Saturday, May 22, 2010

Can you over feed a corn snake? how can you tell how old it is?

my baby corn snake has been feeding on pinkies but i changed to fuzzies bout 3 wks ago, and he is eating 2 each wk. but a friend has a adult corn that only eats 2 adult mice per month so i am wondering if i am feeding my snake to oftern or will they only eat when hungary?
Answers:
2 fuzzies a week is fine for a corn snake, as long as that are both given at once, dont give him them in two seperate feeds.
once he has taken 6 feeds on 2 fuzzies, try upgrading him to 1 small mouse, then after 6 feeds, 2 small mice, etc. just make sure he gets his food in one sitting rather than 2.
my adult corns, take 2 or 3 adult mice per week, and doing it this way is how i got them to do so.
dont be tempted to over feed otherwise powerfeeding will make them obese and reduce their lifespan, corns can live anywhere up to 25 years, a powerfed one is lucky to reach 10.
carry on as you are and things will be ok
The proper diet for a corn snake depends upon the size of the snake. As the corn snake increases in size, the one to two mice per week should be increased in size proportionately to the size of your snake. My large, adult, corn snake occasionally eats a small rat. I usually feed her every 10 days but this changes as the seasons change. I think that your friend is underfeeding his snake by only feeding it once a month.
The mouse that you feed to your snake should not be so large that it makes a huge bulge in the belly of the snake. The snake will have problems digesting it and the mouse may be regurgitated. It is better to feed two small mice than one big mouse because it will be easier for the snake to digest the smaller mice. Feed your snake frozen mice that you defrost in order to avoid injury to your snake.
Sometimes male snakes will lose interest in eating during breeding season, and female snakes will want to eat more.
In order for corn snakes to properly digest their food they need lots of heat (80-83 degrees is ideal). Your corn snake will digest its food and be more willing to eat again. A common cause of regurgitation in corn snakes is that the tank was kept too cool.
-rolls eyes- My corn would eat forever if I let him. Yes it's quite possible to overfeed a corn snake. What I do when I have a question about specific care of my snakes, and all my sources contradict one another, is I look up a knowledgable breeder on the internet. Most are happy to answer any questions you may have.
It's hard to tell how old a corn is due to how often/much the snake is fed. Some people want their snake to grow quickly so they feed it more. -shrugs-
Two adult mice per MONTH? -eyes suspiciously- That seems a bit long for a corn, to me.
Once my babies are off pinkies, they are fed once a week. One appropriately sized animal that is 1-1 1/2 times the width of the widest part of the snake. Babies will not get fat like adults will as most of the food is put into growing. Once they reach 2 years old, they should be fed every 7-10 days, and once they are adults of 3 years or older, I feed every 2 weeks. The exception is during breeding season, the females are fed every week, and after they've laid eggs they are fed weekly until they recover their pre-lay weight. Then they are back on a 2 weeks schedule.
you should only really feed it once per week maximum, if you feed it too much too quickly it will grow too quicky and could die
2 fuzzies a week, you're defenately over feeding it. I have a 2ft californian king who's 4 years and he gets 3 'large fuzzies' a month. As a baby I gave him a pinkie every sunday for about 7 months and then as he went on to Fuzzies I gave him 2 a month and now he's on the bigger ones he gets 3 a month. I either give them to him all in one go or 1 a week (on sundays then I can't forget!)
Remember - If the snake isn't hungry it won't eat ... snakes are suppost to be out in the wild and therefore they eat if they're hungry not when they're fed.
You can always check with your local pet store, if you can measure your snake as they will want to know how long he/she is. As for telling the age - you estimate it from around the time you brought it. That's the only advice I can give for that. Snakes are so lovely!
Cut its head off and count the rings same as a tree.
clairew1207 is definently wrong he nos nothing
With all snakes when given a chance to eat they will. Obesity can be a problem with any pet snake and most snakes in captivity are over fed.
Krstl

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