Right: new keepers, in particular, are concerned about
feeding their snake a rodent that is too large, and as a
result, many snakes are underfed. Images by
Egoreichenkov Evgenii and fivespots.
“How do I know when to increase
the size of my snake’s food?”
Many new reptile keepers struggle with knowing
when to increase the size of the rodents they feed
to their pet python as the snake grows. Pythons are
incredible creatures that are physiologically
equipped to consume prey items much larger than
their own heads. People become concerned about
offering their snake food that is too large for the
animal to eat. As a result, some snake owners will
underfeed their snakes, giving them food items that
are far too small. I have encountered people feeding
an 18-month-old carpet python pinkies on more
than one occasion. This significantly stunts the
animal’s growth and may prevent its proper devel-
opment in the long term. At the same time, it is
important not to overfeed a captive snake in terms
of the frequency and size of meals as this can also
lead to health problems over time.
As a general rule, the food item should be slightly
wider than the thickest part of the python’s body.
Once the snake has fully swallowed the meal, you
should be able to see a noticeable bulge in its
stomach. If there is no visible bulge, it is likely that
the food item was too small and you can move up to
a larger mouse or rat. Feeding the snake one larger
meal, rather than two or three smaller rodents at a
time, is better for the development of the muscles
around its jaw and head. If a food item is too large,
the snake will either not consume it, or regurgitate it
during the process of ingestion.
“I have heard that you have to
crush the head of mealworms,
otherwise they can chew through
the stomach of my lizard. Is this
true?”
Another common myth within the reptile community
is that you have to crush or remove the head of a
mealworm before feeding it to a bearded dragon, or
other species of lizard. This is completely untrue
and I am yet to hear of a confirmed case of a
mealworm actually chewing its way out of a lizard’s
stomach. The important lesson here is that
mealworms are actually a rather unhealthy live
insect food for any reptile and should only be fed in
moderation due to their limited nutritional value.
Mealworms are very high in fat, low in calcium, and
have a hard, indigestible, chitinous exoskeleton.
Mealworms should only ever be offered as a treat to
your reptiles and never fed to young, or very small
animals. Many lizards will eagerly take mealworms,
but if overfed they may become obese, and there is
also the risk of impaction due to a build up of chitin
in the digestive tract.
“Thermostats are really expensive,
do I have to have one on my
enclosure?”
A quality thermostat is an essential piece of equip-
ment for any reptile set up; in fact, it is arguably the
most important piece of equipment! Thermostats
are the control mechanism by which optimal
temperature ranges are maintained and regulated
within an enclosure.
Right: mealworms cannot chew
their way out of a lizard’s stomach,
but they should only be fed in
moderation. Image by Bezzangi.
Im-