Stepping up today

[RedRaydin]

So I'm kicking it up a notch today. My snake gulped down the pinkie last week. I bought him as a hatchling on 9/18, the rep at Petco said he was 8-10 weeks. So I've been through three feedings, all successful, and like I said the last one went right down to his belly pretty quick. So I am going to step it up to two pinkies today. However, I'm not sure as to how I should do this. Typically I feed him at 8 on Thursday nights. Now should I drop in one pinkie, wait for him to gulp it down and digest a couple of hours, then throw the other in? Or should I just put them both in and let him go to town and down both of them right away? I don't want any regurges when I wake up tommorrow morning. The cage is perfectly humidified right now and hes had no problems to date. What do you guys suggest?

[Joolz68]

The quickness that your snake swallows shouldn't be the deciding factor as to increasing the size of the meal. The meal should be 1.5x the size of the snake at it's widest part. If you no longer see a lump when your snake does swallow it's meal (regardless of how quickly it's done), then I would go up in size.

That being said, i would fed the entire meal it once (whether it's two pinks, three pinks, one fuzzy, etc), so you can see the size lump the meal makes. Then you can judge whether or not it's big enough.

If you feed the complete meal at different times, your snake will probably keep eating, since snake are opportunistic eaters (they eat if a meal presents itself, cause in the wild, they never know when their next meal is coming). But this will lead to obesity (which isn't good for anyone- animals or humans).

I hope this helped. :cheers:

[RedRaydin]

Yea, I do see a small lump in the stomach, enough to where you can tell, but much smaller than after the first two feedings. So you think maybe I should hold off for a few more feedings until I can no longer see the lump? I am getting the appropriate size, the ones that are 1 to 1.5 x the largest part of the body. I have seen him gradually get bigger in his body since I got him and length wise he's getting bigger. I want to be positive he's ready so maybe I'll just hold off for a bit. Or if I got two really small pinkies, maybe that would be good? Cause the ones I have been getting have been prob exactly 1.5 x the snake. So maybe get ones that are the same size around as the snake itself or just a little bigger?

[Joolz68]

Maybe if the lump is small, feed the appropriate size plus a smaller pinky. Just make sure the lump isn't too big.

Personally, I'd wait until I didn't see a lump. It would be better for your snake, than risking a regurge. If you feed your snake regularly, it won't starve. They can go a long time without food.

[RedRaydin]

Thanks for the advice, I will do one reg size and another small since the lump is barely visible. We will see what happens. If they do regurge, how shortly after typically does it happen? Like night of, or morning after? Just so I know to be looking. Also will it look any different than the passing and will I be able to tell the difference?

[Joolz68]

If they do regurge, how shortly after typically does it happen?...Just so I know to be looking.I never had a regurge *knocking on side of head; err, uh I mean wood* so I don't know how soon it happens. But if it typically takes 48 hours to digest, I would think anytime in between. Basically, if it comes out the mouth- it's a regurge; out the back-poop. Check out this thread:
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27268

will it look any different than the passing and will I be able to tell the difference?From what I've read on this forum: OH BOY WILL YOU BE ABLE TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE! More threads:
poop---> http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40777
regurge-> http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41143

I found these by searching. Try it! It's not that hard to do, and you may find answers to questions you haven't thought of yet (I do).

[BeckyG]

The hardest thing to do is to be patient. Don't rush the little guy. You've been given some good advice, and I second it. Stick with what you have been feeding him for now. In a few weeks, you can move up to two.

As for regurging, most typically happen within the first 48 hours, but some can be even days later. My Scarlett regurged after 4 days once. But she's not normal, either...

[RedRaydin]

Well, before I read the last post I had already fed it last night. What I did was fed it the one avg size pinkie first around 8:00. Then before I went to bed at 10:30, when the small sized lump was about 1/2 or a little further into his belly I put the other one in. He went after it and swallowed it down quicker than I've ever seen. Seemed fine this morning, no ill effects. Sitting under his log hide looking out at me quite content. I'm gonna check on him when I get home around six. I misted his cage last night twice and this morning to make sure humidity was around normal peak. Both humidity and temp seem fine. I made sure to have his heat lamp on by his usual hide to keep temp in that area stable. Hopefully everything will go smoothly. I guess we will see today and tommorrow. I'll keep you guys posted.