slow growth rate?

[Zakel2]

Hey - first corn snake here - I got her in September of '11. She was pretty small when I got her - about 12-14 inches. 7 months later she is roughly 17-18 inches long but still as thin as a pencil. Fuzzies are WAY too big for her - along with the couple day old pinkies. I'm feeding her 2 1 day old pinkies every 5-7 days (or when I remember) and they leave a pretty noticeable lump in her.

I'm just curious because a friend of my roommates was telling me she got a baby corn back around the same time I did and it is double the size of mine and munching down fuzzies.

I know growth varies from snake to snake but I'm just curious if I'm still on track or if those couple of times I skipped a feeding might've effected her.

[Shiari]

The skipped feedings can slow 'em down a bit, but certain animals just grow faster. I have a hatchling snow who is significantly smaller than her amel sisters and they've been fed on the same schedule.

Get a scale that weighs in grams and weigh your snake before each feeding. I usually bump mine up to fuzzies around 25 grams (they never look ready, but are). You can also make lots of slits in the skin of a f/t pink as the skin takes some time for stomach acid to get through. Making those cuts allows digestion to proceed faster.

[Zakel2]

Thanks for the response - I will look into a scale xD.

[maxfox426]

Some snakes do just have a slower growth rate than others. I have two 2010 animals that have been on roughly the same feeding schedule their whole lives. One is now 273 grams and the other only 165. :shrugs: Missing meals can certainly affect their growth rate, too, especially if that happens frequently. As you said, though, all snakes do have different growth rates. Slow isn't necessarily bad.

The scale is always a good idea. It's nice to be able to monitor the health of an animal that way, as well as being able to adjust food size. :) This is the scale I have: http://www.reptilebasics.com/my-weigh-7001dx. However, in a pinch you can also pick up a food scale from just about anywhere, and use a plastic tupperware to hold the snake in (just be sure you zero out the weight of the container first!)

Long story short, slow growth is not usually something to worry about. :) Just make sure you keep her fed regularly and adjust her food size accordingly, and you should be good!