Eating patterns and body weight change of snakes when eating and when food deprived

Abstract

Four Florida king snakes were maintained in a warm (27°C) room with continuous access to water and were presented mice daily for 17 weeks, after which they were not fed for six weeks. When fed daily, the snakes ate large meals at intervals of four to five days and increased their body weights an average of 61 per cent during the 17 week period. During the first few days of food deprivation they lost a substantial amount of weight as they digested the last meal, but their weights fell very slowly thereafter. After six weeks of food deprivation the average body weight loss relative to weight immediately before the last pre-deprivation meal was only 6.3 per cent. When feeding was resumed after deprivation, none of the animals displayed an increase in food intake, and two of the animals failed to eat for extended periods.