Heya!
So I have a little hognose snake who decided to only have a few sporadic feeds over the course of my ownership. I’ll have him for a year 11/4. His DOB is 6/2019 and he’s finally eating. He first began only eating if I left it in his enclosure and left the room. He’s now tong feeding every time I offer him a small pinky.
He didn’t lose a ton of weight and would only eat the pinkies from pet smart - now is eating what I have from a supplier. He remained at 6ish(?) grams the whole year he just didn’t grow.
What’s his weight now? I would keep him on a 3 day schedule until he gets to the 30+g range then you can bump him up to larger fuzzies and go down to 4-5 days.
He’s beginning to gain weight because he has suddenly began feeding but weighs in at 16 grams after yesterday’s feeding.
The other hog I have was born 8/2019 and is already feeding on fuzzies weekly while this guy can’t move up to rat pups yet - I’m not even sure he will eat anything other than those nasty ones from petsmart which are super tiny and aren’t close to 1 1/4 his body width - maybe about the same width as the widest part of his body?
Would you say every three days is still reasonable?
Baby colubrids (mainly tiny species) have very fast metabolisms and need frequent feedings for their first year. This hognose should have been on an every 3-4 day schedule from the beginning. That said, I wouldn’t use rats and would only feed mice since hognose will never get big enough to eat a sizable rat. A mouse of equal size to a rat you would feed will have more nutrition due to being older with better developed bones.
@ashleyraeanne Would you recommend to continue a ramped up feeding for an undersized adult or more of an adult feeding schedule? I’m asking beyond this case. Would you recommend pushing to regain weight or slow and steady on an undersized adult?
Rat pup - it’s a bit bigger than a pinky. These are specific from a local supplier - some of my small snakes eat rat pups because they are too big for pinkies but too small for fuzzies. That’s why it was mentioned - he’s not quite at the size for a pup but too big for a pinky.
So you recommend not using a rat pup and stick with pinkies and then to fuzzies once big enough?
My local supplier sizes are pinky to rat pup to fuzzy - the order in which I would feed according to growth.
He’s not large enough for a pup but a bit too big for a pinky a pup is smaller than a fuzzy.
So, with the pinky being smaller for him, would 3-4 days between feeds be efficient?
I’m trying to avoid power feeding.
I recommend not using rats at all. The sizes you will need to feed him are mainly just going to be fat and not much else. Mice are easy to get, cheaper than rats, and are going to be better for him.
I’d stick to mice. Easier to deal with imo. Order some various sizes and you should be all set for quite awhile. The food item should leave a slight lump and disappear within 24-48 hours. 3-4 days is perfect until he gets bigger.
I got my girl on February of this year. She was 8mths old and 20g. Once I got her going every 3-4 days, she started growing like a weed. I think she’s 80 something now. I’ve dropped her down to 4-5 days. Would probably be more if she didn’t go on a 2 month hunger strike during spring
Whether it’s our hatchlings or PITA (small) yearlings I’m feeding, I always stick to a 4 - 6 day feeding rotation. Even hatchlings I’ll never feed every 3 days, that doesn’t leave much time for them to digest their food. I have yearlings that are under 20 grams, but don’t see the benefit in trying to feed frequently enough to “catch up”. As stunted as their growth may be, slow and steady is always a better route to take.
