Dwarf Snake?

[Noxis]

Hi everyone. I have a question about one of my corn snakes. She is a crimon, and is about 7 months old (I have a monthly track of her since she hatched, this age is absolutely correct.) She is smaller than my 6 month old, and she weighs 11 grams! She is tiny, but she's perfectly healthy, eats regularly on the same schedule as my other corns (one f/t pinkie once a week), and she is perfectly active. I know for a fact that her father is a small snake (he is only about 3ft at 8 years old) so this calms me down a little, however, after today's weigh in (unfortunately the first one by far) I'm feeling a little anxious.

Is there something very wrong with her, or is she just going to be a miniature snake? Like I said, she sheds, eats, and exercises appropriately. Her temp gradient is a little low, but it still sits at about 81 on the warm side, 70 on the cool, and it seems to work fine with her other natural schedules.
Should I be doing something to make her grow/fatten up a bit? Or is this just how she is?
Thanks for reading my rant! xD

http://img576.imageshack.us/img576/520/edenthumb.png

[Noxis]

*** Sorry guys, got the age mixed. Recalculated that just now because it didn't seem right. She is just over 10 months (hatch date 06/04/10).
Thanks again.

[bitsy]

You could safely increase the frequency of her feeds to every 5 days and see if that helps. They grow at such different rates and react differently to the same feeding regime. Once a week might just be a "maintenance" diet for your particular gal.

And yes, some Corns are just naturally smaller, so it's not necessarily a cause for concern. Her weight is pretty low for a 10 month old though, so it's worth increasing her feeding. You're looking for her body to be in proportion to her head (if a Corn's head starts to look oddly small, that's actually an indicator that the rest of it is overweight!) and also for her to have good muscle tone when you pick her up. Feeding a Corn up can be a juggling act between promoting healthy growth and just piling on excess flab (which is as unhealthy for a snake as it is for a human).

I'd say as long as she's eating reliably and pooping normally then that's a very good start.

[Dreamsnake]

I got a Reptivite for my small snake. I'm going to switch mine to rat pinks and see if that works for her. Nim has had 4 regurges on fuzzies, so she's eaten pinks her entire life. I need to find a hairless mouse distributor for future feedings.

A pink every 5 days is a good start. I'll be adjusting Nim back to that first before the switch to rat pinks. As long as the snake eats on her own do not give up on her.

[Naagas]

^^ I've heard that Reptivite and rats are two good options for underweight snakes.

There COULD theoretically be something wrong with your little one. Just like a person with stunted growth usually has other health problems, the same is true for a corn.
However, the corn could just be a slow grower.
Kinda like the kid who was always the shortest in elementary school but is now 6'6" and 300 pounds.
Not me, though. I am still just as short (4'11") :(

It would be kinda cool if your snake stayed really small. Except for the worrying factor.

[Noxis]

Thanks everyone.
I've also gone around to a few of my local reptile pet shops, breeders, friends who are snake owners, as well as the breeder who I originally bought her from. I've gathered a variety of opinions, and the majority of the response was that she is simply going to be a little girl :) Especially considering, like some of you said, that she's totally healthy otherwise.
Once again, thank you for your replies! I'm much calmer now.

[Noxis]

*** Still getting used to the fact that there is no edit button on these forums xD

I will increase her meal-time to every 5 days. :D If I have any further questions, I'll post another topic, but I think I'll be good from here on.

[bitsy]

Glad to help. Good luck!

[chris68]

Maybe bump the warm side up a few degree's if you can. Also remember crimsons are from Miami corn stock, traditionally a small corn snake :)

[ShenziSixaxis]

Rats are hands down the best thing for slow growers.


On the other hand, I wouldn't worry unless she doesn't gain any weight. Lotem is like 3 feet long, but only 182 grams. She's pretty thin compared to other snakes, but I figure she'll grow in girth eventually.

[bitsy]

I have a 7 year old who's barely three and a half feet. Always has been a little scrap, but she's feisty and chunky - and it's solid muscle. I'd say she has the best muscle tone of all my gang. She's just from a smaller bloodline. Small doesn't necessarily equal unhealthy.