Cornsnake Feeding Question

[Kisha_Llewellyn]

I have a baby cornsnake. When I first got her she was on pinkies and the guy I got her from told me to feed her once a week on the pinkies for 5 weeks and then put her on fuzzies. Well, she has gone through her 5 weeks of pinkies, and i just bought some fuzzies. They are small, but they still look to me like they would be too big for her. Although I thought that the pinkie would be too big when I first got her too. How do I know for sure that I should be feeding her these fuzzies? And, if I were to feed her something that was too big for her......what would happen and what should I do about it?

[marisa]

Fuzzies should not be too big for any cornsnake over a month or more old, which yours is. I doubt your snake will have problems taking down a fuzzie mouse.

There is really nothing you can do IF it is too big, it will either take it down and be fine, or possibly regurgitate. I wouldn't really worry about it though because cornsnakes can take HUGE meals and fuzzies aren't that big. Just make sure it has a nice hot spot, and you should be good to go.

Marisa

[Kisha_Llewellyn]

Thanks Marisa!
Then I will go ahead, I just didnt want her to choke on it and perhaps die. If there is no worry about that then all is good. If she does regurgitate it then I guess I go back to large pinkies.
Thanks for the info!

[marisa]

She will absolutly not choke on it or die. If you are really nervous about it, simply stash the fuzzys in your freezer and try her out on TWO pinkies. If she can take those down, she can take a fuzzy mouse.

Marisa

[vanderkm]

Like Marisa says - should be no problem for a corn to take small fuzzies at this age. I find that if they think the prey size is too big they will just refuse to tackle it. Otherwise - it is amazing how wide their jaws can open!

best of luck,

mary v.

[Kisha_Llewellyn]

Well, that didnt work out too well now did it? Just like I thought, she is much too small for fuzzies. I have read in many places that the general rule of thumb is not to feed them anything wider than their largest part, and this thing was definately too big for her. She fought with it for quite some time before giving up and spitting it back into her water bowl. So, off I go again to the reptile house to get more pinkies and to complain about the boy who lied to me.....poor girl, she was so excited about feeding time and is going to have to wait till i get home now to be fed :(

[BoidKeeper]

Provided the corn was kept warm enough it should be big enough. It may have been fed enough to have grown to a size large enough to take down a fuzzy but if it was kept in the low 80s it may not be as big as it could be. I've seen corns that are a year old and are the size of mine at six months. Feeding the right amount only works well if they are kept at optimal temps at the same time. So with out seeing your snake or knowing how hot your basking spot was it's hard to say whether not it's big enought for fuzzies.
Cheers,
Trevor

[rwg]

Corn snakes can take food items 1.5 to 2 times their widest girth...sometimes larger. Their first time on a larger food item can be a bit hard though. Many people give double helpings of the smaller size to prepare the snake for large food for a couple of feedings before moving up.

On choking: Snakes have a windpipe that ends near the front of their mouth. It can be pushed forward while eating, which gives them sort of a straw to breathe through while swallowing their food. Means they cant really choke on their food.