energy by not handling except when necessary. He also put it in a quiet room with temperature around the mid 70's. Will this stunt the corn's growth?

 

[jaxom1957]

My friend has an anery corn that's about 6 months old. Circumstances have made him unable to feed it for a couple of weeks. He gave it 3/4 of a rat fuzzie (couldn't swallow the whole thing) on the 15th to prepare for this. But even before the rat, because of these circumstances he's been really late with feedings for the past month. He will be able to resume normal feedings very soon. The corn doesn't look too skinny. He's been trying to help it conserve energy by not handling except when necessary. He also put it in a quiet room with temperature around the mid 70's. Will this stunt the corn's growth?

In the long term, probably not, assuming the snake was in good health to begin with. Corn snakes are very resilient. Such periods of fasting should, however, be kept to a minimum.

 

[Kilala]

Oh definitely. He says he's got to do it once a year, apparently his whole family does this fasting thing. The pets go through with it too, I have already expressed my displeasure about this. Something about eating only after sundown and before sunrise. But he still spent a good 3 hours calculating the amount of food his snake should get for the snake-version of this.

I wish he didn't make the snake go through with it... a dog can be fed once a day, so all he's got to do is feed at a different time. but he insists that for a snake to "fast properly" that he has to skip feedings, since snakes don't eat every day.

any suggestions about talking him out of this for next year?

 

[jaxom1957]

Oh definitely. He says he's got to do it once a year, apparently his whole family does this fasting thing.

I take it your friend is Muslim? It sounds like the family is observing Ramadan.

The pets go through with it too....any suggestions about talking him out of this for next year?

Tell him that the snake is agnostic. I find it somewhat demeaning of the religion to force its tenets on a creature incapable of understanding the significance; nothing in the Koran requires that one's pets fast. If your friend can eat after sunset, so can his snake. The snake may fast during brumation or during the breeding season, but neither of those are for religious reasons.

 

[Kilala]

Ok. thanks jaxom! And yea he is muslim. I just referred him to this site and showed him your post. He says that he's gone to too much trouble with all those math calculations to not use them. I think I may have bruised his ego, lol :laugh: . But he did say that he won't do it next year. Which means he won't do it again. The month's almost up, I figure a few more days won't hurt (the corn still looks perfectly fine) considering it's going to be a one time thing. and again, thanks jaxom for the advice.