Can you over feed a snake?

[benji1452]

Im a keen northern pine snake collector had my first batch of babies last week with no fatalities
the thing with pines is there always heavy on the feeding if its there they will eat it mine have never missed a meal and tend to explode there food before it goes down because there so vigorous.
i have always fed mine 2 appropriate sized feed in one sitting not so much the younger ones but my babygirl 7.6ft now every 10-14days.
she shed perfect every time and well and poos fine also.
but i agree other snakes 1 probably is recommended but because of these guys feeding habits i fin 2 satifies them better.

[Gregg M]

This topic is too broad to cover it with one swipe of a paint brush... The fact is, different species require different intake...

Many North American colubrids will feed quite often... Some species will feed daily in the wild...

It gets old seeing comments like "a snake will eat a lot because it does not know when it will get its next meal"... That is BS... Snakes will only feed when they are hungry... For the most part, if a snake is not hungry, it will not eat... On top of that, in the wild, a snakes natural diet is very abundant...

Snakes in the colubrid family have very high metabolic rates... Much faster than that of large constrictor... Naturally colubrids will eat more frequently than large constrictors...

In my opinion, feeding a colubrid once a week especially ones under a year or two is under feeding...

Frequent feeding does not cause internal organs to swell... It does not cause fatty liver disease... In fact, fatty liver disease is found most frequently in animals that are not feeding regularly...

Hot spots are important for reptiles... Keeping colubrids at room temperature is poor practice... It does not allow for the proper intake and digestion they need... All of my colubrids are kept with a hot spot of at least 92 degrees F... This keeps their metabolic rates up and speeds their digestion... This allows the snakes eat more frequently and to grow at a fast rate... They grow in perfect proportion with no health issues... This is how they do it in the wild... The faster growers have a better chance of passing off their genes...

Now, with Carpet pythons, they do feed more frequently than the larger constrictors of South America, Asia, Indonesia, and Africa... Their food source is more abundant and their climate allows for faster digestion... I would still not feed them as often as colubrid but also not as infrequently as the larger constrictors...

The truth is, there should not be rules of thumb... More spacific guide lines should be drawn out there... Guide lines based on fact and not on causion, paranoia, and regurgitated, outdated information......

[TWGarland]

Originally Posted by Gregg M

Frequent feeding does not cause internal organs to swell... It does not cause fatty liver disease... In fact, fatty liver disease is found most frequently in animals that are not feeding regularly...

Hmm... i get what you saying but feeding too frequently can cause obescity. Fatty liver disease can be caused by a range of things, but usually obescity is a predisposing factor A fat animal gets some disease, stops eating, mobilises its stored fat etc. etc.

Nice little article i regurgitated as you put it, click here

[Jczreptiles]

Originally Posted by Gregg M

This topic is too broad to cover it with one swipe of a paint brush... The fact is, different species require different intake...

Many North American colubrids will feed quite often... Some species will feed daily in the wild...

It gets old seeing comments like "a snake will eat a lot because it does not know when it will get its next meal"... That is BS... Snakes will only feed when they are hungry... For the most part, if a snake is not hungry, it will not eat... On top of that, in the wild, a snakes natural diet is very abundant...

Snakes in the colubrid family have very high metabolic rates... Much faster than that of large constrictor... Naturally colubrids will eat more frequently than large constrictors...

In my opinion, feeding a colubrid once a week especially ones under a year or two is under feeding...

Frequent feeding does not cause internal organs to swell... It does not cause fatty liver disease... In fact, fatty liver disease is found most frequently in animals that are not feeding regularly...

Hot spots are important for reptiles... Keeping colubrids at room temperature is poor practice... It does not allow for the proper intake and digestion they need... All of my colubrids are kept with a hot spot of at least 92 degrees F... This keeps their metabolic rates up and speeds their digestion... This allows the snakes eat more frequently and to grow at a fast rate... They grow in perfect proportion with no health issues... This is how they do it in the wild... The faster growers have a better chance of passing off their genes...

Now, with Carpet pythons, they do feed more frequently than the larger constrictors of South America, Asia, Indonesia, and Africa... Their food source is more abundant and their climate allows for faster digestion... I would still not feed them as often as colubrid but also not as infrequently as the larger constrictors...

The truth is, there should not be rules of thumb... More spacific guide lines should be drawn out there... Guide lines based on fact and not on causion, paranoia, and regurgitated, outdated information......

Its not BS as you put it rather a difference in opinion unless you have asked a snake whever they only eat when they are hungry or build up fat reserves for times when there is less food we can only speculate and offer opinions as I have although I am sure you will dissagree. There should not be rules of thumb you are right but if there were not how could you advise a newbie how often to feed? feed the snake as often as you like? No wander so many obese snakes pop up in the states and the UK.

[TWGarland]

Originally Posted by Jczreptiles

Its not BS as you put it rather a difference in opinion unless you have asked a snake whever they only eat when they are hungry or build up fat reserves for times when there is less food we can only speculate and offer opinions as I have although I am sure you will dissagree. There should not be rules of thumb you are right but if there were not how could you advise a newbie how often to feed? feed the snake as often as you like? No wander so many obese snakes pop up in the states and the UK.

Good point I mean whos really to say why a snake does anything. I just asked my snake why it would over eat. It wouldn't tell me.

Maybe obescity isn't a problem for wild snakes cos they aren't provided with everything they could ever need by their keepers.

Some people have documented that other species of exotic animals in captivity will comfort eat or eat out of boredom. Whos to say snakes don't do this. Who really knows eh

[SexyBear77]

Originally Posted by Gregg M

In my opinion, feeding a colubrid once a week especially ones under a year or two is under feeding...

Damn..... I am one cruel owner then.

[Gregg M]

Originally Posted by Jczreptiles

Its not BS as you put it rather a difference in opinion unless you have asked a snake whever they only eat when they are hungry or build up fat reserves for times when there is less food we can only speculate and offer opinions as I have although I am sure you will dissagree. There should not be rules of thumb you are right but if there were not how could you advise a newbie how often to feed? feed the snake as often as you like? No wander so many obese snakes pop up in the states and the UK.

You do not need to ask a snake if it is hungry or not... Simple observation is enough... If you offer a food item and it is not taken, the snake is not hungry... If it takes the prey item, it was obviously hungry and needed the intake...

A new keeper should do all the research required... Not only does this mean get on the forums but it also means do the research on the area your reptile comes from, the abundance of its natural food source, and look at feild notes if they are available... Colubrids are known for feeding almost daily in the wild... They may take a small meal every other day or so instead of eating larger prey... Where most colubrids come from, food is readily available to them... There is no shortage of rodents, toads, and other snakes... I know this from living in an area where I can find 4 different colubrid species under one sheet of plywood... At night time the yard is full of toads and the rodent activity is pretty constant... Snakes will not stay where it is void of prey... They seek areas where the prey is abundant... When it comes to larger constrictors, it is different... This I agree with and they can easily be over fed... It is a bit harder to over feed colubrids though...

The reason you see so many overweight snakes is because many people still feel that fat/thick is healthy... Again you need to keep an eye on your snakes weight and shape...

I will say it again, fatty liver disease is not from feeding too much... Retiles will naturally have a fatty liver anyway... It is also well known that fatty liver disease is not fatal to reptiles...

Originally Posted by SexyBear77

Damn..... I am one cruel owner then.

Now, now Sexy... Do not put word in my post I never typed... I said it was under feeding in my opinion... From my experience, young colubrids do much better when fed twice a week... Not saying they will do poorly if they are fed once a week but I think I have proven my point a few times that frequent feeding will do great things for your snake if done properly...

Anything can be over fed... I am not saying to feed and close your eyes... You need to obviously keep an eye on you snakes weight... If it is getting too fat, it is pretty clear that you would need to slow the feedings down...

[Jczreptiles]

Originally Posted by Gregg M

You do not need to ask a snake if it is hungry or not... Simple observation is enough... If you offer a food item and it is not taken, the snake is not hungry... If it takes the prey item, it was obviously hungry and needed the intake...

A new keeper should do all the research required... Not only does this mean get on the forums but it also means do the research on the area your reptile comes from, the abundance of its natural food source, and look at feild notes if they are available... Colubrids are known for feeding almost daily in the wild... They may take a small meal every other day or so instead of eating larger prey... Where most colubrids come from, food is readily available to them... There is no shortage of rodents, toads, and other snakes... I know this from living in an area where I can find 4 different colubrid species under one sheet of plywood... At night time the yard is full of toads and the rodent activity is pretty constant... Snakes will not stay where it is void of prey... They seek areas where the prey is abundant... When it comes to larger constrictors, it is different... This I agree with and they can easily be over fed... It is a bit harder to over feed colubrids though...

The reason you see so many overweight snakes is because many people still feel that fat/thick is healthy... Again you need to keep an eye on your snakes weight and shape...

I will say it again, fatty liver disease is not from feeding too much... Retiles will naturally have a fatty liver anyway... It is also well known that fatty liver disease is not fatal to reptiles...



Now, now Sexy... Do not put word in my post I never typed... I said it was under feeding in my opinion... From my experience, young colubrids do much better when fed twice a week... Not saying they will do poorly if they are fed once a week but I think I have proven my point a few times that frequent feeding will do great things for your snake if done properly...

Anything can be over fed... I am not saying to feed and close your eyes... You need to obviously keep an eye on you snakes weight... If it is getting too fat, it is pretty clear that you would need to slow the feedings down...

I agree with all you have said, the point I do slightly disagree with again working on only theory and not fact is the fact if snakes only ate when they were hungry there in theory would not be fat snakes but snakes like humans will over eat, this puts proof the the original question from the OP either way that yes snakes can be over fed but also a slight flaw in the theory of they only eat when hungry as if they did so they would not be fat as they would stop when full. However another theory to this could be with all animals humans and reptiles alike may over eat due to a natural reaction to stock up on reserves, again only a theory, and mine can often be wrong