| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| jesssmellsx |
Posted - 31/08/2011 : 12:41:01
hi I am new on this website and first time owner of a corn snake, i know this topic may be discussed all the time but I was wondering whether anyone would be able to give some advice.
I got my corn snake ferris last week and he is about 24 inches, the petshop told me to feed him on pinkie mice every wednesday and saturday, I have been doing this however today I gave him two pinkie mice and he ate them fine, I am just wondering whether this was a good decision and if so when should I next feed him.
And also I was just looking for some advice on when I should move my snake up to fuzzies and so on, I have looked on the internet but it keeps giving me vague answers and so knowledge from corn snake owners is appreciative.
sorry to bring up such a tedious and well talked about topic but I want to be a good owner and dont want him to under/over weight |
| 6 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| jesssmellsx |
Posted - 01/09/2011 : 11:30:26
thanks for all the comments they have been a great help :) |
| lotabob |
Posted - 31/08/2011 : 22:54:23
1 item of the right size every 7 days will be fine. Unless your fattening up a skinny snake or dieting a fat snake then 1 will be fine. As GP says though feeding with a short gap inbetween is not ideal, snakes need to sleep (to put it simply) to digest their meal, if they are always digesting they never have any time to do anything else, handling becomes almost impossible and corn snakes poop all the time as it is, it would never stop with so much food going through. |
| mkmattyk |
Posted - 31/08/2011 : 16:13:48
my two larger one are around 2-3ft and there on small mice every week, TBH i might try them on 2 s/mice 10days, i only say that because one of them stroke at the tissue paper where the first one was first laid and theres hardly a bump anymore |
| gingerpony |
Posted - 31/08/2011 : 13:58:02
at 2ft he's likely to be a yearling, or maybe even older if he's only been fed on pinkies!
i'd recommend feed a larger prey item eg. a fuzzie, maybe even 2 per feed, but less frequently as snakes aren't designed to be constantly digesting a meal
depending on his girth a small mouse might be appropriate providing it isn't more than 1.5 times the snake at it's widest point |
| garrie |
Posted - 31/08/2011 : 12:58:51
Don't ever be shy about asking questions on here for some assurance! Worst that can happen is that you will be pointed to another thread.
A good rule to go by with regards to food is that the width of the mouse should be no-more than 1 and a half times the width of the widest part of the snake. Another good sign to move up a size is when there is no (or hardly) any sign of the mouse in the snakes stomach (i.e. no lumps and bumps).
As snakes get older, they tend to eat less frequently - if you move him up a size, you may wish to reduce feeding him to just once every 5 - 7 days. It isn't going to make a huge amount of difference - i'm sure when others comment on this thread you'll see that there isn't a real "standard" way to feed other than the maximum size part of it.
http://www.thecornsnake.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=11891 - this thread gives you some info about checking for signs of overweight/underweight snakes... Sta~ple's image half way down the first page is an especially quick and easy way to tell. I hope this helps, and i hope i have given you a bit more info to go on regarding food size etc |
| Mamma |
Posted - 31/08/2011 : 12:56:18
Hi there 
In reg to moving the feeds up a size the general rule is if there isnt a significant bump on your snake after you feed it then it is time to move up. As long as the feed is no bigger than 1.5x more than the biggest part of your snakes body, your snake should manage it fine xx |
