Not exactly a problem,

more like a question. I have a hatchling from june of 08 (Jasper) that has been feeding for me very well every five days. For the first day after I feed him he does the normal cornsnake thing and hides. Then, on days 2,3,4, and 5 he is extremely active, in and out of hides and all around his cage. To me, its almost as if he is trying to hunt? I guess my question is, do I need to up his feeding schedule to every three days or something? Five days seems to be perfect for my older snake, but I want to make sure Jasper isnt going hungry. I know he cant handle anything bigger than a pinky right now, he is still rather small.

Thanks everybody in advance!

Run a search for the Munson Plan if you're concerned and would like full guidance, but I think you're doing just fine. Every three days is too often to feed, I'd stick where you are for now if it's working for you.

Your older snake may be feeding too regularly (although it obviously depends on how old/large it is!) - the rule of thumb is as the snake grows, feed larger meals but with longer preiods of time in between. And the size of prey is to be no bigger than 1.5x its girth.

It could just be his personality you know. Just like some snakes will constantly hide during the day, some don't feel the need - mine never did. He is just patrolling his territory like a good soldier - just be happy you see so much of him!

If you do a search on the Munson Plan, you'll find a great guideline for feeding snakes. You should be fine on weekly feeds, but there are a few things to check as far as feeding goes. I would think an 07 would be able to take a larger prey item. You'll want to feed an item 1.5 times the largest width of his body (not his head!) and you'll also want to see a lump after 24 hours from his feeding day. If you still have some pinkies, you could try upping this to two of them initially but still feed once per week. Hunting is good for snakes. It gives them exercise.

*edit* Tracee types much faster than I do!! :laugh:

*second edit* Oops, I read it as an 07, but you've got an 08. Sorry 'bout that!

Hunting behaviour will be constant, as it's their instinct to always be on the lookout for food in the wild.

They don't realise that the food supply in captivity is guaranteed. If you fed "on demand", you'd very quickly end up with a scaly balloon!

Once every five days for a hatchling is fine. As the food size increases, you should increase the length of time between feeding, as demonstrated in the Munson Plan.

Most of my adult Corns (3+ years old) eat one large mouse every 14 days, unless perparing for/recovering from egg-laying, or recovering from illness.