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Husbandry and Basic Care General stuff about keeping and maintaining cornsnakes in captivity.

should I stay with fuzzies or get some hoppers
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Old 08-27-2013, 08:55 AM   #1
Chill92
should I stay with fuzzies or get some hoppers

My corn is 23 inches long and weighed in at 41 grams right now I'm giving him a fuzzy every 6 days they are supposed to weigh 5 grams each. Is this enough or should I move up to something bigger?
 
Old 08-27-2013, 08:57 AM   #2
Nanci
Fuzzies are good till he gets to be 50-60 grams.
 
Old 08-29-2013, 01:27 AM   #3
7legion77
I advise you to resist the pressure to go with bigger prey. There exists a huge misconception that power-feeding a snake will make them grow larger than they would otherwise grow.

Please sparse with your feeding. It is more important that your snake eats the bare minimum of what it needs, than to have it eat too much. Feeding it more in hopes that it will grow "bigger, faster" is a mistake I made. I suppose I have a "slow grower" and adhering to all the books and online guides that I read, let me to overfeeding this particular snake. I ended up with a fat and lethargic snake, and it happened so quickly over the span of a few months that now I am going through hell trying to make him lose weight.

When feeding snakes, take the *less is more* approach. Can't stress this enough.
 
Old 08-29-2013, 01:37 AM   #4
7legion77
...I bought Kathy Love's book at the pet store which said "we estimate the feeding schedule for a snake to be 1-2 small creatures every 7-14 days"!

With my particular snake, this has proven to be UTTER BS which has led my 3-4 year old snake to being totally overweight. I now feed him a hopper or a young adult every 3-4 weeks with tons of exercise in between.

I conclude that feeding schedules will vary drastically depending on the particular snake you have.
 
Old 08-29-2013, 01:42 AM   #5
7legion77
Another possibility is that the handful of rat pups he has eaten over the years contributed vastly to his overweight.
 
Old 08-29-2013, 03:14 AM   #6
MysticExotics
Quote:
Originally Posted by 7legion77 View Post
...I bought Kathy Love's book at the pet store which said "we estimate the feeding schedule for a snake to be 1-2 small creatures every 7-14 days"!

With my particular snake, this has proven to be UTTER BS which has led my 3-4 year old snake to being totally overweight. I now feed him a hopper or a young adult every 3-4 weeks with tons of exercise in between.

I conclude that feeding schedules will vary drastically depending on the particular snake you have.
I've followed the Munson Plan for a few years (which is deemed by some as over feeding) & I have not had any overweight snakes.
Kathy Love's book provides very good information!

I usually wait a few grams over the suggested weight to bump up to the next size prey on the Munson Plan:

The Munson Plan (Sample Feeding Chart): Revised 06/08/08
________________________________________
-When they're on single pinks (2-3g), I feed every 5-6 days. (Snake = 4-15g)
-Double pinks (3g x 2) every 5-6 days. (Snake = 16-23g)
-Small fuzzies (5-7g) every 6-7 days. (Snake = 24-30g)
-Regular fuzzies (7-9g) every 6-7 days (Snake = 30-50g)
-Hoppers (9-12g) every 6-7 days (Snake = 51-90g)
-Weaned (14-20g) every 7 days (Snake = 91-170g)
-Adult (20-30g) every 7-x days (Snake = 170+) See below.

Note: Adult females are fed more frequently than adult males (especially following brumation). Adult females are fed every 7-12 days; adult males are fed every 11-14 days.

This is by no means scientific, and not all corns will cooperate 100% with the schedule. The weight ranges I gave for the prey and snakes are approximate.
__________________
Dean P. Arnold II (Dean Arnold II on FB)


Quote:
Originally Posted by 7legion77 View Post
Another possibility is that the handful of rat pups he has eaten over the years contributed vastly to his overweight.
That right there is likely what caused your snake to be over weight.

Cornsnakes do not need rats (which are fattier than mice).
Even my largest Cornsnakes, a couple have been 700-900 gram range **and not "fat"** have been fed 1 XL Adult mouse once a week, if female, or every 2-3 weeks, if male.
 
Old 08-29-2013, 08:36 AM   #7
Chill92
Well it sounds like a fuzzy every 6 days is right where he needs to be for now.
 
Old 08-30-2013, 11:38 PM   #8
Lindseybree
Has anyone ever had a snake that didn't look like it could eat what it says it should be eating according to weight (I use the Munson plan as a guideline, but don't stick to it if I don't feel right about it)? I need to get an updated weight on him, but Severus weighed 73g on 8/11. He's been on double peach fuzzies for a while now. I have 2 hoppers in the freezer, but they still just look to big for him. I don't feel that I'm underfeeding him. He seems happy and healthy. I just don't want to stress him as far as eating goes. Just looking for some feedback. Thanks!
 
Old 08-30-2013, 11:54 PM   #9
MysticExotics
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lindseybree View Post
Has anyone ever had a snake that didn't look like it could eat what it says it should be eating according to weight (I use the Munson plan as a guideline, but don't stick to it if I don't feel right about it)? I need to get an updated weight on him, but Severus weighed 73g on 8/11. He's been on double peach fuzzies for a while now. I have 2 hoppers in the freezer, but they still just look to big for him. I don't feel that I'm underfeeding him. He seems happy and healthy. I just don't want to stress him as far as eating goes. Just looking for some feedback. Thanks!
I would use the 1.5 width of the widest part of the snake above the Munson Plan. If the the food is bigger than 1.5 the widest part of the snake, I wouldn't feed it, regardless of what the Munson Plan says.
 
Old 08-30-2013, 11:55 PM   #10
MysticExotics
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chill92 View Post
Well it sounds like a fuzzy every 6 days is right where he needs to be for now.
Perfect!!!
 

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