Green Python Question

[jojackson]

Never feed anything bigger then a small rat? Dude I'd like to see you satisify a retic, burm whatever with a small rat. Snakes bodies were made to be able to streatch and handle larger then normal prey. I simply feed them larger meals less often.

Im talking about a green python, nothing else. Birds are included in their diet from time to time (H.Cogger/M.O'shea) but arn't a staple prey no. But a slim arborial snake just wont tackle a huge meal, it'd be disadvantagous to it, to be vulnerable for longer than nessesary.
If it cant climb, it cant escape predators.
Lizards (young) and small rodents (adults) are the main prey for gtps,along with insectivorous bats(O'shea/Swan) you wont see them take a meal the size of a housecat. Tree snakes typically feed on smaller prey.

The first year of a snakes life is where most of it's growth comes from.
Snakes bodies were made to be able to streatch and handle larger then normal prey. I simply feed them larger meals less often.

Your right, and bigger meals less often may be fine, I just dont do it, I find 20% body weight just about right. Not every wild meal is a big one, they are opportunists.
Natures plan is always the best one, so I base my keeping on that, relevent to the species, not on what 'everybody does in captivity'. It works well for me because it works well for the animal.

The first year of a snakes life is where most of it's growth comes from. You can feed them heavy without the risks of health issues later on.

That depends on what you feed them and isnt entirely accurate anyway, snakes can and do become obese, even younger ones. Obesity places stress on organs. fact not opinion.

cheers

extra info..

Green Tree Python Food
Green tree pythons do best on a weekly diet of frozen-thawed rodents. Green tree python neonates feed on day-old pinky mice. Adults need one small rat every 10 to 12 days. It is easy to overfeed captive green tree pythons, which results in fat, lethargic adults. Field research shows that wild green tree pythons do not eat all that often. Feed rates cannot be based on feeding response because many adults would eat daily if allowed.

Green tree python diet and food.
Article and Photos by Greg Maxwell

http://www.reptilechannel.com/snakes/snake-care/green-tree-python-food.aspx

Youngsters feed primarily on skinks and geckos. Adults apparently feed on the ground—their diet is made up largely of terrestrial rodents. Birds are rarely consumed.

Morelia viridis Schlegel, 1872, Aru Islands, Indonesia.

http://www.answers.com/topic/green-python

Radio-tracked yellow morphs always remained on the ground at the rainforest edge where they hunt small reptiles and invertebrates. By contrast, green individuals preferred the rainforest interior where they either hunt rodents near the ground or birds in the canopy (Wilson et al. 2006a; Wilson in press).

The change to green coincides with a behavioural switch in foraging tactics. Owing to their gape size, yellow individuals are restricted to hunting small ground-dwelling heliothermic reptiles and invertebrates during the day. These prey types are more common in rainforest gaps and edges (Vitt et al. 1998; Wilson in press). As individuals increase in size, they change to green and their increased gape size allows them to move inside the rainforest and add larger vertebrates including rodents and birds to their diet. Rodents are hunted on the ground at night and birds in the canopy during the day (Wilson et al. 2006b; Wilson in press). Inclusion of birds in the diet appears to be important for increased food intake, especially for female green pythons which need additional body condition before they can initiate breeding (Reading 2004).

http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/3/1/40.full

 

[heloderm]

You quote good info that's for sure! One must still monitor and listen to their animals in order to keep them healthy. When I was feeding jumbo rats to one of the largest chondros I've ever seen that was a monthly meal. Seem like the forum your now on is helping alot, keep with it! I love these animals and look forward to getting back into them. Getting into Panther chams has sparked my interest to get back into arboreal herps!

John