iHerp Answers: Weight and feeding schedule for 3.5 year old female Sorong GTP?

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Weight and feeding schedule for 3.5 year old female Sorong GTP?

Posted By:

UrbanLegend711

In Relation To:

Mystique

Hi everyone,

I have a female Sorong-type GTP I've had for about 6 months. She is 3.5 years old but seems rather small to me. She weighs about 670g at last check and is 4 feet long and about as thick around as a 50-cent piece at her thickest point. I'm currently feeding her 2 f/t rat weanlings every other week, and she will have a nice round bulge when she's just eaten. But she will immediately begin hunting that same night and keep it up every night, whether or not she's still swollen with her last meal. I'm wondering if I should bump up her feeding to every week? Also, how much does she need to weigh before I can think about breeding her- I've found some contradictory answers in various books. I have a male Biak-type that is 7 years old and over 5 feet long. He weighs 850g.


Points:	150
Topics:	Feeding , Digestive , General Health
Tags:	Age, Chondro, Feeding, General, Health, Size
Species:	Pythons > Morelia > Morelia viridis
Administrative:	Show/Hide

Assisted Answer

10/24/2009 10:21:13 AM

vonnick52

Chondros will BEG and BEG and BEG for food. They will eat as much as you give them sometimes, but they can become obese rather easy. I think you are on a good feeding schedule right now. Feeding weekly is good for younger snakes, but after they mature and their growth rate slows down, I slow down their feedings.

I've heard and read a minimum of 750 grams for females is preferable, 1000 is better. While there is no general equation to successful breeding, and females all mature at their own rate, it's a judgement call for the breeder. I would give her some more time if she were mine, but I'm of the opinion that breeding animals too young is a big no no, so I go for the safe, rather than sorry approach.

Accepted Answer

10/24/2009 10:58:16 AM

aaron

The "book" says 1000 grams. I have bred an adult female at 700 some grams, and 900 some grams, and both took just fine. No problems for mom.

Your animal has not been power fed, and I believe that's a good thing. There are a lot of obese chondros, I grow mine slow, part my schedule, part that I don't like to overfeed.

I would not let her go this year, I would wait until next year. I have 05 models that just turned 700, and may or may not let them go this year. Probably not, but part of me wants to give it a go.

Weekly feedings are fine, just not medium rats every week. With that animal, probably 1-2 adult mice.

And yes, they are ALWAYS looking for food. :) Remember the opportunistic feeding in nature, they can go a month without a meal, and once they get it, they don't know if it's going to be six minutes or six weeks until the next opportunity avails itself.

Author Comment

10/24/2009 11:17:46 AM

UrbanLegend711

Thank you both so much for your answers. I was not going to breed her this year, and possibly not next year either. I'd originally gotten my male Archimedes (7 year old Biak-type) with the hopes of breeding this year, but he arrived with a rather nasty mouth abscess due to swallowing two of his own shed teeth and he's just finished up a course of antibiotics and gotten the clear from my vet to be taken out of quarantine. So I don't want ot put him through cycling so soon after healing. I only have him and Mystique as far as GTPs go, so there will be no baby chondros for me this year. I will see about next year- it depends on the space I have available and Mystique's progress at that point.
It eases my mind that you both say chondros will beg shamelessly for food- I was worried I was underfeeding her, but it sounds as though she may just be a little piggy..lol. Thank you so much!

Member Comment

10/24/2009 12:32:15 PM

aaron

really, the only time i *don't* see them hunting food is when they're in shed... or in the mood for love.

You should be fine with her next year for sure.

Assisted Answer

10/26/2009 9:20:31 PM

WhiteHillReptile

my smallest female to ever reproduce was 750 grams, and she laid a nice 19 egg clutch that were all good, i was the one that made the error and all but three crapped out in the incubator. i lean more to looking at overall body conditioning and health rather than a magic number. does someone in the wild go out and search for females to make sure they arent breeding before they are 1000 grams? i would say 850 is plenty big. my normal feeding regimen for all of my adults is one or two mice every 14 or so days. this is a recent change and i believe that the animals are healthier because of it. every one of my adults, females included actively hunt at night and are very lean. when i am looking at making a pairing i would rather have a 800 gram female that is 6 years old and lean, than have a 5 year old female that is 1200 grams and overweight. from talking to other people it seems that smaller females, by smaller i mean lean animals that arent "chunky" looking tend to produce nice clutches where at its extreme large obese females will not produce at all. the first year i tried pairing green trees i had very large males and females that were fed rats weekly and none of the breedings took. even the males didnt cruise like normal. after a 3 month period of fasting and a drastic change to my feeding regimens both pairs that i was trying last year worked by the book. of course the more i learn about these guys the more i realize that most green trees havent read the book about them and dont behave that way! i say pay attention to your animals and if you believe they are in prime conditioning give it a go. cycle them slowly, (if at all?!) let nature take its course, and if they arent ready to produce....they wont. its getting that time of year when most people are starting to pair up animals. for me, none of my males are cruising and readily accept food....so i will wait. FWIW Tre'

Author Comment

10/27/2009 10:46:22 AM

UrbanLegend711

Thanks so much guys! Well it seems I might be better off just keeping her on her current every other week schedule and letting her grow another year or so.

Member Comment

10/28/2009 8:58:06 AM

Sony Raju

yes that is definitely what i would do. hold off another yr before breeding her.

Member Comment

1/17/2011 3:47:00 PM

abi21491

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