Male/Female/Pregnant..?

[Gyre]

Originally Posted by Cazador

Hannah,

I don't think you're out of the woods yet. Are you giving her calcium and vitamin supplements? It's better to be safe than sorry.

Rick

No, I haven't been, (though I was planning on picking some up once we dig out of all this snow..) I assume this is something I should be doing anyway, not just for a potentially gravid female, right?

Hannah

[Cazador]

It's a good idea to supplement their diet with Calcium plus vitamin D3. The vitamin D3 is "fat soluble," so it can accumulate to unhealthy levels, but it is also required to help them metabolize the calcium. Just drag the last inch of a worm through the powder about once every week or two. Then present the clean end to the snake (if you use tweezers). If not, the snake will automatically start eating the clean end, followed by the end with the calcium powder. It shouldn't be given with every meal because of the vitamin D3 issue, but additional calcium is good for growing snakes and their young.

Personally, I crush one B-complex multi-vitamin tablet into a powder and mix it into the entire jar of calcium powder as well. The B-complex vitamins are water soluble, so overdosing them isn't a big concern. Yet, I only add one tablet to the entire calcium container. For non-gravid snakes, I only give calcium every 2-3 weeks.

[Gyre]

Thank you so much for all the info, and I'm sure I'll be back in a matter of days with yet another question.

Hannah

[Gyre]

Quick update on my girl,

I still can't feel any obvious lumps, but she's down to eating about six midium rosies 2 times a week. Her appitite is good, (considering she's now eating anormal amount, not twice that, :P) but she's hidding away a little bit.

I don't know what this means perse, but until about last week she would eat readily from my hand, come up to me when I came to the room and even relax on my wrist while I typed.
Now she'll eat one from my hand, maybe, then eat the rest after I leave the room.

I'm I overly intune with this snake or are these slight changes something I should be taking note of?

Thanks for any help,
Hannah

[Cazador]

These changes aren't anything to worry about, but it's neat that you're that aware of your snake's habits. One thought is that if her digestive tract isn't always as full as it used to be, then you might be able to feel the young (if present) a little easier. Remember that you're not underfeeding her now. She's just on a healthier diet.

Studies have been done on snakes where one group of females isn't fed for the last month (sometimes more) of their pregnancy while another group is fed normally. One of the goals were to determine whether feeding them affects the size of their litter or just the condition of the female after she gives birth. It turns out that the lack of food doesn't affect litter size, number or live young, or size of individual offspring. It just affects the condition of the female following birth (and perhaps her ability to have multiple litters in a single year). This isn't true for a lot of organisms, but it specifically applies to at least T. elegans and probably at least to Thamnophis sp. in general.

Rick

[adamanteus]

It's good that you're aware of even subtle changes. They don't necessarily mean there's a problem, but at least you're in tune with your animals!

[Gyre]

Yes, I know. The week of over feeding did seem to help with the taming process at least. She's got her nose up to the glass whenever I come into the room.

Well, I care about this animal a lot. She's nothing fancy, but she has more personality then most small pets I've kept.. I never considered myself a reptile person, but since I've had her I find it hard to picture myself without at least one snake. I'm very excited about keeping different species eventually. CA. Red Sided are beautiful.

Really? That's pretty cool.. How long can a garter go without eating?

Hannah

[Gyre]

Originally Posted by adamanteus

It's good that you're aware of even subtle changes. They don't necessarily mean there's a problem, but at least you're in tune with your animals!

lol That's one of my virtues apparently. My friend was teasing me because I realized my old hen had an arthritic toe.

[Cazador]

Hannah,

I hate to answer that question for fear that someone will push the limits, but a healthy snake with a little extra girth can go a long time without eating . Send me a PM if you really want more details.

Rick

[Gyre]

I understand,