Can you feed a corn too much?

Can you over feed a corn, will they let you? I've read alot in here of how different people feed thier corns on different schedules and amounts and I was wondering if there is too much.

I feed my baby 2 pinkies each Thursday. We missed this thursday because we were out of pinkies and they didn't come in until today. Plus the new pinkies looked a little larger than before. But the two pinkies went down within 10 minutes and then the corn looked around for more and refused to leave the feeding container. Before after the two mice, he would exit his feeding container into his normal viv right away. I don't think having to wait 5 days would make him that hungry. But I almost gave him one more.

Should I start to feed him more often than once a week or increase the amount, or could this just be a snake playing games with me. I have only had him for 4 weeks, but he sure seems to be getting huge real quick. But he is still small enough that when he eats, you can see the bump from the two pinkies.

I started by feeding my corn 1-2 pinks every 4 days and gradually increased the amount until he was big enough to take a fluff/fuzzy (adolescent mouse). Now I feed him every 6-7 days on one fluff (he's a late '02 and is about 30 inches long).
I may stand corrected but all snakes are different and will eat different amounts. My instinct would be in your case if he's looking for another one, give it to him. Or feed him more often - say every five days. While he's growing I can't see that it'd do any harm. You have to be more careful with captive snakes when they are fully grown as they can become obese with overfeeding.
Don't worry to much if his feeding is delayed by a few days (although I wouldn't make a habit of it) - in the wild they might go weeks or even months without food and still be OK. An experiment was carried out in India on captive King Cobras - One went three and a half years without food and was still apparently fine.
Sorry to ramble on but basically your snake will tell you when he's hungry and you'll learn to spot the signs (liking staying in his feeding box).

Try to follow the feeding schedule Kathy Love lay's out in TCSM. Overfeeding is DEFINITELY dangerous. Not just because of obesity and too much fat but because the snake's bone structure is not capable of growing as quickly as many of the muscles and tissues and eventually the skeleton will not be able to support the massive tissues.

Try to use the rule, no feed bigger than 1.5 times the widest part of the snake. Once you obtain that sized feed, you should be able to safely use ONE of these food items ONCE a week almost into adulthood (graduating up to bigger feed with time). I like to do once a week feedings for my little one's until they become yearlings, then it's once every two weeks and sometimes I let my adults go a month between feedings.

whatever you do, error on the side of not enough over too much. Snakes have remarkable metabolic requirements and we all want our little guys to grow as fast as possible but health is key too...

Good luck

I DO stand corrected. I'm on a learning curve myself and only relayed what I've been instructed by various people. Apologies.

sounds like you are ready for an upgrade

If your snake is eating two pinkies, I'd recommend moving up to a small fuzzy. It is more desirable nutritionally and will be cheaper than feeding two pinkies.

i dont think it actually is possible, as i fed my snakes two pinkies and they wud only eat two and leave the rest... maybe they were non-greedy snakes!

all sorts of new members...i feel so lonely... well anyways, im back

Sometimes if i give to big of a mouse, they will get stressed and regurgetate it. Allthough its a minor problem, its definetly best to avoid it by only feeding mice 1- 1.5x the thickest part of the snake.

shaun 1 fluff a week for a 30in corn? if i were you id increase to 2 a week or if it will take em small adult mice, my snake is imo healthy and is '03 and 3ft.....

Let's hope not ...

This little piggy got into a group of live pinkies in what I thought was a well-sealed container, which I was keeping in her tank to keep warm until I was ready to feed her and 2 others. I left her unattended for maybe 20 minutes, she got in and ate all 7 pinkies! She seems fine, crawling around, probably looking for more. Thankfully, she was already eating 2 f/t fuzzies at a time, so 7 live pinkies shouldn't be toooo much. Sorry about the fuzzy picture, but you'll get the idea.

I don't think I would do that again... and definitely no feeding that one until he/she has had a few BM's and the lumps disappear almost completely...

Feeding again before the swollen lumps go down is HANDS DOWN OVER-FEEDING

i defo agree with homer, i feed my snake once a week, but i ALWAYS check for poop before feeding just to be sure there is no food in the system and she is all ready for another meal
(btw i didnt mean feed as soon as they pooped....)

gee

No kidding! It wasn't intentional and it certainly won't be happening again.

CornDude said:

shaun 1 fluff a week for a 30in corn? if i were you id increase to 2 a week or if it will take em small adult mice, my snake is imo healthy and is '03 and 3ft.....

Click to expand...

He's sick at the moment and isn't eating anyway - However before that he wouldn't take a second one when offered. An adult mouse would exceed the 1.5 food/girth ratio. I feel i am adheering to the CSM guide of 1-2 food items every 7-14 days.

4.5 FT Female Corn

I have been feeding my corn 2 large mice a week. She has seemed hungry again after a couple of days. So we gave her 2 more. Now a couple days later she wants to eat again. I am worried i'll over feed her. But then I wonder if she is really hungry should I feed her? If she wasn't hungry I would think she would refuse.

That is WAY too much! She needs one medium to large mouse every two weeks. Snakes always "seem" hungry; this doesn't mean you should feed them as much as they will eat. She will get very obese and this will affect her quality of life, as well as shorten her life.

As Nanci stated, you are feeding way too much. Snakes overfed often develop lipomas, or fatty tumors or growths under their skin. While benign, the lipomas seldom diminish in size, even when the snake is put on a proper diet. I have seen fatty deposits, usually near the cloaca, on several overfed corns. Fatty deposits around internal organs are never good for the health and longevity of a snake.