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Curiosity about weight gain or lack of?

Seaweedthesnake

New member
Finally figured out what seems to be a good feeding schedule for my tiny baby with the help of you guys!

Here with me she has had 5 feedings, the first being 1 week after I got her and after her last meal. The 4 following feedings were alternating between 4 and 5 days apart. At each feeding she gets 1 1.5 gram f/t pinky mouse.

No regurges and no refusals. She’s a lazy eater, no striking or constructing. She just sort of takes the mouse and then takes her time swallowing it! She eats though so I am happy

Only thing is though after all this feeding she is still only 8 grams and has not gained a single gram!

Mr. excited eater the Bloodred is twice her size, eats twice as much as her AND has already gained a gram since being here with me and has only had one meal since being here with me!! They are also both 2017 babies

I thought my scale was messed up but it picked up the 1 gram weight gain for my other snake so I don’t know! What do you guys think!?

Thank you c:
 
............ She’s a lazy eater, no striking or constructing. She just sort of takes the mouse and then takes her time swallowing it! She eats though so I am happy...........

Most likely she doesn't strike because she doesn't need to. A lot of babies feed this way. Pinkies are easy to catch, pose no health issues, and in most cases the snake just grabs it and swallows it. The snake needs to "Learn to Strike." This will come as the food items get larger and more likely to "Fight Back." When you get up to larger size meals, hold them in front of the snake and wiggle them. Try to make them seem alive. When the snake grabs it, pull back on it as if it's trying to get away. Most snakes will grab harder and coil around it. It takes a bit of trickery on your part.

.............. Only thing is though after all this feeding she is still only 8 grams and has not gained a single gram!

Mr. excited eater the Bloodred is twice her size, eats twice as much as her AND has already gained a gram since being here with me and has only had one meal since being here with me!! They are also both 2017 babies

I thought my scale was messed up but it picked up the 1 gram weight gain for my other snake so I don’t know! What do you guys think!?
Thank you c:

That's one of the problems most people ask about.

The baby probably has gained a little bit, but your scale is not sensitive enough to measure it. Because it may only be "Fractions" of a gram.

The babies grow very very slowly. There's just not a lot of weight gaining food in a pinky. It will take a while. Just hang in there and keep feeding. The really noticeable growth spurts come when the food items get bigger.

Also, keep in mind how and when you are weighing. Don't weigh until after the poop. Otherwise you are weighing the poop too. You want to weigh the snake. The best time to weigh is right before a feeding.
 
Oh so I will have to work on her feeding response in the future? I didn’t know that! I can manage some trickery though c:

Alright! Good to know it’s likely not some problem, just baby growth. I will also make sure I’m getting her weight correctly.

Thank you again, your helpfulness is well appreciated!!
 
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