Selling corns: at which age?

[LMS68]

I was wondering at what age do you sell your young corns? When they are a few weeks old? A couple of months?

 

[Nanci]

Mine are ready to go after they have eaten three meals and have been sexed. For females, that means they have to be popped three times. Typically, though, they are around two or three months and are very well-started.

 

[bitsy]

Same as Nanci. I use three feeds in a row with no tricks, which leaves them ready to go to a new home at around three weeks old. If they refuse a feed, the count restarts.

The fastest timetable is roughly:

Hatch
- Shed around 7 days later (7 days old)
- Eat the day after the shed (8 days old)
- Eat five days later (13 days old)
- Eat five days later (18 days old)
- Allow two days for digestion (20 days old)
- Hatchlings are ready to move from 21 days old

 

[LMS68]

I'm just waiting for a response from Martha's breeder. I'm sure he had told me how old she was when we got her but I just wanted it for my records & it made me think of that question to you guys that breed corns.

But wow, I didn't realize they shed that quickly after hatching. Now is this first shed because the skin is now exposed to air or is it because they really do grow that much so soon?

 

[Nanci]

They go blue immediately upon hatching. I guess they need a new dry land skin!

 

[cornsnakeforsale_com]

No shedding for the duration of incubation, they must think they're ready. Or maybe because they know they'll be so much prettier for their new owners

 

[chris68]

Eating three times is kind of the "standard" for corns. If they haven't eaten 3 times in a row on f/t pinks, they don't leave til they do. Picky and/or difficult feeders I generally give away, sell at a discount or wholesale as picky feeders later in the year...

 

[bitsy]

But wow, I didn't realize they shed that quickly after hatching. Now is this first shed because the skin is now exposed to air or is it because they really do grow that much so soon?

They hatch with the remains of the egg yolk inside them, which means they're growing for the first few days after they hatch as the yolk is absorbed. This means that they need to shed quite soon after hatching.

It's also why they don't need to eat until after they shed.

 

[Nanci]

Actually, they lose weight as they absorb the egg yolk and then shed. So it's expected that the baby weighs less after the first shed than when it hatched. There is also a dramatic color change- as if the soft colors of hatching dry out and sharpen and intensify.

 

[LMS68]

That is so cool!