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First snake/feeding question

D

Drewswife

New member
We got our first snake yesterday and the last time she was fed was on 9-1. We were wondering when we should feed her? Here is her background...
Born on 8-2-11, shed on 8-10, ate small pinkies on the following dates: 8-11, 8-20, 8-25, and the last on 9-1. We aren't going to handle her for a week but didn't know if we should try to feed her sooner? 11 days just seems like an awful long time and then add on to that another 7 days, makes it even worse!
Thanks so much for your help!
 
Granted I'm still very new to this but we're keeping our snake on an every 3-4 day feeding schedule. We let it settle in for about 24hrs before handling and another 24hrs before we fed.

Our snake wasn't showing any signs of stress which is one of the reasons we've felt comfortable handling/feeding so soon. Had it shown signs of stress we would have waited longer.
 
Thanks for your reply! She doesn't seem stressed, she explored her cage for a bit yesterday when she first came home and is now burrowed in the aspen. :)
 
Do a search for the Munsen Plan on this forum. It offers some guidelines that many follow successfully. I know it's weird to think of an animal (human or other) going for days without food but remember that a snake's metabolism is much much slower than ours and going 10-14 days isn't a stretch, especially when she has already been eating pretty well. She will be fine, not handling her will allow her to get accustomed to her new surroundings. After the week waiting period is done, I'd do pinkies at 5-7 day intervals.
 
Sparklecoon said:
Granted I'm still very new to this but we're keeping our snake on an every 3-4 day feeding schedule. We let it settle in for about 24hrs before handling and another 24hrs before we fed.

Our snake wasn't showing any signs of stress which is one of the reasons we've felt comfortable handling/feeding so soon. Had it shown signs of stress we would have waited longer.
Click to expand...

3-4 days is too much IMO. Especially because you should not handle for 48 hours after eating. Every five days is okay for hatchlings. I personally feed all my corns every 7 days. Others feed every 14 as adults.
 
my 2 adults are on a 7 day feed schedule, my hatchling is on a 5 day schedule (sometimes 6 days) I don't handle for 36-48 hrs after feeding and 3-7 days after bringing them home.
 
Thanks everyone! I'm definitely going with the Munson plan, just wasn't sure about waiting so long. Last night, I was moving around some wires in her cage from the thermometers and thermostat and she came over to check me out and was trying to climb up my arm. I know she was just using me to try to get out of her cage but thought that was a pretty good sign, obviously, she's not terrified of me. :)
 
More like she was trying to use you as a ladder to get out!

I think you'd be okay to feed after four or five days, if she is coming out at night and exploring and seems comfortable. A four day feeding interval should only be attempted by experienced keepers, and IMO a three day feeding schedule is ridiculous. If you allow 48-72 hours for digestion, even a five day schedule doesn't allow much handling.
 
Nanci, EXACTLY...she was just using me as her escape route! Lol! I've decided to try feeding on Thursday, so fingers crossed it all goes well. How long should I leave the pinkie out to thaw?
 
I fill a glass of warm/hotish water and drop the prey item in there. The general tip is to squeeze the item to make sure it's completely thawed... if the water is pretty warm a Pink shouldn't take more than 5-7 minutes I'd think... I leave large mice in hot water for about 10-12 minutes and never had a problem.
 
I use the touch test on all my mouse-cicles. Gently squeeze in a couple spots to make certain it's warm and you can't feel any cold spots. Pinkies are generally fairly quick to thaw/warm in hot water.

(and I do mean gentle...popped mouse is unpleasant =P)
 
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