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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What a healthy corn snake should look like

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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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.

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.

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.

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."

Dragonling said:

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."

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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.

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.

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.

I'm on the fence about getting babies to grow fast. I've heard of people who feed every few days, which I feel is probably too much, but I feel a 5 day feeding schedule is fine.
Some people feel that is power feeding.

My feedings are not consistently every 5 days or every 7 days, etc, due to my schedule.
It is also partially intentional, because snakes in the wild do not feed on a set schedule, and sometimes their meals are closer together, sometimes further apart, when they find food.

My babies are all fed on the same schedule (aside from during shed process) and I have had babies form the same clutch grow at drastically different rates. Some would be on hoppers, while some would be at adult mouse size, all fed on the same schedule.

That said, (IMO) babies in the wild are going to want to eat and grow fast, because the longer they stay small, the higher risk they are at becoming a meal for another animal.

I'm more conservative in feeding, for the most part. I do periodically ramp up feeding (every 5 or 6 days usually, on occasion it might be 4 days in between a feeding, but not often), but overall, I usually feed about ever 7 days for most, and spread out every 2-3 weeks on adult males.
My Irian Jaya male usually gets fed every 2-3 weeks. He gets small/medium rats sometimes, and a couple large adult mice other times.

I do have a friend who does believe that "power feeding" can lead to unhealthy snakes and early death. He works with mostly Carpet Pythons, and on some that have died early, he has done a necropsy, and they have been power fed, and have heavy fat deposits. He choses to feed conservatively.
My thought on that is due to being fed rats. In the wild, many of the Carpet Pythons often feed on lower fat prey, like birds, and I think a consistent diet of captive bred rats leads to unhealthy snakes. (Which is why I alternate with mice on my IJ, and my Granite IJ that is on breeder loan gets ASF's or mice and not regular rats.) It is also why I never feed rats to my Cornsnakes or Kingsnakes.

I think a variety of prey would be healthiest, and while I am out of stock, I have offered baby chicks and quail to some of my snakes on occasion.

In reference to this post, I have not seen any current photos of Tango, so I cannot say whether he is overweight or just further in growth for his age. I have seen 800-900 gram Cornsnakes that were not at all overweight, just large.

Edit to add: In THIS thread, from less than a month ago, when you first got Tango, he does not look overweight to me. He looks like he's got that "loaf of bread" shape that they are supposed to. The photo of him in the enclosure, his belly looks flat, which is not overweight.

I thought I would be religious about feeding this year's hatchlings every 5 days, but here I am frequently letting them go to 7 since I have been lazy about posting any for sale (waiting for shipping materials to arrive now). I do agree that true powerfeeding is probably unhealthy (if only because many snakes will just start regurging), but yes, I've had people claim my feeding schedule (when I follow it) is far too aggressive. The folks claming 100g/year of growth is healthy would probably be upset about Delta...she gained around 300 in a year and produced two healthy clutches this summer, 25 babies total all 8g+.

MysticExotics said:

I think a variety of prey would be healthiest, and while I am out of stock, I have offered baby chicks and quail to some of my snakes on occasion.

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This is why I looooove the mega blend Reptilinks. They have a little bit of everything in 'em. For the ones that will eat them, it's great for adding variety to their diet.

Edit to add: In THIS thread, from less than a month ago, when you first got Tango, he does not look overweight to me. He looks like he's got that "loaf of bread" shape that they are supposed to. The photo of him in the enclosure, his belly looks flat, which is not overweight.

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His belly is flat. Isn't it amazing how information about snake weight varies depending on the source? The vet said that she could "see his skin between his scales" (and you definitely can at his widest) ...but whatever. :shrugs: As long as I am feeding him a M or L mouse every two weeks, I think he will maintain his weight nicely. I do believe that two adult mice a week, as fed by his previous owner, was WAY too much for him, though.

Pictures can be misleading, but he looks healthy and muscular to me in the picture. Of course your vet saw him in person and is in a better position to evaluate. I don't know about you, but I really appreciate having a good relationship with a competent vet on this journey!

Like everyone else, shed, travel, and other factors put some natural irregularities in the schedule that help to mimic nature. I never fret if I have to feed a few days early or late. I really agree that it doesn't hurt and is probably good for them.

The reason you are getting other that what you asked for in your original question, is that there is no way to answer your original question. There is no formula and so many variables. Besides don't take some of where the thread has gone, personally. Sometimes threads morph a bit. This one has become a valuable feeding and weight discussion for all, and is definitely not all aimed at you and Tango!

I have a habit of drifting topic-wise lol. Tango looks great to me in those photos. I have a 7 year old male around 550g that has a very similar body shape.

I agree, he / she? looks very healthy to me

For being young, and still growing, I wouldn't say he was being fed "way" to much.
As his owner, it's your prerogative to reduce his feedings to maintain, that's completely up to you. Keep in mind he is still young, and growing, so watch for any signs of triangulation, spine starting to show, with reduced size of prey and spacing out his feedings that far. If that occurs, you will want to increase his prey size and/or bump him up to weekly feedings.

He looks great, I see no signs of him being overfed/overweight. Very nice looking snake.