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7 month old snake 9.9 grams

lilmike227

lilmike227

New member
So I just got a new corn snake that was hatched sept 20, 2012 and it weighs in at only 9.9 grams. Is this common for a snake this old?
 
lilmike227 said:
So I just got a new corn snake that was hatched sept 20, 2012 and it weighs in at only 9.9 grams. Is this common for a snake this old?
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It depends on how big it was on hatching and then its feeding schedule from then onwards, but to me that's the smaller end of 'normal'. If it's healthy and active and feeding well it will soon grow.
At that size I'd start on 1.5g - 2g pinks every 6 days
 
So I called them and asked them to double check the dates and they told me that was the date they had on her. They said she is a really good eater and should start to grow. I am just wondering what caused her to be so small in the first place
 
I had a hatchie that was also really small for its age - the breeder had had lots of trouble getting the snake to feed in the first few months of her life. She's now growing rapidly, though, and never refuses a meal. :)
 
Last year I bought one (from a member here) that was tiny and took FOREVER to reach 10 grams. Once I could bump up the prey size, he has began to catch up, but I have now dealt with one hatchling corn that was older than yours before reaching the 10 gram mark. Hang in there, as long as she eats and passes her meals, she'll eventually get there! Good luck.
 
FWIW, that snake is way too small for her age, and frankly, should have been about 3 X that size, if being sold at normal prices. While that isn't anything I'd cull over, that wouldn't be a snake I'd be excited to breed either.
 
Chip said:
FWIW, that snake is way too small for her age, and frankly, should have been about 3 X that size, if being sold at normal prices. While that isn't anything I'd cull over, that wouldn't be a snake I'd be excited to breed either.
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what is FWIW? do you think it will reach full size or will being behind make her small forever?
 
FWIW="For What it's Worth"
And I can't answer that, but if I had to make a guess, I'd say it will catch up and be fine. I have two stunted snakes I'll never use as breeders that never grew like they should have. I have had dozens of slow starters catch right up. My suspicion is that your snake skipped a few meals along the way. I always prefer to get feed records with my babies, but an outfit as big as BHB doesn't have time for that. Heck, I bought/traded for a $4500 corn from Brian last year, and he didn't even have records for her! They produce an awful lot of snakes there...
 
Yeah I understand that and I am no expert but she does look skinny. skin looked wrinkly as if she didn't fit into her own skin. If I am correct then thats skinny right?
 
Sorry for the continuous post but, I thought I would ask since the thread is open. Since my snake is really far behind and has catching up to do would you recommend adding multivitamin/calcium supplements to her diet?
 
Vitamin and Calcium supplements shouldn't be necessary on a standard rodent diet. They'll get the nutrition they need from the whole mouse. Most of those multivitamin and calcium supplements are for other species who have different diets... yeah, I'm looking at you Garders! Other sources of food, such as worms and fish don't contain all the necessary vitamins and minerals that a healthy snake will need, and if a picky species can't get turned to f/t rodents then that's *usually* where vitamin and calcium supplements come in to play.
 
lilmike227 said:
Yeah I understand that and I am no expert but she does look skinny. skin looked wrinkly as if she didn't fit into her own skin. If I am correct then thats skinny right?
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Wrinkly skin is certainly a bad sign. She's either underfed, dehydrated or having trouble with a shed. Even a tiny-for-its-age Corn shouldn't look wrinkly if it's been eating properly.

Any chance of a pic?
 
I probably wont be able to get a pic until later tonight because right now I am at school then its straight to work after that.
 
The pic would be really helpful, but aside from that, keep in mind that reptiles tend to have different growth patterns than mammals. Reptiles can stall in their growth for periods of time, then shoot up like weeds - I have a young crested gecko that went from 5.6 to 6.3 grams in a week, and is growing so quickly at the moment I can almost watch him/her getting bigger. That same gecko took over 4 months to gain 2.5 grams initially. As long as you corn is healthy, the mass will come in time...
 
My corn snake is 7 months old and he weighs 31 grams... :sidestep: Wrinkly skin is not a good sign at all... I'm frankly very surprised at BHB.
 
Our one hatchling from last summer is just now 8 months old and is 10 grams...she was a very slow starter (non-feeder for the first two months). She eats consistently now, but it was definitely touch and go for a while.

She was 4 grams at hatching...in contrast her 2 hatch-mates are 17-18 grams each.
 
Unless there are some priceless genes there, I would not breed her down the road.
 
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