Feeding Schedule

[Lisabella]

So I have done a lot of reading on feeding corns

I have a couple question on what sort of schedule would be proper for my 2 corns

My first corn (which I have now) is almost 11 months old.. I just got him this past weekend. He is my first snake.. so I want to make sure I am doing this correctly.

How often should I be feeding him. I got the feeding schedule from the shop I got him from.. and its pretty regular.. but some times it would be every 5-6 days.. sometimes 2 weeks.. and before I got him.. he hadn't been fed in almost 3 weeks...

I don't have a scale as of yet so I am unsure of his weight.. but he is about 18 inches long? He is going into a shed right now.. so I'll measure the skin afterwards

Anyways.. I was going to put him on a 7 days feeding schedule.. does this seem right? He is eating fuzzys right now.. and the shop guy told me feed at least fuzzy for the next half dozen feedings. Once he gets older I was going to put him on every 10 or so days.. is this fine?

My second snake which I will be getting at the end of September.. she is a hatchling.. she will be going on 3 months.. should I be placing her on the same schedule.. every 7 days.. or go to every 5 days with her?

I just want to make sure that both my corns grow to a healthy weight.. don't get to big (fat) .. and are healthy and don't have any regurge problems


Thanks so much for your help :D

Lisa~

[susang]

So I have done a lot of reading on feeding corns

I have a couple question on what sort of schedule would be proper for my 2 corns

My first corn (which I have now) is almost 11 months old.. I just got him this past weekend. He is my first snake.. so I want to make sure I am doing this correctly.

How often should I be feeding him. I got the feeding schedule from the shop I got him from.. and its pretty regular.. but some times it would be every 5-6 days.. sometimes 2 weeks.. and before I got him.. he hadn't been fed in almost 3 weeks...

This is not regular feeding not even pretty regular. Regular as pretty regular is not adequate is every 4-5 days, every week, every 10 days. Except for when blue as some snakes won't eat then and during breeding season and brumation.

I don't have a scale as of yet so I am unsure of his weight.. but he is about 18 inches long? He is going into a shed right now.. so I'll measure the skin afterwards.

Shed skin can be as much as 30% longer than actual snake.

Anyways.. I was going to put him on a 7 days feeding schedule.. does this seem right? He is eating fuzzys right now.. and the shop guy told me feed at least fuzzy for the next half dozen feedings. Once he gets older I was going to put him on every 10 or so days.. is this fine?

Look up Munson plan it will give you a good idea, this requires scale but will give you some idea. Also rule of thumb 1 1/2 times width of snake.

My second snake which I will be getting at the end of September.. she is a hatchling.. she will be going on 3 months.. should I be placing her on the same schedule.. every 7 days.. or go to every 5 days with her?

I'm sure you have a seperate viv for new snake. Again Munson plan most hatchlings eat every 4-5 days.

I just want to make sure that both my corns grow to a healthy weight.. don't get to big (fat) .. and are healthy and don't have any regurge problems


Thanks so much for your help :D

Lisa~[/QUOTE]

Hope this helps, susan

[Cegninedorf]

Hello...:)

I have two suggestions:

1) Do a search within this forum for "The Munson Plan". It will give you some good guidelines on how/what to start feeding your snakes & frequency. However, you do need a scale for this. I bought a $10 food scale from GNC that measures up to 500 grams. It worked perfectly for my snakes up to about 2 years old. Then, they're too big for the measuring dish that the food/snake sits in, but you can always just adjust the measurement to allow for using a larger dish. I do need to get a larger scale now, if I wish to measure my adult snake.

2) An easy rule o'thumb to remember is that a general guideline for feeder sizes is that the prey should be 1-1.5x of the width of the snake's midsection. Just take an eyeball measurement of the snake's midsection, then the prey sizes, and if they look pretty comparable, go for it. If you want, start with a size smaller & see how it looks when inside your snake. If the "lump" disapears within 24 hours, go up a size for the next feeding. There really is no hard & fast rule for feeder sizes, just suggestions. I guess the main thought, though, is that you want something large enough to keep the snake healthy, but small enough for ease of digestion...or, at least, that's my thought. :)

If the 18-inch snake is skinny, maybe start with a fuzzy, and see what happens. When my snakes are on fuzzies, I feed them every 4-5 days. If the lump disappears quickly or doesn't appear to look like a lump at all, or if you think a fuzzy is too small, then try a larger size a week later. If a larger size looks to be a better "fit", then keep with that size for about 6 weeks and see how it goes.

For your younger snake, I'm sure by the time you get her at the end of Sept, she'll well be on her way with fuzzies, maybe double fuzzies. My summer '07 hatchling (probably the same age as your soon-to-be snake) is moving toward fuzzies very, very soon. By the end of Sept, I imagine that Schnee will already be on double fuzzies (2 at one time). It's hard to imagine that teensy little head taking on so much at one shot, but their mouths are built for it...they can handle it easily. :)

[susang]

Great minds think alike :) I so full of myself I can't believe it.

[Lisabella]

Thanks susan

How little I know... and I thought I did lots of reading.. thanks so much for the Munson plan.. so I will get a scale and start weighing both the fuzzys and my snakes and go from there.. I want them to stay healthy


Thanks a bunch :D


Lisa~

[Lisabella]

Thanks Cegninedorf :D

I'll definitely get myself a scale as I said.. and follow the Munson plan.. its great how helpful everyone is here :)


Lisa~

[Nanci]

Nearly all my snakes are eating every five days, even the two year olds. I have one big adult Florida King who won't eat rats, so he gets fed mice every seven days. He's so hungry after a week I can't imagine what he'd be like at ten days! I also have Zee, a two year old tri color hoggy. He went through a biting phase which seemed to be a feeding response which stopped after I changed him from the weekly schedule he'd been on when I bought him to five days. He was just too hungry all the time!

Nanci