odd difference between my two corns

[skelator]

first off i havent really played with them much latley. today i decided to thake them out. first i took out my adult amel he was great as always. i noticed how strong he was well really how he has always been.

after i put him away i grabbed the which i believe is also an adult butter motley. hes the same length as my amel but my amel has more girth to him. first thing i noticed right away was how smooth and almost limp he was compared to my amel. he never really tightened up at all while i had him out. he also did something hes never done i dont know if it was musking or what but it basicly sounded like air pressure being relieved. he did that three times twice while i had him out and once after i put him back in the tank.

neither snake showed any signs of aggression nor have they as long as i have had them.

i always feed them 1 adult dead mouse every two weeks. pet store i got the butter from said he was eating every week. but ive been feeding him every two just like my amel. should i be feeding the butter more till he catches up to my amel in terms of weight?

im just a little worried about the butter any suggestions? thanks, Mike

[bitsy]

Corns are individuals and can grow at different rates, even on the same feeding regime. As long as they're eating reliably, pooping normally and growing steadily, it doesn't matter that one is smaller than the other. The butter might catch up later, or he might just naturally end up slightly smaller. Your feeding regime sounds fine for slow steady growth. I keep my adult males on one large mouse every 2-3 weeks.

As for the hissing sound - are you sure it was coming out of the rear end? They can sometimes try hissing if they really don't want to be disturbed, but it sounds more like a sort of puffing noise and really isn't terribly impressive or threatening! Do you think he might be due a shed? They can be wary of being picked up when blue.

[skelator]

thank you for the quick reply. honestly im not sure where the sound came from. i have never heard them makle a sound before except if their pooping. their both moving around now and the butter seems fine.

i dont believe hes ready to shed right now i think i got a couple weeks or so.

should i be concerned in the difference in strength between the two? the butter was like a wet noodle compared to the amel. i mean he climbed all over my hand and arm but he never really grabbed onto me like the amel does. he almost starts to constrict my hand at times.

hopefully im just looking too far into this. might just be that their two different snakes.

so you think i should stay with the 1 adult mouse every 2 week schedule?

[skelator]

i forgot to add im not certin of the sex of either of my snakes if that makes a difference or not.

[bitsy]

Again, the constricting thing could just be down to the individual snakes. The Amel feels less secure so he hangs on tightly. Maybe the Butter is more relaxed, feels safe and doesn't feel the need to hang on.

Is the Butter moving around OK apart from that? Can he seem to hold his head up? Is he alert and using his tongue? If all of that is OK, then I think it might just be a matter of confidence. Keep your eye open for other signs of problems over the next few days though. *Very* occasionally, a sudden change in muscle tone or behaviour can mean a Corn isn't feeling too good. However, that's worst case scenario and from what you've said, I wouldn't expect to see any trouble. Best to be alert anyway.

Personally, I'd stick to the 1 adult mouse every 2 week schedule.

I doubt their sex would make any difference to growth rates or muscle tone, unless they're in the same tank.

[skelator]

they both have their own 20g long setups. the butter is acting normal hes actually been all over the tank since i put him back. tounge seems normal but ill definatly keep an eye out. their due to eat on sunday or monday. reason i mentioned sex was i didnt know how much it effected feeding. thank you for your help, Mike

[bitsy]

Males can go off their food at this time of year once they're mature (more interested in mating than eating!), but generally sex doesn't make any difference to how food is digested/metabolised once it's been eaten.

Breeding females tend to need a bit more feeding, but that's because they expend a lot of bodily resources on forming and laying eggs.

[Susan]

If you've had your amel for awhile, and the butter is a more recent addition and has been in a pet store for a good portion of his life, it might just be that the butter hasn't developed the muscle tone your amel has as a result of sitting in a tank doing nothing, rarely being handled before you got him. maybe an exercise schedule needs to be implemented for your butter, say swimming in the bathtub for 15 minutes under strict observation, then some climbing activities on you (one hand to the other, etc), that sort of thing.

[skelator]

yes i agree on the exercise. im going to make it a point to handle them more. get side tracked at times and it dosent happen as often as it should.