Corn Snake size and feeding help

Outfoxed · 03-09-14, 09:11 AM

Hello (I haven't been on her for a while been busy with College). I have two albion corn snakes both girls (as far as I know) they both are going to be a year soon one in March and the other in April. I had a friend who was helping me with the information but unfortunately had a bad fall out with her and now I'm going on what petsmart has and the internet. But I am kind of concerned she did tell me by the time her snake was a year she was already feeding them fuzzes and she was a lot bigger then mine are now. I'm just wondering just how big should they get around a year old and when they should be moving off pinkies right now I am feeding them weekly on Sunday nights one pinky each. Is that the right amount? Should be concerned that they haven't grown in widthwise as much as the have length wise? I don't want to be underfeeding them at all...every time i ask them at petsmart (i think they are sick of me asking the same question every five weeks) If I am feeding the right amount they tell me one pinky weekly and move on to a fuzzy when the pinky is no longer bigger then its head. is that right or am I starving my snakes? Pleas anyone with answer would be great help.

**EL Ziggy** · 03-09-14, 10:08 AM

Welcome to the forum. A yearling corn snake should definitely be eating more than one pinky a week. My yearling kings are eating small to medium mice by comparison. I would try bumping them up to 1-2 fuzzys every 5-6 days. You should make sure your husbandry is correct too. What temps/humidity are you keeping your corns at? How are you monitoring your temps? Try to post some pics of your snakes and setup when you can. There are lots of helpful/ knowledgeable people here to help. Best wishes.

drumcrush · 03-09-14, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

Welcome to the forum. A yearling corn snake should definitely be eating more than one pinky a week. My yearling kings are eating small to medium mice by comparison. I would try bumping them up to 1-2 fuzzys every 5-6 days. You should make sure your husbandry is correct too. What temps/humidity are you keeping your corns at? How are you monitoring your temps? Try to post some pics of your snakes and setup when you can. There are lots of helpful/ knowledgeable people here to help. Best wishes.

Exactly. My brothers yearling is feeding on hoppers right now.

CosmicOwl · 03-09-14, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Outfoxed

Hello (I haven't been on her for a while been busy with College). I have two albion corn snakes both girls (as far as I know) they both are going to be a year soon one in March and the other in April. I had a friend who was helping me with the information but unfortunately had a bad fall out with her and now I'm going on what petsmart has and the internet. But I am kind of concerned she did tell me by the time her snake was a year she was already feeding them fuzzes and she was a lot bigger then mine are now. I'm just wondering just how big should they get around a year old and when they should be moving off pinkies right now I am feeding them weekly on Sunday nights one pinky each. Is that the right amount? Should be concerned that they haven't grown in widthwise as much as the have length wise? I don't want to be underfeeding them at all...every time i ask them at petsmart (i think they are sick of me asking the same question every five weeks) If I am feeding the right amount they tell me one pinky weekly and move on to a fuzzy when the pinky is no longer bigger then its head. is that right or am I starving my snakes? Pleas anyone with answer would be great help.

All snakes grow differently. Some will grow a lot and others won't. Some will be long and skinny while others will put on length and girth. There is no set rule for how they are supposed to grow. If you're worried about their health take a look at them. Do they have a rounded shape to their back, or is it more triangular? A healthy corn snake will have a body shape sort of like a loaf of bread: sort of rounded on the top, with slightly concave sides and a flat belly. A corn snake with a triangular shape is underweight.

Personally, I think that you are underfeeding a bit. Probably not enough to hurt the snake in the long run, but I don't think that 1 pinky every 7 days is enough food. My six month old corn snake is eating 2 pinkies every 5-6 days with no trouble. If you don't think your snake is quite ready to move up to two pinkies, you can always try reducing the number of days between feedings. Give them one pinky every 4-5 days instead of every 7.

**EL Ziggy** · 03-09-14, 11:17 AM

Pinkys don't have much nutritional value at all. I agree that all snakes grow at different rates but a pinky or two won't do much for a yearling corn. They can probably survive but I don't see them thriving with that feeding regiment. You can feed prey items 1 to 1.5 times the girth of your snakes body at its widest point. You can try feedings of 10-15% of the snakes body weight per feeding. Kings and corns are pretty similar in terms of husbandry and feeding. My MBK was 2 months old when I got her. She was on pinkys for probably a month before moving up to fuzzys. She turns 1 on April 17th and she's currently eating 1 medium mouse, or 1small mouse and a hopper every 6-7 days. I'm not exacly trying to compare them, just giving a comparable reference. Keep us posted.

CosmicOwl · 03-09-14, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

Pinkys don't have much nutritional value at all. I agree that all snakes grow at different rates but a pinky or two won't do much for a yearling corn. They can probably survive but I don't see them thriving with that feeding regiment. You can feed prey items 1 to 1.5 times the girth of your snakes body at its widest point. You can try feedings of 10-15% of the snakes body weight per feeding. Kings and corns are pretty similar in terms of husbandry and feeding. My MBK was 2 months old when I got her. She was on pinkys for probably a month before moving up to fuzzys. She turns 1 on April 17th and she's currently eating 1 medium mouse, or 1small mouse and a hopper every 6-7 days. I'm not exacly trying to compare them, just giving a comparable reference. Keep us posted.

I think pinkies have more nutrition than most people give them credit for. Fuzzies and hoppers are more nutritious, but it's not like pinkies are packing peanuts. If the fuzzy is 1-1.5 times thicker than your snake, you can probably graduate up though.

drumcrush · 03-09-14, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CosmicOwl

I think pinkies have more nutrition than most people give them credit for. Fuzzies and hoppers are more nutritious, but it's not like pinkies are packing peanuts. If the fuzzy is 1-1.5 times thicker than your snake, you can probably graduate up though.

Their skeletal structure is what makes them less nutritional as they aren't developed all the way and can cause a calcium deficiency

CosmicOwl · 03-09-14, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drumcrush

Their skeletal structure is what makes them less nutritional as they aren't developed all the way and can cause a calcium deficiency

From what I have read, the difference in calcium between pinkies and fuzzies is not particularly large.

Teal · 03-09-14, 01:25 PM

You shouldn't measure food size by the snake's head size - that will almost certainly lead to underfeeding.

My son's yearling corn snake is about 13" long and as big around as a Sharpie marker... she eats a hopper mouse every week.

drumcrush · 03-09-14, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CosmicOwl

From what I have read, the difference in calcium between pinkies and fuzzies is not particularly large.

They don't really have developed bones til ten days which is your fuzzy

drumcrush · 03-09-14, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drumcrush

They don't really have developed bones til ten days which is your fuzzy

Plus, it would be better to feed fuzzies, even if the calcium level isn't much higher.

Starbuck · 03-09-14, 04:04 PM

I agree with what others have said here; you probably need to be feeding larger meals and/or more frequently. If you are worried that the hopper or fuzzy is too large for your snake, wait slightly longer between meals, i guarantee your snake will be able to eat a fuzzy/hopper. my yearlings were probably around 18 inches. I fed them fuzzes from the get-go because thats what my other snakes were eating, though granted i was probably overfeeding them a bit initially.

Lankyrob · 03-09-14, 06:22 PM

Feed a meal that is upto twice the girth ofthe widest part of the snake each week and you should be fine. My corns have grown much more in length than in girth, are now three years old and starting to get girthier.

CosmicOwl · 03-09-14, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drumcrush

Plus, it would be better to feed fuzzies, even if the calcium level isn't much higher.

I agree. Fuzzies are better but the actual levels of calcium aren't really that different.

poomwah · 03-12-14, 01:39 AM

it could be worse, I've got a 17 month old rat snake that was eating a pinkie every 7-10 days before I got it