Ok, so I finally managed to edit/rewrite this. I felt this would be a good topic to discuss seeing as there are so many inexperienced/beginning herper’s out there and people that are just misconceiving/misunderstanding the feeding aspect of snakes. So where does the line between not feeding enough, feeding the proper amount and over feeding lie? Well it’s all a matter of

1. What type of snake you own.

2. How old the snake is.

3. How big the snake is.

4. Is the snake a shy/picky/finicky eater.

5. Is the snake an aggressive eater.

6. Are there any health concerns going on.

7. What you choose to feed your snake.

8. Is your snake breeding.

To start off I wish people that actually knew what they were talking about online were the ones acknowledged for the simple fact, an example…

When I began my journey into the snake hobby I wanted an RTB but instead started with a ball python. Something happened with poor little Leviathan and his journey with me lasted only a short time. I initially went against getting an RTB because everywhere I read said that RTB’s reached 6 feet within their first year. Although this seemed a bit quick for the growth rate of a snake I had decided against it. But once I lost Leviathan I said to hell with it and got my first RTB, Ebonayia. Here I am two years later feeding my 5-5 ½ foot RTB medium/large rats every 7 days unless in a shed cycle. I have never weighed her but I’m guessing she is no more than 10 pounds…ish.

…So where did the 6 foot snake in the first year calculation come from? I imagine if I fed Eb’s a large/jumbo rat once a week she would grow faster. Even more-so if I started her out on rats, then began to feed her guinea pigs or small rabbits now instead of medium rats. I choose to keep her on rats though until she hits 10+ ft…IF and when she even gets that size.

The biggest dividing factor though is number 7...What you choose to feed your snake will dictate how quick your snake grows and how truly healthy your snake is. I believe you should start a neo (RTB) out with the first stage of a mouse’s life, the pinky. In my opinion once they hit the 4 day mark (mouse). Once your neo get’s big enough to take a fuzzy there’s the next step, then on up to the hopper, then the small, medium, etc, etc. Until you reach a large/jumbo mouse. Then, I feel you should switch to fuzzy rats. Again in my opinion I would go from a large/jumbo mouse to a 2 week old rat. They’re practically the same size, maybe just a tad bigger. Sure you might skip on size here or there; but if you’re measuring your snakes on a consistent basis you will know when is best to move to the next size food. I will be honest, I have not followed this method until recently once I acquired my youngest RTB’s who are currently feeding on hoppers and measure about 24” average.

I do not breed yet so I haven’t seen every stage of a snakes life; but I feel after many trial’s, error’s and different method’s, I feel I have found the most averaged out feeding regimen. Something I figured out on my own for the most part; but also something I have learned through reading blog’s on here, following the Q’s n A’s, talking to RTB breeders and most importantly my vet. I’ve also learned a lot of different scenarios dictate your snakes eating habit. For example, heat, humidity, amount of traffic, noise, etc. If it’s too cold your snake wont eat as often, if it’s too hot your snake might defecate more. They might not be hydrated well enough. It might be too noisy, bright or vibrations from stereo’s or TV’s or even how heavy you walk. Do you have mite’s? All these factors that aren’t taken into consideration until after the fact because as an inexperienced reptile owner, we don’t know what to expect or what questions to ask until the problem or scenario is presented to us.

The best way to look at it is, “Do I really want my snake to grow THAT fast in it’s first year? Or should I take the first few months to get a feel for my snake’s needs and requirements for feeding, husbandry and overall care to understand that individual snakes specific needs?” Better to let your snake decide and not yourself. Honestly it will take a while. I still don’t have all my snake’s individual needs down but I’m getting there. Most of MY snakes are newer acquisitions, Eb’s is the largest, 2^nd oldest and out of all snakes, one out of two we understand and know all the way around.

So when it comes to feeding it’s not about throwing a rat in and watching the snake kill it, although that is quite exhilarating in the beginning. It’s about giving your snake the proper “self-requirements” of it’s individual self and giving it the best possible care you can provide.

Please do us a favor though…If you can’t get your animal to a vet but know they need vet care get your local herp buddies involved. We’re a community, one that is fighting for the face of the world to see us as understanding, RESPONSIBLE reptile owners. Not some dingbat that wanted a large boa or python because it would be cool to show off. It’s not fair to an animal that is born into a captive world that has no control over itself but instead has to rely on the fate given to it by it’s owner. How would you like to be in the snakes position of hoping to get food and proper heating and humidity instead of knowing where to find it in the wild?

Oh one more thing. Snakes are opportunistic feeders. So just because they’re going to take food from you every 3-4 days doesn’t mean they NEED to. Like it was brought to my attention earlier. A snake doesn’t know when it’s going to get it’s next meal in the wild, so yeah when you shove a mouse or rat in front of it’s face all the time and it takes it, it has good reason. Also a snake IS a WILD animal living in a captive world. So please to pull the stupid card and starve your snake for 6 months just because they bit you. They’re not a dog, you can’t punish them, only abuse them.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this blog. If you feel I left anything out please don’t hesitate to add it in by commenting. I’ll be sure to add it into the blog somehow once it’s posted. And obviously for those who read this before I posted the previous blog…it’s totally different. It took me an hour and a half versus 5-10 minutes to write lol.

Well I’m off to bed. Enjoy J

Megan