nutritional considerations of feeding adult corn a small rat

[ashleynicole]

So our adult corn eats 3-4 adult mice per week. He has eaten a few small rats in the past that I had thawed for my ball python and he had refused. I was wondering if there is any nutritional contraindication to me feeding him a small to med rat weekly. It would be more cost effective.
Thanks

[Gungirl]

I would go with the rat. As far as I'm aware its better on their system to feed 1 Item a week vs a few items a week. All of my snakes eat proper sized rats with no issue.

[ashleynicole]

Well he eats all 4 mice in one sitting so we are still only feeding him once a week. As long as there are no nutritional contraindications I will switch to rats.

[SnakeyJay]

Must be a big *** corn lol... hungry boy.

[shaunyboy]

i use this when working out nutritional values

Rodent Pro's Nutrient Composition (http://www.rodentpro.com/qpage_articles_03.asp)

cheers shaun

[Lankyrob]

My adult corn (about 4.5ft long) eats ONE xl mouse every 14 days! How big is your corn???

[infernalis]

I have been feeding my corn rats for quite a while, just because it's convenient for me.

[ashleynicole]

He big for a corn. Around 5 feet . I haven't measured or weighed him recently. Or maybe ever... He is a 2005 hatchling. I have a hard time finding big mice also and the large frozen ones arent that big either. With less than 3 he is usually out the next day. With 3 or more he hunkers down in his hide for about 24 hours.

[ashleynicole]

From that it seems the rats are higher fat lower protein than mice.

[ashleynicole]

A few people on the cornsnake forums said that it could lead to calcium deficiencies? That sounds kind of ludicrous to me. They also voiced concerns that my corn may be overweight? Does he look overweight?

[infernalis]

Looks very normal to me.

[Lankyrob]

When we rescued ourshe was fat, about three inches to ghe front and behind the cloaca were obvious fatty deposits, these are now basically gone with better feeding practice and the fact we actually handle him so he gets some exercise.

Yours doesnt look to have these at all, looks really nice.

The advice we were given with an adult that isnt growing is that feeding every 14 days will help maintain weight without him getting overweight, when he was dieting i was feeding a medium mouse every 21 days.

[ashleynicole]

Thanks that makes sense to me, I appreciate the input.

[ashleynicole]

One more picture of our healthy boy.. Let me edit that there are times we have gone 2-3 weeks between feedings.

[kernel]

If I were you, I would feed it one small rat instead of multiple mice. I like to be able to see a good size lump in my corns.

[SnakeyJay]

He looks fine :) and he definately is a big un' for a corn. I wish my corn was as colm as yours looks. No matter how much or how little handling i give him, hes still skittish and eratic. But i love him for it as he was my first lol.

[sassy_snake_lady]

My adult corns get fed every 2-3 weeks.

[jarich]

A few people on the cornsnake forums said that it could lead to calcium deficiencies? That sounds kind of ludicrous to me. They also voiced concerns that my corn may be overweight? Does he look overweight?

It is very ludicrous. Show them that link that Shaun put up and tell them that mice actually have slightly more calcium. You'll get to look like a smarty pants! :cool:

I agree with the others, he looks healthy and fine.

[ashleynicole]

It is very ludicrous. Show them that link that Shaun put up and tell them that mice actually have slightly more calcium. You'll get to look like a smarty pants! :cool:

I agree with the others, he looks healthy and fine.

Thanks, I've seen overweight snakes with fatty deposits and our boy doesn't have anything like that. I have enough mice for a few more feedings, then I will switch to small rats.

[ashleynicole]

My adult corns get fed every 2-3 weeks.

I thought corns needed weekly feedings? Our guy is a lot calmer when he is fed weekly. When I tried going every 2 weeks he gets really active when we try to handle him. I was told they have faster metabolisms and benefit with weekly feedings.

[ashleynicole]

He looks fine :) and he definately is a big un' for a corn. I wish my corn was as colm as yours looks. No matter how much or how little handling i give him, hes still skittish and eratic. But i love him for it as he was my first lol.

He was our first as well. He is a very active guy, doesn't sit still when we handle him. And he gets a bit skittish if you move too fast, esp around the head. Our ball python however seems to enjoy his head being stroked.

[KORBIN5895]

Lol! Kota loves his head being scratched. If you put your hand under his chin he will stop moving. Then after you scratch him if you leave your hand there he will move on a bit then turn his head around back on to your hand. He doesn't always do this but most times he will.

[Lankyrob]

I thought corns needed weekly feedings? Our guy is a lot calmer when he is fed weekly. When I tried going every 2 weeks he gets really active when we try to handle him. I was told they have faster metabolisms and benefit with weekly feedings.


It all depends on what you feed and how much exercise they get - as long as you keep an eye on him that he isnt getting fat then what works for you is fine. I feed a larger item less often to all my snakes rather than small prey more regularly - it works for me and they are all healthy and happy.

[kernel]

Yea, I prefer to feed one large item every week or two depending one the snake.

[candyraver69]

How much they need to eat like Rob said has to do with their exercise, and also their temperature. If yours is spending a lot of time in the hot side vs the cold side, his metabolism is going to be faster, vs a corn brumating wouldn't eat at all. You need to gauge it on his appearance, weight, and defecation. Only you will know if you are overfeeding/underfeeding. What you have been doing is obviously the right amount because he looks great!

Now it's just a matter of convenience. Just don't feed him something too big that will risk a regurge or ripping something. The nutritional difference is negligible. The one thing is, when ordering "small rats" from a vendor, the size they some can vary greatly. I see you have a ball, so as long as you can sift through the bag and pick the proper sized ones for him and give the bigger ones to the ball you should be okay... but for others reading this thread that is one inconvenience to feeding large corns small rats. rodentpro's small rat: 44-85 grams is a pretty significant gap, 44 being just bigger than a really XL mouse, 85 being more than 4 average large mice :S

[Snakefood]

I feed my big boy corn small rats and have had no problems

[ashleynicole]

Yes we live in Florida and it is already warm and he does still spend a lot of time on the warm side and defecates 1-2 times a week so his metabolism probably is going pretty well. I don't breed so I don't lower temps for them to brumate or anything like that. I have quit a few mice to go through but it is nice to know that it is not the end of the world if I get some small rats in the future.

[sassy_snake_lady]

I thought corns needed weekly feedings? Our guy is a lot calmer when he is fed weekly. When I tried going every 2 weeks he gets really active when we try to handle him. I was told they have faster metabolisms and benefit with weekly feedings.

As has been said, depends on many different factors. I have to say all mine are calm, easy to handle no matter how often they are fed.

You could feed an adult weekly but if you chose to feed a large mouse or a small rat your corn is more than likely to gain too much weight. If you want to feed weekly then offer a smaller sized prey item than you normally would. I just find it easier to feed a larger item less frequently.

Mine get rats or mice. Whatever I have available at the time.