good or bad?

[DarkSmoke]

Ok so, every petshop im asking in malta is saying that i can feed my corn 2mice a week instead of 1 , (they recmoneded that i do it) and they say that my corn is too small (50cm) for a 1year4months corn snake. I told them that i read that they can get obese and things, but they all where like "no that won't happen with 2mice a weak". are they right or wrong. if wrong pls give me a reason ?!

[Stars]

2 mice per week is completely fine. I have a very small snake that is about the age of yours as well, and I feed one fuzzy every 6 days, that's just my preference.

Length isn't a good measure of size, you want to know the snake's weight.

[bitsy]

Depends what size of mouse you're feeding and whether the snake is healthy. With pinkies, one every 4-5 days is normal. One a week won't be harmful, your snake just won't grow quite as fast.

However, as the snake grows and you increase food size, you need to increase the time between feeds. For a fully-grown adult Corn, one adult mouse every 10-14 days is normal.

Two adult mice a week is overfeeding in my view. It could very well lead to obesity, health problems and an early death.

[wstphal]

Hey bitsy & others --

Is overfeeding a little desirable to build up fat stores for a female before breeding? It takes a lot of fat to make the yolk to sustain the embryo so I would think a female needs a little body fat before breeding & laying, but I don't know this & would like input from breeders?

It's all pretty hypothetical right now but 3 years from now it won't be.

[bitsy]

Feeding a breeding female does pose different issues than feeding a single Corn.

I like to give my females extra food once they're gravid, rather than before mating. That way I don't end up with a chubby if the mating is unsuccessful! I keep up with the increased feeding after laying, and go back to the usual feeding regime once they've regained their pre-breeding weight.

Feeding whilst gravid and after laying is something of an individual thing. Some will eat right up until they lay, but it's more usual for them to go off their food 2-3 weeks before laying. Some wil eat again immediately after laying, some need tempting with smaller mice than usual before they get back in the eating habit.

[bitsy]

DarkSmoke - Sorry, I've just had a thought. Are you referring to the snake that was regurging in your other recent posts?

If so, then you need to be very careful with feeding. As it has only just started keeping food down again, I would advise against increasing either food size or frequency until it has successfully digested its next six meals. Its growth may have been slowed down by the regurges, which would explain why it might seem small for its age. What size of mice is it eating at the moment?

[DarkSmoke]

DarkSmoke - Sorry, I've just had a thought. Are you referring to the snake that was regurging in your other recent posts?

If so, then you need to be very careful with feeding. As it has only just started keeping food down again, I would advise against increasing either food size or frequency until it has successfully digested its next six meals. Its growth may have been slowed down by the regurges, which would explain why it might seem small for its age. What size of mice is it eating at the moment?

no the snake is small for its age because the pet shop doesnt feed them much (he told me this) its there growth is small. i updated my last tread and figured out it was cause of the heathmath cause now he's fine. every petshop i show my snake to they complained he's too smal for his age and i should increase his food to 2 mice per week cause 1 per week is not enough. thats why im asking here.

[Nanci]

I would feed every five days. A mouse one to one and a half times as wide in diameter as the snake at its widest point. You can also cut small slits in the back of the mouse to help the snake digest better.

[autumn75]

Do you see a noticable lump in your snake after feeding? If not, then maybe it is time to either increase the size of the mouse or double up. If there is a good size lump in the snake after you feed it 1 mouse then I would say you're feeding it the right amount.

Is this snake a picky eater, does it refuse meals? That could account for it being small for it's age.