Feeding question

[Kathryntheclean]

How will I know when my corn snake is old enough for the next size mouse? He's 4 or 5 months old and eating 1 pinky every 5 days. He's a very little guy and thin. Going through a mite problem, but is eating fine. He greedily ate his mousie today and took a big drink of water before napping.

[EL Ziggy]

I don't keep my hatchlings on pinkys long at all. I'd offer him a couple more single pinky meals, then a couple of 2 pinky meals, then on to the next prey size.

[Kathryntheclean]

Oh, wow. I thought he seemed really hungry when we fed him last night. You think a slightly bigger mousie will give him more of a full tummy?

[GyGbeetle]

Feed him 2 and see how he takes it. If he consistently can take 2 in a feeding for a solid 2-3 weeks, he may be ready to upgrade. You don't want to disrupt his eating too much, as he's new with you. You don't want to send his system into shock, even though it may be healthier for him.

[Kathryntheclean]

Sounds good. How long does one wait after feeding him his first mouse to see if he wants another?

[Andy_G]

Put both in at the same time. :)

[Kathryntheclean]

Got it. Thanks.

[EL Ziggy]

I feed 6 of my 8 snakes from tongs so I usually feed one prey item at a time. When they finish one I offer another. I have drop fed multiple prey items with a couple of my larger snakes though.

[Kathryntheclean]

And, it's ok to the snake if it's a frozen, thawed one? I mean, you don't have to make it seem alive?

[GyGbeetle]

I feed mine similar to El Ziggy. Sometimes they need that little wiggle and a latch before they'll eat. And I'll feed the second once the first is down the hatch, so they'll latch on. Only 1 of my babies actually does a drop feed; she's a shy eater.

Maybe for now, feed it to him and let him latch on. when he's finished, offer the second to see how it goes. Given from what I've heard about these guys, they will eat anything offered, so you probably won't have a problem.

[Andy_G]

It will depend on the individual a little bit. As a rule, corn snakes will take prey items just laying there, but some require a bit of teasing/dangling as if the prey were alive.

[Kathryntheclean]

And they're like my Labrador dog, Suzie, they'll continue eating even when full? So, how exactly would i be sure my corn's had his fill?

[EL Ziggy]

You don't necessarily have to fill him up because they may overeat if given the opportunity. Just give him a decent sized meal. As a guideline I feed my colubrids 10-15% of their body weight per feeding.

[Kathryntheclean]

Thank you. That's good info.