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Posted by BrianSmith on May 13, 2003 at 14:54:07:
In Reply to: I've heard of this...... posted by UrgentMike on May 12, 2003 at 18:34:15:
I read your post and feel the need to respond. Hopefully this won't result in us getting into a silly shouting match that accomplishes nothing but to fill the forum with senseless angry drivvel.
First of all,.. I do agree with many of your statements. It probably is more dangerous to overfeed than to underfeed. But only for extended periods of time that lead to and maintain obesity. Short bursts of heavy feeding is also something that a snake is designed for. As is excessive fat storage just for those long periods without food. But you can bet that a snake in the wild during times of rodent (or other wild food) population explosions due to heavy rains and a sudden abundance of food, will gorge itself just as it would in captivity. They are oportunistic creatures. And while I agree with you that pythons are designed to "be able" to go for very long periods without food,. this does not mean that they should or probably ever would choose to (with the exception of breeding and brumation). It's just that they CAN. Not that they are necessarily meant to. And for the other posters that said there are no fat snakes in the wild,.... I have caught quite a few very plump snakes in my day. That being said, I must take offense to your statement that those that powerfeed "have no regard for their animal's health" and "just want to turn a quicker profit". This couldn't be further from the truth for me personally (I don't speak for others as I don't know how they feed). But I do feed very heavily during the first year to produce increased growth, but NEVER to a point that I would ever feel that it was in any way unhealthful to my babies. This feeding is only during a point in the snake's life where the VAST majority of what it ingests is metabolized into growth and not fat reserves. They don't become obese when they are young. The moment their metabolism alters into that of a slower growing adult, I decrease the food DRAMATICALLY to that of more of a maintainence diet (for lack of a better term). And as a result I never have any fat snakes. Sure, the females have a healthy and normal fat reserve for egg development and the subsequent fasting, but they are far from obese. Honestly guy, I don't think you should generalize so much. There are always variables. I could generalize that every herper that does not feed their snakes well is too cheap or too poor to properly care for their snakes,.. but I won't. Then I would be stooping to the lowest common denominator. And I refuse to do that. Good day to you, and happy herping.
:Which is why I'm careful not to overfeed any of my snakes. I think its much easier and dangerous to overfeed than underfeed. Remember, snakes are designed to go for long periods w/out food. Power feeding is don by people who have no regard for their animals' health and just wanna turn a quicker profit.
