Happy birthday Delilah!!!!

[Quasimoto]

Hi guys, a quick update on our little baby:



She turned a whole year last week! She measures 3.1m now. Before anyone tells me she is too fat, in the pic she just had 4 jumbo rats and is enjoying her little piggy for desert!

[reptile_man65]

Thats sick! lol but great snake.

[Hustler]

Piggy probably never saw this day coming

[Serpy]

That piggy never saw a day...

[Quintin]

Beautiful snake Quasimoto... Looking very good!

Q

[reptile_man65]

How big is she? What size cage have you got her in? PM me.

[Burmbuddy]

Great Stuff Deon!
Now that is what a yearling burm should look like!!!!!
Glad she is hitting the bacon!!!!
Really stunning animal!!!!!!
Cheers
DAN

[Bushviper]

Are you saying that you have a 3.1 meter burmese at one year old? That has to be a record. How often did you feed the snake?

[reptile_man65]

That snake looks healthy and well fed!

[Quasimoto]

@ BV - She was born 16 November 2007 in Welkom. Measured in on 65 cm at two months when I bought her from the breeder. On Saturday she measured 3.1m.

She eats once a week and we skip every 4th week!

[Bushviper]

Well that is amazing. I have some albino burmese that are about a week older and they are exactly 1.4 meters in length. I also feed every week and skip when I remember or are not at home on feeding night. Maybe I am feeding too few food items at a time or too small food items.

[Quasimoto]

I don't know how much our climate has to do with her growth, all my snakes seems to grow a bit faster than average, I guess living here works for them! My niveas for instance are 10 months old and measure in at 1.5m! I have a Brown house that is a healthy 1.1m. My two RTB females are 11 months and 1year old respectively and are both more than 1.75m.

[Bushviper]

Quasimoto do you want to run a boarding school for some snakes? I have some pythons that could do with the extra growth you get from yours. I have some 3 year olds that have not reached 3 meters in length yet. What do you think you would be able to achieve with a retic?

I would really be worried about the Boas though. They need to grow slowly to live a long life. I know of some het for albino boas (right in the beginning of this morph being discovered) who were pushed to breed quicker and only bred either once or twice before dying. These had similar growth to what you are experiencing. Possibly you should look towards a 2 week on 2 week off feeding regimen especially now that they are that much bigger.

Have you tried this system you have with other snakes or is it just these you mentioned? Do you have records of the weights of food and the weight or size of the snake over the past year? I have seen similar results from Manyeleti research station many years ago. They had various colubrids (and shieldnose) double clutching at 1 year old. Then the place burnt down and the research stopped.

[Burmbuddy]

Interesting...never thought about the climate issue...just assumed you had huge genes...lol

Just in general (not pointing fingers, this is just my opinion). I do believe that most people in SA dont feed their BIG snakes enough when they are small. I feel that a 25% of body weight every 5 days for the first 18 months should do you right...after that they should be fed weekly. Most people feel this is extreme and some don’t want to spend the money this takes...
I believe there are a couple of factors that play into the ultimate size of a large constrictor: genes, food intake at a young age, temperature and longevity...

Keep your burm healthy and get it old and you will end up with a large snake...

PS-I actually think it’s your food items that are responsible for her awesome condition and size...got to love the piglets!!!

[Burmbuddy]

Gotta love the SSP (Shameless self promotion)...LOL