Obesity - How can you tell if your snake is obese?

[zendragondrew]

Is there a head to body ratio you look at? Does it vary a lot by species?

I've been feeding my Eastern Garter what I judge is an ample amount, but I'm inexperienced and want to stop before it's too late if I'm over feeding her.

I give her three (3) pinkie mice a week and sometimes give a few bits of fish fillet during the middle of the week. She's about two (2) feet long and maybe two (2) inches thick in the biggest areas. Think she's too big or moderate?

IMAG0167.jpg

Here is a recent photo.

[katach]

I don't have any experience with easterns, but that sounds a bit thick to me. Please correct me if I'm wrong as I am used to our little NW and our slender framed Pugets. I feed 2 pinkies a week and a worm or one chunk of fish mid week.

[zendragondrew]

To clarify when I say "a few bits of fish fillet" sometimes in the mid-week I mean about the size of one pinkie and it seems much less solid than a mouse. About the equivalent of a bite for a human. I'll split it into two or three pieces to easily fit in her mouth, seemed like an OK snack.

Still, I've just been going by advice of a few friends. I don't want to overfeed her, but also don't want her to be uncomfortably or unhealthily hungry.

[kibakiba]

She does look quite fat... I'd cut down on the pinkies. Even my fat girl, Mama, doesn't get to eat that much.

[zendragondrew]

OK. Might consider putting her on a diet for a while. Maybe two pinkies a week with no snacks for a set amount of time.

[kibakiba]

One pinky would be fine, with a fish or worm snack in the middle. I'm pretty sure they'd eat themselves to death if you let them, but your snake wont be starving with just one pinky. Besides that, pinkies are kind of high in fat... They're what I feed to the babies that are underweight, or otherwise underweight snakes. The rest get worms with a pinky treat now and then.

[katach]

I would cut back to 2 pinkies per week and cut out the mid week snack for a bit. Not sure what a good exercise program would be, but I think some out of tank time would do her some good as well.

[kibakiba]

Bathtubs filled with warm water are good for exercise... Just don't leave her unattended for any amount of time, though.

[katach]

Thanks Chantel. I was thinking some water aerobics too, but didn't want to be really wrong.

[d_virginiana]

Hm.. Two inches does seem a bit thick. I feed my adult eastern about every other day, but only small amounts. Usually, he wouldn't get fed as often, but I also have a young one so she gets fed more often and he gets a snack whenever she eats. But most of his food is either fish or worms, which goes through their digestive system a lost faster than mice.
He never really stops moving and gets a lot of out-of-cage exploring time, so he's stayed pretty thin. He's also pretty big for a male; about 25 inches long. Once the baby is grown she'll probably only get fed once a week, since she seems to be pretty sedentary and I think she'd have a tendency to get chubby if I fed her more often