low weight...i'm concerned

[gordinho80]

hello all...i'm still new to the snake thing, my first snake was given to me by my cousin...

facts about the snake according to my cousin:
approx 2yr old...
female...
albino corn...

i took her out and measured her today...right around 3 ft(36") and UNDER 200 grams...this seems low compared to what i've read on here...

should i feed more often? my cousin was only feeding her a live adult mouse every 2 weeks...i was going to feed her that same live mouse or similar sized frozen every week...

regardless...i'm rather concerned that she has been neglected and needs some more food...

tank conditions since i've gotten here on Sunday have been constant...80deg during during...70 during night time...cool side of tank is 70 during day, 60 night...clean water every 3 days...

[BeckyG]

hello all...i'm still new to the snake thing, my first snake was given to me by my cousin...

facts about the snake according to my cousin:
approx 2yr old...
female...
albino corn...

i took her out and measured her today...right around 3 ft(36") and UNDER 200 grams...this seems low compared to what i've read on here...

should i feed more often? my cousin was only feeding her a live adult mouse every 2 weeks...i was going to feed her that same live mouse or similar sized frozen every week...

...


I would. I feed my two year olds every 7-10 days.

[TheHated]

Not to be mean but you might consider switching it to frozen thawed. Live mice can inflict nasty wounds. Look it up. Not pretty :sidestep:

[gordinho80]

Not to be mean but you might consider switching it to frozen thawed. Live mice can inflict nasty wounds. Look it up. Not pretty :sidestep:
yeah, i was gonna start frozen mice...i'm going to do a slightly smaller frozen mouse every week...sound good?

[Joejr14]

A 200 gram snake can easily eat an adult mouse every week. I wouldn't downsize the mice at all.

[gordinho80]

i've been looking at frozen mice online and the price per mouse is great...however, for it to really be worth it, i would have a couple of hundred frozen mice...i'm only looking to have 1 snake...and if she's only eating one of these a week, even when she does grow some and can handle 2 a week, i'm still sitting on frozen mice for over 1 year...if they were idividually wrapped, wouldnt be that bad..

[Jack B]

i've been looking at frozen mice online and the price per mouse is great...however, for it to really be worth it, i would have a couple of hundred frozen mice...i'm only looking to have 1 snake...and if she's only eating one of these a week, even when she does grow some and can handle 2 a week, i'm still sitting on frozen mice for over 1 year...if they were idividually wrapped, wouldnt be that bad..

I read somewhere that you can keep frozen mice for up to a year before they start loosing nutritional value.

I live in NJ too and just got a baby corn snake. I'm feeding her frozen pinkies from Petco. They come in packs of 3 or individually packaged. I think it's the same with the mice.

What I'm planning to do is go to the herp show in Westchester NY on Jan 6 through 7 and buy a bunch of frozen there and bring them home in an ice cooler. They will be real cheap like that since no shipping cost is involved.

Look up "reptile show NY" on google. You might want to do the same if you can get there.

[Weebonilass]

Personally, I think 60 at night on that cool side sounds a little cool. I don't drop my temps at night, so it remains 84 on the warm side and 70 on the cool side. I place a blanket over the cool side if it drops any lower, but that rarely happens.

My 5 yr old guy would report me for abuse if I only fed him every two weeks. He gets fed a small rat every 8 days. He's just a tad over 4'5" and weighs in at 660grams and he's not fat.

Definitely would switch her to f/t and up the feeding schedule. I also wouldn't drop the size down. If your snake can get a live one a certain size down, it can get a f/t one the same size down.

My guy will always eat the same size, but I don't like the idea of feeding him stuff that's really "old" so for me with just the one I don't mind paying a little more at a time. I was also getting mine from Petco, but discovered a lovely little reptile shop and have transferred my business to him.

[Flagg]

If you buy from a vendor that vacuum packs them, or get a vacuum sealer yourself, they will last as long as 2-3 years in the freezer in a sealed vacuum pack. There are a couple vendors I know of that sell them vacuum packed, the Big Cheese and the Mouse Factory are 2 of them, don't know the exact URLs.

You might want to buy a small quantity of frozen mice locally to make sure your snake will eat them before you make a big order.

[BeckyG]

Here they are:

Mouse Factory (http://www.themousefactory.com)

Big Cheese (http://www.bigcheeserodents.com)