Coluber constrictor flaviventris

[David_F]

I've posted this on a couple other sites recently but figured I'd toss it up here as well and ask a question or two.

I've been keeping a young Eastern yellow-bellied racer for a bit over a month now and finally got him to take day-old pinkie mice. At first he didn't want anything to do with them and only ate a cricket or two. Now that he's started eating the mice he seems insatiable. Since Oct. 28th he's eaten a pinkie every other day. I think he'd eat every day if I let him. His enclosure temp stays right around 80F and he seems to be digesting fine but I'm still wondering if maybe I should be feeding him more often or if maybe I'm feeding him too much. He hasn't shed yet (or even gone into pre-shed) so could this be a sign that he's not getting enough to eat? Anyone have any input? Anyone ever keep racers?

Despite the slight worry those little questions are causing, he's turning out to be a really fun snake. Very fast, alert, not shy when it comes to eating, and always ready to bite. I just hope he doesn't tame down too much as he grows.

Thanks for any help.

Here he is trying to look mean.

 

[Mechanical-Mind]

Sweet snake David!

That's almost an unconventional species, as far as most keeping goes, but a nice choice!

Although I've never kept racers in particular, my two cents on feeding neonates is this: Generally speaking, in the first two years you can feed almost any snake as much as they'll take, without any ill effects. They'll just grow and grow. Over feeding, I believe, can really only happen when the snake begins to plateau in regards to its growth. That is, once approaches it's sub-adult size. When they're in that 0-1.5 or 0-2 year period, most of the energy they take in is put towards growth, whereas older specimens have that predetermined genetic limit to adult size, and will then become obese if heavy feeding persists. This leads to some of the health problems people are familiar with.

But to summarize, there's just so much growth that happens in the first two years, as long as you're keeping this snake warm, I wouldn't worry about over feeding; however, I'd say two decent sized meals a week may be ideal. Further, the classic paradigm of one moderately sized meal every two weeks is probably the least I would personally want to feed a very young, growing snake.

Edit: Just know the typical adult lengths, and weights if possible, of both sexes of the species at hand. This way you'll know when to ease off the feed as they reach maturity.

Best regards,
-Matt

 

[Crotalus]

Make sure the snake defecates before you feed him again. Every other day is actually too much, once a week is enough for him if he takes pinkies.
Othervise you will end up with a obese or/and constipated snake.

 

[Kriegan]

I agree... have you seen him pooing yet? If the answer is yes and as often as you feed, then I wouldn't worry that much. Although I'm against feeding newborns everyday...I used to feed a fat pinky every 2-3 days to get them to grow up faster without any problems. Just make sure it's pooing and you're cleaning it up and keeping him warm and hydrated at all times. And that's a very nice snake you have there btw:drool:

 

[David_F]

That's almost an unconventional species, as far as most keeping goes, but a nice choice!

Heh, yep. That's what I'm finding out. Haven't been able to find much online about them so it should be interesting to see how he does over time. Thanks for the info on feeding.

P.S. How's Zig doing?

I agree... have you seen him pooing yet?

I forgot to mention this. Yes, he's defecating between feedings. I may try to get him on larger pinkies (the day-old ones don't seem to leave much of a bulge in him) and space the feedings out a bit more. The only reason overfeeding/underfeeding really crossed my mind is because the cornsnake I used to have was the most gluttonous snake I've ever had and even he didn't eat this much. I've just never seen a snake that would eat like this.

Anywho, thanks for the advice, guys. I'll see about getting him on some slightly bigger mice, space the feedings out, and see how he does with that.

Gracias.

 

[Crotalus]

Heres a habitate pix of the species in Canada

and the snake

 

[Midnightrdr456]

i would get slightly larger prey instead of many small ones like you said. Just get larger pinkies and see how often he would eat them.

Also powerfeeding can have adverse effects on snakes, well at least boas i know for sure. Boas can live 20 years+, but i know a breeder that experimented with powerfeeding and all of his powerfed boas only lived 5 years or less.

So for this reason i think just giving it larger prey items rather than feeding him constantly would probably be better.

 

[David_F]

Thanks for the habitat pic, Lelle! Looks similar to areas I've seen them in. Lots of rocks and grass. Nice looking snake in the second pic, too.

Also powerfeeding can have adverse effects on snakes, well at least boas i know for sure. Boas can live 20 years+, but i know a breeder that experimented with powerfeeding and all of his powerfed boas only lived 5 years or less.

Yep, I've read about those boas. Too bad, really. I think the metabolism of racers is a bit faster than that of boas so they should be able to handle more frequent feedings but I'm still going to try to space them out a bit and keep records.

Thanks.

 

[Midnightrdr456]

yea he doesnt look powerfed at all. Really a beautiful snake, I just wanted to bring that up in case you hadn't heard about it, but your little one seems to be doing fine.