Too large a meal?

[Lori P]

Hey guys, Desdemona was out cruising her tank tonite, looking for a meal. I got her one of the "hoppers" that we bought about a week and a half ago. (Yeah-- the fact that they have GROWN in a week and a half wasn't occuring to me.) She killed it instantly, so I left her alone. And
then when I checked on her a bit later, she was really working to get it down. THAT'S when it occured to me, that this meal may have been out of her reach.

So I got a pic-- try not to yell at me and my lack of brains-- but tell me if you think she'll digest this ok...

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I would say no, it's not too big. If it was ANY bigger, it would be. Kingsnakes are gluttons, they may struggle at points on a large meal but as long as they get it down, it's fine. I've had my cali Bandit for 5 years and he very often appears hes going to burst while eating! But he consistently gets it down and even if it takes him a while, he makes progress the whole time.. jut very... very.. slowly. Generally, the rule is take the fattest part of their body and x it by 1.5 for the perfectly sized meal. Usually, they can eat twice their own width without any problems. I treat my garters a little differently though. They get pieces as wide as they are.

[adamanteus]

She'll be fine Lori... but smaller is better!

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

She'll be fine Lori... but smaller is better!

james has said in 8 words what i was trying to say in an entire paragraph.

[Lori P]

james has said in 8 words what i was trying to say in an entire paragraph.

LOL Shannon... that's a boy brain verses a girl brain. (I like your paragraph, by the way, thank you for the input!!!!)

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

thanks

see james? she liked my explanation more


I proclaim myself the victor

[adamanteus]

see james? she liked my explanation more. I proclaim myself the victor

So, does that mean you get to sit on me?

[Thamnophis]

I agree with James.

[anji1971]

I'm sure she'll be okay, but she's done remarkably well for a "problem eater"!!

[zooplan]

It look like she redoubled her weight.
don´t worry for this time but never try again
I´ve measured my snakes several times before and after feeding "ad libitum" the most that I´ve observed were 60% of thier body weight of a juvenile snake (50 grams previous to feeding)