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Pretty Boy's Proud Pop

P

PrettyBoyCorn

New member
[F]Guess it's time to introduce myself. Hi, I'm Pretty Boy's proud pop. Was too worried and downhearted to do so until this morning when my sweet, gentle, gorgeous Anery ate his first pinkie since arriving at his new home a couple of weeks ago. I couldn't get him to eat the first week, getting increasingly stressed, then on the eighth day discovered he'd shed his skin. His kind, caring, patient, instructive breeder Wendy emailed me it was probably the reason for his non-appetite and told me exactly what I needed to do: thaw and warm a day-old pinkie in a cup of hot water, place both snake and pinkie in a small container sealed tightly with airholes in a warm, dark cabinet and leave them alone, for 24 hours if necessary. When I pried the lid off the container to check on Pretty Boy a last time, the pinkie was already on its way down his throat. When the lump was halfway down, I gently placed Pretty Boy back in his condo without touching him. I'll leave him alone for a couple of days to digest his meal, as Wendy has instructed. He's my first cornsnake -- but probably not my last -- and I'm so happy to be his proud poppa! My only questions right now regard feeding him in the future. I have 49 day-old pinkies in my freezer. Do I keep giving him one a week until they run out? At some point do I start giving him two pinkies? Or at some point -- when? -- do I start feeding him larger pinkies and then fuzzies? If so, what do I do with the remaining day-old pinkies? Thanks! [/FONT]
 
I also just got my first snake, and these folks have been very helpful in giving advice. I've been feeding my baby one pinky every five days. When the thickest part of his body is wider than the pinky, switch to the fuzzies (he can eat a mouse 1 and 1/2 times larger than the widest part of his body). Dunno what you can do with the other pinkies, maybe you could get another snake ;). Post pics of Pretty Boy asap!
 
You can feed him every five days, if you want. I feed all my babies at that interval. You can start feeding him double pinks when he weighs 16 grams. At 24 grams he's ready for peach fuzzies or huge pinks (one at a time). If you have leftover pinks, just seal them up and keep them. You could get another baby, or yours could (God forbid) regurge sometime and you'd need small pinks again. Next time he goes blue (in about a month) don't even bother trying to feed him, since you now know he doesn't care to eat when blue. It's okay for him to miss one or even two meals when he's blue.
 
Thanks, Nanci (and Theo's Keeper) for your advice on five-day intervals for feeding one-day-old pinkies, with a second pinkie added at 16 grams and graduation to fuzzies at 24 grams. I don't have a way of weighing my snake, though. Can you give me an idea of when to add a second in terms of time -- weeks, months. Guess this is a tough question since snakes like humans probably grow at individual rates. Here are a few more (probably stupid) questions -- kindly forgive a real newbie for asking them. Since it's kind of pricey buying pinkies, what with the high shipping costs, can't I just keep feeding my snake more and more of the day-old pinkies until they're all eaten up? After two at a time, can I go to three at a time and even four at a time? Or do cornsnakes like to just pop one of them at a time and that's it? Thanks!
 
If you have leftovers of a smaller prey size, yes you can double them up. Or it says so in my book from Don Soderberg. Here is a link to where you can get his book, it's even signed.
http://www.cornsnake.net/cornsnakesincaptivity.php3
This forum is really good for answering most of your questions but I like to have a book to flip through as well. His is good & so is the one by Kathy Love but I don't have the link to hers handy at the moment. Good luck with your new addition to the family!
 
I feed my hatchlings every 4 days, going to double pinks or triple or more as needed. The sooner you can get them on mice with bones and hair the faster they will grow, not that there is any rush. Just that it takes a long time to grow a snake on pinks alone.

Kathy's Book: among others... http://www.corn-utopia.com/Corn Uto...or sale Cornutopia corn snakes cornsnakes.htm


A great not expensive scale: http://www.reptilebasics.com/my-weigh-7001dx_precision-digital-scale-with-weighing-bowl.html

You will notice we all talk in snake weights, not lengths. :D
 
Thanks, all of you, for your great advice. Pretty Boy is doing well -- has eaten quickly and heartily every five days since he took his first pinkie. He's had four meals since arriving. I fell in love with the little guy right off and wound up buying a second corn snake from Wendy a week after getting Pretty Boy. The new guy is a male amelanistic whom I call Carmelo. I'll raise them side by side but in their own little condos. Carmelo is also gorgeous -- blood red as I found out tonight after he'd shed. Pretty Boy is an anery so their markings are identical. They look like bookends but starkly different in coloring. And both are gentle and mellow. So all's well. Thanks again!
 
Thanks for the welcome, NWHeather! Both Pretty Boy and Carmelo are native Northwesterners, born and bred in Oregon. Is it true Pacific Northwest Cornsnake owners are the greatest in the world? Kidding!
 
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