Should I be feeding him something heftier...?

Just another silly question.

I have been recently taking my baby corn snake, who loves being out of his cage, to my part time job at the zoo where kids handle him while I talk about the snake enclosures. It's fun because I can walk around with him and if he get's tired I have a tiny 10 gallon enclosure for him to rest in.

I've also been taking him to asylums/sanatoriums where I got approval on helping desensitize people who are deathly afraid of snakes.

The snake is super friendly and has not hissed or bit even though he's been tossed around quite a bit from both patients and kids alike.

I feel like with all the activity during the week that a pinky mouse does not provide him with sufficient long lasting energy. With all the traveling and helping out I've been doing with him he seems to thin out quite a bit, could be my imagination?

I recently found a great breeder in my area that sells f/t pinkies for 12 cents each but they also have rat pups (they are of similar size to the pinkies)which I was told have more fat but with all the handling/exercise I think would provide more energy.

Should I feed rat pups? Two pinkies a week? Or just keep on with the pinkies and stop worrying

Should I feed rat pu

Honestly, it is best to limit the handling of snakes that are so young.
Pinkies have very, very little nutrition, so barely anything passes to the snake.
Also, being that he is so little, one person holds him too tight/drops him and that could have disastrous consequences.

I don't want to scare you, but if I were you, I would really, really hold back on so much handling and stress until he is on hoppers, or even weanling mice.

The difference between a pinky mouse and a rat pup is quite substantial. I'm not sure who told you they are similar in size. Pinky mice are approximately 1-3g, whereas rat pups are 20-30g and should be fed to corns that are over 2 years old and of significant size. Even if you are feeding pinky rats, jumping to pups is still a 20g+ difference. I would have to agree with the above poster in that excessive handing with a baby could be quite stressful.

I forgot to ask how large your corn snake is? If you could give us a weight or length or even pictures it would help in determining correct prey size. Keep in mind the 1-1.5x rule, in that you should be feeding your snake prey that is between 1 to 1.5 times the girth of the snake.

My snake is about a month and a half. He's got a good weight on him, probably as thick as my forefinger in his middle parts while more pencil-like near his end and 9-10" in length best estimate.

The website I was viewing their options of mice/rats on called rat pinkies, rat pups so I do suppose rat pinkies are smaller?

There was also the option of gut loaded pinkies where the pinkies were fed meat for a certain period of time before they were killed.

yeah I'm gunna agree with the above comments..
I try to handle my babies for as short a time as possible, 10-15 mind, at most
I think they tame out just aswell and they are given more time to use that important energy to grow their little bodies!

and I deff wouldn't attempt a rat pup like stated above as well..

I hope you take these comments to heart, so your baby can grow.. o

Yeah... ummmm... just to re-confirm other's statements. There's a pretty hefty difference between a pinky mouse and a rat pup. Like, substantial size difference. You definitely don't want to do that at all. And what size/how much you feed your snake relies less on it's "activity" level and more on it's size. You might be thinking "more nutrition for a more active lifestyle" but biology is thinking "more food than my belly can handle... puuuuuuuuke!"

And I'll second/third/fourth whatever the handling. At first I thought you were talking about a year or two old. Something as young as yours should definitely be left to less handling. They're quite vulnerable at that age.

Nythain- yea so did I, I was thinking he was talking abut a yearling or adult.. but when I read pinkys.. I was like, "he needs time to rest and grow!"
..not rat pups!

I hope these replies help you..

word to what others said. I love that you'r so enthusiastic and bringing snake awareness to the local community.

Thanks for the truthful answers!

I'm not the sharpest tool in the box when it comes to snakes....not yet anyways!

I'll make sure he gets less handling time. It's just so hard when he's so adorable and tiny. Haha.