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Overfeeding Gaboon vipers... and other Bitis spp.
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by Jeff66 on April 9, 2006
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Hi.
Some time ago, when I was speaking with a very experienced Herp keeper, she suggested to me that the possibility of a short lifespan in many of the Bitis spp. kept in captivity is due to the owner overfeeding them. I am just interested in getting some opinions on this topic. How often do you feed your Bitis spp. snakes? With Gaboons and Puff Adders being so content to just sit around an awful lot, it seems like they can become obese rather quickly. I know that most of the adult Gaboons that I have personally seen all looked extremely overweight to me. But, that was just my personal observation. Any thoughts on this topic? Do you think overfeeding within the Bitis genus is a problem with captive specimens?
Jeff H.
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RE: Overfeeding Gaboon vipers... and other Bitis s
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by Crotalus_Catcher on April 9, 2006
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Seeing as how I have no Bitis experience, I would just like to point out that one snake expert once explained to me that some share the opinion that snakes are pre-programmed with a set number of meals that thier bowels can handle. After that, they die. Interesting theory and kind of gives an insight as to why "power-fed" snakes tend to live such short lives. I don't know if this theory is correct, or if I've answered your question in any way, but there's my $0.02.
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RE: Overfeeding Gaboon vipers... and other Bitis s
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by LarryDFishel on April 9, 2006
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I haven't kept enough bitis to help with the question at hand. But just to put things in perspective since your profile suggests you're new to hots... Take into account that gaboons are just naturally built much shorter and wider than almost any other snake. A gaboon that's about to die of starvation would still look fat to someone who wasn't familiar with them...
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RE: Overfeeding Gaboon vipers... and other Bitis s
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by Phobos on April 10, 2006
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Hi:
I keep 7 species of Bitis currently and I find a moderate size meal (~270 gm rat) once every 21 to 30 days is enough for the larger Bitis. The dwarf species I feed a a 30 gm meal once every 14 to 21 days. Juv's six to 12 months once a week typically. Younger than 6 months weekly or even twice a week. I also get their weight once a quarter, so I can monitor their progress.
My big three (Puff,Rhino,& Gabby) are thin compared to other specimens I've seen, so I don't think they are overfed. I also mix up what I feed them, so they get mixed proteins, minerals etc.. They get Rats, mice, Chicks, & Quail.
I just saw some VERY overfed snakes at an AZA Zoo. I would absolutly say that these snakes were obese.
Al
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RE: Overfeeding Gaboon vipers... and other Bitis s
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by tj on April 10, 2006
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I think overfeeding any snake is unhealthy, and dangerous to the snake. Many people do it with hognose snakes, and I've seen a few do it with EDB's. I guess the logic behind that is that they will breed sooner. Powerfeeding is what they call it. For gaboon's, I don't see why anyone would do anything but try to replicate what they do in nature. They sit for week's and month's at a time waiting for a meal. They also have a slow metabolism, unlike a cobra for example, so they don't pass meals as quickly. I would think feeding too much would mess up their insides.
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RE: Overfeeding Gaboon vipers... and other Bitis s
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by pygmybait on April 13, 2006
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Hi Jeff,
I have only worked with the two Gabbys that I currently have so my experience may not be as in depth as some of the other guys here. With that being said...
My two gaboons will not eat until that have defecated. Ever. They will huff and puff and twitch at anything that I put in with them until they are good and ready to eat. The cool thing is, you can almost set your watch by them. I feed on Fridays and sice I have had them, with only a couple of exceptions, they have vacated their bowels on thursday night or friday morning. They eat every third week now and shed every fifth feeding (every 3.5 months)within a day or two before they eat. Every time, rain or shine. They are siblings so that may have something to do with it.
It is possible to overfeed anything. Keeping good records is everything when you're dealing with exotics like the bitis species. I have found that the greatest concern when working with these snakes is actually proper hydration. I used to have to soak my Gabbys regularly when they were still small. They eventually found their water bowles and all is well. Hope that helps some...
Matt
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