nutritional considerations of feeding adult corn a small rat - Page 2

SnakeyJay · 11-21-11, 06:16 AM

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 · 11-21-11, 06:19 AM

My adult corns get fed every 2-3 weeks.

jarich · 11-21-11, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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?

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!

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

ashleynicole · 11-21-11, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jarich

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!

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 · 11-21-11, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sassy_snake_lady

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 · 11-21-11, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snakey-Jay-BRB

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 · 11-21-11, 08:44 AM

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 · 11-21-11, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ashleynicole

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 · 11-21-11, 10:28 AM

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

candyraver69 · 11-30-11, 08:36 AM

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 · 12-01-11, 02:31 PM

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

ashleynicole · 12-01-11, 09:46 PM

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 · 12-02-11, 02:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ashleynicole

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.