Re: Sounds a bit strange

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Posted by Kenyanboa on October 01, 2001 at 16:27:07:

In Reply to: Sounds a bit strange posted by Dirk on September 29, 2001 at 23:39:15:

:Actually, I have found I have the same thing! I feed all my snakes once a week, as much as they seem to want (except the fully grown ones, who look like they are getting fat.) I have two Texas Leuscistics, and the larger one is 2 1/2 feet or so and eats one small mouse a week, sometimes more. The other routinely refuses food, just because he is neurotic, and is half that size. I also have a two year old Kingsnake who is no bigger than some of my one year olds. (another picky eater.) Now I heard someone say their Gopher snakes grew to five feet in a year! If thats true, I don't know what the heck is wrong with mine!

I've got Leucistic Texas Rat snakes (pretty close to Black Rats) and they grew fast and huge. At 1 year, they were around 3' long and eating full sized mice (two at a time) once a week. Now at 4 years, they are over 5' and very heavy bodied. I feed them jumbo mice (two at a time) once a week. They do not appear to be obese or overweight, just big.

: If they are only as big around as a pencil, I think something is wrong. They should be bigger than that. I'd start looking for environmental factors that are out of norm.

: I do use a vitamin and calcium supplement every other feeding and ensure that sufficient warmth is available (cage floor temperature range is 75 to 95 degrees) and clean water is always available.

: Your question about how big a yearling snake gets in the wild is hard to answer because it depends on the availablility of food, length of growing season, and other factors.

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: :Actually, I have found I have the same thing! I feed all my snakes once a week, as much as they seem to want (except the fully grown ones, who look like they are getting fat.) I have two Texas Leuscistics, and the larger one is 2 1/2 feet or so and eats one small mouse a week, sometimes more. The other routinely refuses food, just because he is neurotic, and is half that size. I also have a two year old Kingsnake who is no bigger than some of my one year olds. (another picky eater.) Now I heard someone say their Gopher snakes grew to five feet in a year! If thats true, I don't know what the heck is wrong with mine! : I've got Leucistic Texas Rat snakes (pretty close to Black Rats) and they grew fast and huge. At 1 year, they were around 3' long and eating full sized mice (two at a time) once a week. Now at 4 years, they are over 5' and very heavy bodied. I feed them jumbo mice (two at a time) once a week. They do not appear to be obese or overweight, just big. : : If they are only as big around as a pencil, I think something is wrong. They should be bigger than that. I'd start looking for environmental factors that are out of norm. : : I do use a vitamin and calcium supplement every other feeding and ensure that sufficient warmth is available (cage floor temperature range is 75 to 95 degrees) and clean water is always available. : : Your question about how big a yearling snake gets in the wild is hard to answer because it depends on the availablility of food, length of growing season, and other factors.

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