Ravenous Corn!!!

This is probably going to sound stupid, but I have to ask just in case I'm not handling Isha right.

I feed a pinkie Isha every Wednesday and Sunday. I haven't weighed him, but I've had him less than a month and he recently shed for me. He's a hatchling, just a baby. The last shed may have been his first or second.

On feeding days, the moment Isha sees the pinkie, he lunges. It's instantaneous. He doesn't even constrict it. He just eats. At first I was just thankful that he wasn't a non feeder, which was a huge fear of mine when I got him, but now I have to wonder...am I feeding him enough? How do I know if/when I should graduate to more food or a different kind(like fuzzies for instance)?

Opinions are much appreciated!

That's awesome that he's such a great feeder! Can't ever complain about that! As long as there's a noticeable size lump in him after his feed then your feeding him enough, from what I've learned. I believe many people around here follow the "Munson Diet". ( Do a search and you'll find it floating around here somewhere.) I believe a scale helps because the size of the feed depends on the size of your snake. I just use visual reference.... i get a fuzzy that's a little over (about 1 1/2) the girth of my snake's mid section every 5 or 6 days and they're growing like weeds!

The Munson Plan (Sample Feeding Chart)

-When they're on single pinks (2-3g), I feed every 4-5 days. (Snake = 4-15g)
-Double pinks (3g x 2) every 4-5 days. (Snake = 16-23g)
-Small fuzzies (5-7g) every 5-6 days. (Snake = 24-30g)
-Regular fuzzies (7-9g) every 5-6 days (Snake = 30-50g)
-Hoppers (9-12g) every 5-6 days (Snake = 51-90g)
-Weaned (14-20g) every 7 days (Snake = 91-170g)
-Adult (24-30g) every 7-x days (Snake = 170+)
-Jumbo Adults (40-50g) every 7-x days (Snake = 400g+)

Note: Adult females are fed more frequently than adult males (especially following brumation). Females are fed every 6-8 days; males are fed every 7-14 days.


Hope this helps. It sure helped me.

Mikanik said:

That's awesome that he's such a great feeder! Can't ever complain about that! As long as there's a noticeable size lump in him after his feed then your feeding him enough, from what I've learned. I believe many people around here follow the "Munson Diet". ( Do a search and you'll find it floating around here somewhere.) I believe a scale helps because the size of the feed depends on the size of your snake. I just use visual reference.... i get a fuzzy that's a little over (about 1 1/2) the girth of my snake's mid section every 5 or 6 days and they're growing like weeds!

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Sounds good I normally go by visual clues that they're ready for the next one and there is one little amel that behaves in much the same way as the snake in the original post, some just like to get it down the hatch nice and quick

In addition to the scale if the lump is there for over a period of 24 hrs your feeding him/her enough.

Also bear in mind that Corns are "programmed" to be opportunistic eaters - if they find food, they eat as much as they can, because in the wild, they wouldn't know when they were going to eat next.

Corns are perfectly capable of eating far more than is healthy for them - to the point where they regurge a few days later, or become obese over months or years.

Although you can take your cues from the snake about when to feed, don't misinterpret that behaviour as an ability to know when to stop eating. A Corn's instinct is always to be seeking food, so we have to be responsible for knowing when to stop feeding.

bitsy said:

Also bear in mind that Corns are "programmed" to be opportunistic eaters - if they find food, they eat as much as they can, because in the wild, they wouldn't know when they were going to eat next.

Corns are perfectly capable of eating far more than is healthy for them - to the point where they regurge a few days later, or become obese over months or years.

Although you can take your cues from the snake about when to feed, don't misinterpret that behaviour as an ability to know when to stop eating. A Corn's instinct is always to be seeking food, so we have to be responsible for knowing when to stop feeding.

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Absolutely!!