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Health Issues/Feeding Problems Anything related to general or specific health problems. Issues having to do with feeding problems or tips.

What should I be looking for in weight loss?
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Old 07-28-2017, 08:40 PM   #1
LadyJemima
What should I be looking for in weight loss?

As we have established, Tango is chubby and needs to lose weight. He was being *way* overfed by his previous owner; he is 1.5 years old and the last time I weighed him, he was 470 g. I have not fed him for two weeks, and his weight today was 468 g. Not much of a loss, although this is the first two week period between feedings that we have had.

If I am feeding a medium mouse every two weeks, what should I be looking for in weight loss?

Also wanted to add that he is exceptionally active in his viv at night… I suspect he does laps around it for hours.


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Old 07-28-2017, 08:59 PM   #2
Karl_Mcknight
What a healthy corn snake should look like
 
Old 07-28-2017, 09:19 PM   #3
LadyJemima
Karl -- I do know that chart. I'm asking what I should be looking for in incremental loss (in grams) by feeding a medium mouse every two weeks.


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Old 07-28-2017, 11:49 PM   #4
DollysMom
So many factors go into that it is impossible to say. Some of them are exercise, heat, and genetics. Also medium mouse is very vague but even if I had the mouse weight the mice can vary in nutritional value depending on their feed and even how well they've been stored.

If he were my snake I wouldn't go tor great weight loss because he is a youngster and is still growing. I'd be looking for no to very slight loss. In any case I recommend going slow and carefully.
 
Old 07-29-2017, 06:32 AM   #5
Karl_Mcknight
a growing baby snake retains about 40% of Prey Weight per feeding. As the snake gets older, it's metabolism and growth rate slows. A Sub Adult may only retain about 5% Prey Weight per feeding, and by the time a snake is fully grown, your feed schedule may be 2 weeks apart, in some cases even 3 or 4 weeks apart. At that point the snake may not be showing any registered growth rate, you're just essentially "Maintaining" his healthy size and weight.

So.............. You have an Adult snake, pretty much already fully grown, and you're talking about the Reverse of what I just described above. You could 1). Stop feeding altogether - That would be cruel, or 2). Stretch the feedings out to a 3 or 4 week period, or 3). maintain the same frequency of feed, but make the items smaller, or 4). increase the snake's activity and exercise or 5). A combination of these.

Your question about what could you expect in weight loss would depend on a variety of things. Which method you chose, as DollysMom pointed out, the temps, the activity... it all has an effect.

Getting a snake to lose weight I would imagine is sort of like when a person tries to lose weight. Most people who try this are unsuccessful without some sort of plan or coach.

I seriously doubt you're gonna see the weight fall off rapidly and noticeably. More than likely it will be a gram here or a gram there over many months of time.

But good luck with it.
 
Old 07-29-2017, 12:18 PM   #6
DollysMom
To add to Karl's very good response, while 470 grams is an adult weight, it is on the small side of medium. Especially for a male. We have no way of knowing his potential full grown weight or size. It could be another 100 or 200 grams in another year or two. So don't be too fixated on weight loss.

While it is good to watch his weight, you need to be careful. Going back to the shape diagrams, that is what you are really looking for. And remember 2 grams every 2 weeks is 52 grams over a year. When your snake is at its right weight you will be able to see even a 25 gram loss or gain. No one can give you a formula. It is a judgment call.

One more thought based on my experience with snake weight control. My girl Cleo was looking a little pudgy (in consultation with the vet) last fall, so while I still was going for a wt gain because shes less than 2 years old, I looked to decrease the amount of gain. That was all very well and good until this spring when she developed a voracious appetite and nearly flew at me at feeding time. In fact, I got the one feeding bite I've gotten from her at this time. So I decreased her feeding interval and upped the prey size gradually.

She's in great shape and growing at her own pace while maintaining good shape. I also make sure she gets exercise. (FYI she currently weighs 258 gr and is eating a 13 gram mouse every 10 days) She's not small for going on two, but not outrageously large either. I do my best to follow her lead while watching her shape, and let her tell me when she needs to grow. (She is currently gaining 8 to 10 grams a month which is a good steady rate for a growing youngster. Over the past year her average monthly gain was 12 grams)

So be vigilant and flexible. Use some common sense. Observe your snake, keep records, and be open to making some adjustments as needed. You and your snake will do fine.
 
Old 07-30-2017, 09:37 AM   #7
Dragonling
I glanced through a few of your threads and I'm not sure where you got the notion that Tango is overweight. Just because he grew to adult size very quickly does not mean he is inherently fat. Frankly I don't know how the corn community as a whole has gotten this idea that growing fast is also inherently unhealthy just because someone on the internet told them that someone told them that they read on an old forum that it was bad with no other reasoning than, "Well it just doesn't seem natural to grow that fast."
 
Old 07-30-2017, 10:01 AM   #8
Karl_Mcknight
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dragonling View Post
I glanced through a few of your threads and I'm not sure where you got the notion that Tango is overweight. Just because he grew to adult size very quickly does not mean he is inherently fat. Frankly I don't know how the corn community as a whole has gotten this idea that growing fast is also inherently unhealthy just because someone on the internet told them that someone told them that they read on an old forum that it was bad with no other reasoning than, "Well it just doesn't seem natural to grow that fast."
Amen!!!!

Rufus is only 2-1/2 years old and he's over 400 grams now as well, and he doesn't have an ounce of fat on him.
 
Old 07-30-2017, 10:47 AM   #9
DollysMom
Well said, Dragonling.

There has been some anecdotal evidence that power feeding leads to a shortened life. While studies can be done to prove or disprove it, I'm not too fond of the idea of sacrificing snakes for science in the process. Growing fast is not wrong. Stuffing a snake like a sausage to grow it as fast as possible probably is. That's where I believe the idea that young and large is bad comes from.

However Tango got to where he is, the goal is healthy growth and/or weight maintenance. Again, we go back to the shape diagrams and common sense. At his age, even though large, odds are Tango still has some growing to do.
 
Old 07-31-2017, 08:08 PM   #10
LadyJemima
I certainly don't plan on (or want!) Tango to lose weight rapidly. I was just curious what a "normal" rate of weight loss would be. A few grams every month or so sounds fine to me. I was told (no idea if it is true) that Tango's father was a whopping big Okeetee, and, I have heard of a few others who have very large, young corns. So he is it not so terribly "out of the norm."

However...knowing that he was fed twice weekly...and given that his weight is 470g...and given I can just start to see the outline of "hips"...combined with his somewhat rounder (rather than bread-like) shape...I think a maintenance diet of one mouse every 14 days is logical.
 

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