| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Snecklifter |
Posted - 10/02/2012 : 12:56:40
Okay, I have a 19 month old Royal and he weighs in at ~620g. According to the chart, he is well below average for his age. He is fed a rat weiner once every two weeks, he hardly ever refuses and eats the rat, but the weiner appears to be about his size limit judging by the pullava he makes of getting the right end!
My question is this, i would rather he was healthy but not overweight, so am I underfeeding him and if so, are there potential health issues, or will he just grow more slowly? |
| 2 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| anatess |
Posted - 10/02/2012 : 14:59:55
You can tell if your royal is too skinny because you'll see/feel his backbone potruding when you're handling him. You might also notice that his eyes are sunken if he's dehydrated as well. The snake would be lethargic with eyes that are not alert-looking.
You can tell that your royal is overweight because his scales are stretched out with slight gaps in between.
It is not healthy for a royal to be too skinny or too fat.
In any case, I feed all my royals 1 rat (about the size of the widest part of the snake's body, sometimes a little bigger) a week - their entire lives. They usually fast during the winter for about 6 weeks and then they're back to 1 rat a week.
Hope this helps. |
| n/a |
Posted - 10/02/2012 : 13:30:21
Going by the feeding guide on here, I would personally feed a royal weighing between 400-800g every week. Yes, he will probably grow more slowly - and as long as he's mars bar rather than toblerone shaped, he's not emaciated.
Many shops follow a method of feeding rather less than some keepers - when I got Saada as an adult her owner had been advised by the shop to feed along the same lines as you, and she was perfectly healthy, but like your royal, small for her age. I started feeding her more often though, and she enjoyed her grub.
So I don't think your feeding regime is harming him - but I do feel he might appreciate a rat every week. |
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