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Pig or snake, and how long to digest?

L

lovesLester

New member
Okay, I've been reading this site for a long time now [parents wouldn't let me get a snake until I bugged them for months :grin01: ]. This is the first time I've posted, so "hey everyone!"

Okay, my problem. I have an Okeetee that I got in August, his name is Lester. He has been the perfect snake, very calm and docile, and he eats like a pig. The first pinkie I gave him he snatched from my fingers, never gave me one problem. He had been eating two pinkies a week, and since he's gotten a little bigger, I decided to give him a fuzzy.

Lester ate the fuzzy with no problem, and seemed to be quite content [still does]. The concern I have is that he has been digesting this thing for almost a week now. I gave it to him Tuesday, and he still has a lump in his gut, as of Sunday night. I took him out just a minute ago, and the lump almost isn't noticable, but it is definately there. It is hard, and on his right side there is something hard poking just beneath the skin [or at least thats how it feels], a bone maybe. He doesn't even seem to notice me touching the lump or anything.

So, my Q's:
Is it supposed to take this long to digest?
And is it to soon to be giving him these, or is this normal digesting time? Do pinkies just digest faster?

I just can't find anything about this issue, so I figured I need to ask the experts.

I don't know if its relevant info or not, but Lester is about 18 inches long, I don't know how old he is.

Thanks in advance for your time and help, I appreciate it.
 
Ahhh, You might of over none it.
The general rule is to feed your snake a food item, a pinky or fuzzy, that is only 1 1/2 time the snake girth. So I can't see the snake or the fuzzy but you should of feed him something a little bigger than the snake girth. For now let him digest it for a few more days keep him warm, proper temps, then try feeding again. The proper size.
 
Thanks for your reply. :cheers:

The fuzzy wasn't much larger than Lesters girth size, within the appropriate size, I'm sure. The lumps not huge, its just taking forever to get smaller, and I'm not sure why. He seems perfectly fine, and he has grown quite a bit since I fed him the fuzzy. I'm just confused by the amount of time its taken to digest.

Again, thanks for the reply. :cheers:
 
lovesLester said:
Thanks for your reply. :cheers:

The fuzzy wasn't much larger than Lesters girth size, within the appropriate size, I'm sure. The lumps not huge, its just taking forever to get smaller, and I'm not sure why. He seems perfectly fine, and he has grown quite a bit since I fed him the fuzzy. I'm just confused by the amount of time its taken to digest.

Again, thanks for the reply. :cheers:
Click to expand...
Well, OK. Size sound good.
Yes, It takes longer to diegest than pinkys, bone and hair, to consider. And the poop will be different too. Might smell more and have undigested hair in it.
but like I said keep him warm with the proper temps and spread the feeding to every week now.
 
Make sure the temps are good. If it's too cold he might take longer, or if its too hot on the warm side he might be avoiding it. Digital thermometer with probe, measure below substrate over UTH.
 
You might also be feeling a piece of poop there. Is it near the vent? Sometimes it will feel harder to the touch.
 
Its not near the vent, its a few inches higher. He seems to rotate from the warm side to the cool side of the viv regularly, the warm is at about 85 right now, the cool side is at 74. He also has a little basking lamp over a rock right now, and I've caught him bathing on it a couple of times.

Thanks for the help everyone. I was just getting a little worried, since it was taking so long. On the plus side, he's definately getting bigger with this meal. :grin01:
 
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