# how i do fatten up my Royal



## shadesg53 (Jun 29, 2010)

Hi everyone,

Just new to keeping Royals so I need some help.

I got a Royal from a shop who said that they had "rescued" it from an older guy who didnt look after it. All she needed was to be fattened up a bit. 

So . . . whats the best way for me get some weight on the poor wee thing. I hear Rat pups are the way to go?? :hmm:

any thoughts guys???


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## Sirvincent (Jul 16, 2008)

how old is it? cos if it's adult then rat pups won't touch the sides : victory:


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## shadesg53 (Jun 29, 2010)

*fatty Snake*

The guy in the shop told me that she was only a few months old but i think that she might be older.

She is about 2ft long maybe a touch longer.


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## Sirvincent (Jul 16, 2008)

yeah rat pups will do it, could also try her on ex-breeder mice? best of luck with her


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## HanRed (May 28, 2010)

don't have a royal, but have a snake anyway. but feed him/her more often...but dunno what size food royals eat. mine eats large mice.


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## chopper77 (May 7, 2009)

*feeding royal*

hi mate, get yourself a wee book on them, but feeding every 5-7 day's should fatten her up+try going by girth of her, should see a bulge in her belly after feedin. good luck: victory:


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## Antw23uk (Jan 12, 2009)

Hi

I think to start you need to weigh your snake, measure it and then let us know.
There is no right or wrong way of 'fattening' up a royal so unless its deathly under weight .. in which case it shouldnt have been sold to you ... then just feed it the appropriate sized prey item every 10-14 days.

My royal was a year old in April and he eats small rats. Aim to feed (ideally rats) prey the same size of the thickest part of the snakes body.

Slowly but surely. There is no rush unless you think its too underweight in which case it should be checked by a vet.


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## shadesg53 (Jun 29, 2010)

*fatty snake*

thanks for all the help guys.

I will try her with some food and see how she takes too it.

one more thing . . .


. . . feed her in the viv or not??

alot of different ideas on this one.
i have seen that some ppl say feed in another place/viv cos if you keep putting your hand in with the food she will assume that everytime you put your hand in she will expect food and might even have a strike at you.

but at the same time i seen another post saying that if you move them to feed then they will assume they are being feed everytime you pick em up and once again you run the risk of a strike.

soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo,


me being new to the world of Royals/Snakes whats the best way for both me and the Snake??

Thanks guys! :notworthy:


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## Antw23uk (Jan 12, 2009)

Viv feed everytime for me, its less hassle and in my experience complete nonsense this whole striking/ eating in viv/ RUB stuff.

Royals are fussy enough when it comes to eating (you have yet to experience this joy of course, lol) so feed them in the viv. They arent stupid, they can tell the differnce between a hand and a rat : victory:


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## Reptile_Kyle (Apr 24, 2010)

power feed her... but there is always consquences when it comes to power feeding!


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## shadesg53 (Jun 29, 2010)

*fatty Royal*

ok, here comes the silly question . . . .power feeding??


that would be...?


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## Crownan (Jan 6, 2007)

shadesg53 said:


> thanks for all the help guys.
> 
> I will try her with some food and see how she takes too it.
> 
> ...


 
Thats a lot of rubbish. People just assume its true as it sounds plausible. When you feed and when you remove them from the viv, they are 2 very different actions and snakes can tell the difference......unless of course you're a bit of an idiot......lol :lol2:


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## shadesg53 (Jun 29, 2010)

*fatten my Royal*

so..........bottom line is just feed it?? :lol2:


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## Crownan (Jan 6, 2007)

shadesg53 said:


> so..........bottom line is just feed it?? :lol2:


:2thumb: : victory: :no1:

Exactly, just feed it. 

Power feeding is basically like creating a fat child. Just keep feeding it whatever it will take......very bad for the snake.


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## shadesg53 (Jun 29, 2010)

hahahaha.

:2thumb:

I kinda asked for that didnt I!


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## paraman (Oct 27, 2007)

Antw23uk said:


> Viv feed everytime for me, its less hassle and in my experience complete nonsense this whole striking/ eating in viv/ RUB stuff.
> 
> . They arent stupid, they can tell the differnce between a hand and a rat : victory:


Tell that to someone whose had a feeding bite because they had the smell of rats on their hands. Royals are like any other snake, if its warm and smells of food then it must be food. They primarily use heat sensing and sense of smell to detect food hence the real risk of getting a decent bite.:2thumb:


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## My_SnAkE_rUlEs (Aug 30, 2008)

paraman said:


> Tell that to someone whose had a feeding bite because they had the smell of rats on their hands. Royals are like any other snake, if its warm and smells of food then it must be food. They primarily use heat sensing and sense of smell to detect food hence the real risk of getting a decent bite.:2thumb:


if somebody smells like rats then maybe they should wash there hands and use tongs...
i wash my hands every time i pick up or feed my snakes and i use tongs.

btw not having a go just giving advice =]
(sorry if it seemed like i was having ago)


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## paraman (Oct 27, 2007)

My_SnAkE_rUlEs said:


> if somebody smells like rats then maybe they should wash there hands and use tongs...
> i wash my hands every time i pick up or feed my snakes and i use tongs.
> 
> btw not having a go just giving advice =]
> (sorry if it seemed like i was having ago)


Its called newby inexperience, Ive got 46 years of snake handling, I learnt very quickly, by mistakes as there was little or no advice available when I started. If you look at my profile you should see most of my reps are evil little buggers that dont tolerate mistakes.


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## shadesg53 (Jun 29, 2010)

*fatty Royal*

well guys - last night i went home and Offered my Royal a nice Fat Fuzzie (in her Viv).

at first she didnt even seem to notice it was there. So i left her with it for a while and still nothing.

So . . . i brained the Fuzzie. Well when i say i did, i mean the Mrs done it. Then she took it no problem :2thumb:.

So am feeling a little better about her feeding.


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## GirlHarry (Jul 15, 2009)

Antw23uk said:


> Viv feed everytime for me, its less hassle and in my experience complete nonsense this whole striking/ eating in viv/ RUB stuff.
> 
> Royals are fussy enough when it comes to eating (you have yet to experience this joy of course, lol) so feed them in the viv. They arent stupid, they can tell the differnce between a hand and a rat : victory:


In all fairness to my royal, she's never once turned down a meal :2thumb: i do count myself very lucky.



paraman said:


> Tell that to someone whose had a feeding bite because they had the smell of rats on their hands. Royals are like any other snake, if its warm and smells of food then it must be food. They primarily use heat sensing and sense of smell to detect food hence the real risk of getting a decent bite.:2thumb:


This is so true. My royal's an aggressive beggar when it comes to feeding time, even when it not actually feeding time!! I know when she's ready for food because she'll 'S' up right against the glass :gasp: Damn annoying because if i need to change her water [on non feeding days] i'm always terrified she'll mistake my hand for a rat. Tongs are essential.




shadesg53 said:


> well guys - last night i went home and Offered my Royal a nice Fat Fuzzie (in her Viv).
> 
> at first she didnt even seem to notice it was there. So i left her with it for a while and still nothing.
> 
> ...


Congrats 
Your Mrs is brave!
I could never do that, I'd get the OH involved if i had to do that to my royal


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## kevhutch (Feb 18, 2010)

I was always told(a few years ago, so might not be true) if you feed snakes chicks they will bulk out

as i said dont know how true this is

cheers Kev


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## shadesg53 (Jun 29, 2010)

*Royal Help*

Well guys, I think i may have made a bit of a mountain from a mole hill and a very small hill at that!

After work last night I went up the road - grew a set of balls - and lifed the python right out the viv expecting a tag and . . . . nothing happened.

She was totally fine!!

I held her for a good wee while let her explore a bit and even the Mrs had a hold too!! :2thumb:

The python was fine the whole time, nice and calm. When i put her back in her viv, I offered her a nice fat fuzzie and after about 20min she took it.

So looks like all this worry was just my nerves. So (for now) it looks like i have a nice wee calm but slightly under weight Royal. So the plan is now just to get her to feed on a regular basis and some meat on her wee bones and am sure she will be fine!

Thanks guys!!!


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## paraman (Oct 27, 2007)

paraman said:


> Its called newby inexperience, Ive got 46 years of snake handling, I learnt very quickly, by mistakes as there was little or no advice available when I started. If you look at my profile you should see most of my reps are evil little buggers that dont tolerate mistakes.


That didnt come out quite as intended. What I was trying to point out is that snakes are instinctive and if you make the mistake of smelling of food you will get bitten. We are really lucky now there is a wealth of advice on the forum but when I first started there was little or none and mistakes through inexperience or just plain lack of information was a frequent event. These days I'm a bit better at it , just as well there are a few meanies in my collection.:2thumb:


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## Antw23uk (Jan 12, 2009)

paraman said:


> Tell that to someone whose had a feeding bite because they had the smell of rats on their hands. Royals are like any other snake, if its warm and smells of food then it must be food. They primarily use heat sensing and sense of smell to detect food hence the real risk of getting a decent bite.:2thumb:


Thats just the owners fault .. still means snakes arent stupid .. just, dare i say it ... the owner :Na_Na_Na_Na: 

Well done on the feeding, take your time, do regular feeds 10-14 days apart and whilst it lasts be grateful. A well fed royal is nearly always likely to go off food for a bit and the first time that happens and your 2 months down without a feed you start to worry .. check your conditions and the sticky on feeding and dont worry. If husbandry is fine the snake will start eating again at some point :whistling2:

As i said i prefer to feed in the viv (well RUBs for me) because its just easier Besides i would hate to go get a snake out of its viv when its had a whiff of a rat and is in feeding mode regardless of how well my hands were washed, sod that, lol :lol2:


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