What us a good weight for a Sub-Adult/Adult female??

I got Artemis approx. 2 weeks ago, weighing in at 249g. She is a female Snow Motley, and her age is 2.5 yrs. Her length is just over 3 ft. I do not know how many inched past but no more than 3.5.

I was told she would always be a short snake and the breeder I got her from did not expect her to get much more than about 4 to 4.5 feet. She said it was not from any husbandry problems or heath issues just that she was a smaller snake.

I am hoping to one day breed her and I know the 3 threes rule. 3 yrs old, 300g and 3 ft long. I follow the Munson plan with all of my snakes, so being that she is 249g, I fed her 2 Hoppers, one at 15g and the other 16g. I know Munson says feed that amount (20-30g) every 7-12 days for female adult.

Do I keep feeding her every 7 days until she is at least 300g? Or do I already start to space her feeds out longer? Is she at this point still a Sub-Adult or is she an Adult? How will I know if she is getting to fat? If she is going to stay smaller/shorter then is overfeeding and overweight a concern? I am adding pics for you to see her right now.









Thanks for looking and helping me out.

Tisha

By just looking at the pictures I would say she looks healthy. The last pic with your fingers in it gives it a good scale for size (thickness). I personally would wait until next year to breed her because of her thickness. Not saying you couldnt breed her just in my opinion with what info you gave. Waiting will give her time to build up a little more thickness and a small fat reserve, that she will need for egg production. And I know how hard it is to wait. I waited 4 years with one of my girls.

Feeding every 7-12 days with what info is given is what I would do. The Munson plan is a great plan but it is also more of a guideline than a rule. So slight changes maybe needed for each snake(like humans, not all snakes are the same) She appears very healthy and well cared for.

Good luck in whatever you decide....

Well if she is truley going to be a short snake (I honestly doubt she'd stay that small) the weight and muscle is what is more important for the breeding. I would certainly wait untill next year though untill she's well over 300, you don't want to go "hey she's 301 lets do it" ya know? Hope that helps.

I have no intention of breeding until at least next year, maybe the year after. It will all depend on my being able to find an appropriate male for her. Thank you all for your comments so far on her size and how she looks.

Just to clarify, one of my main questions is "what is a good weight for an adult female corn?" I do not want to let her get over weight and at this point the other one in the house is a small juvy so I feed every 7 days. I also weight every feeding day. Therefore I can keep an eye on weights, but I have no idea what kind of weight is considered to be obese for these snakes.

If I knew this then as she approached that weight I would know it was time to move her to feeding every 12 days so as to prevent obesity.

Thx again everyone

Tisha

She looks fine I really don't think you have to worry about her being over weight.
She doesn't have "hips" close to her vent which tend to happen when they're getting too fatty.

A great way to judge is if you imagine a cross section of your snake, they should look like a slice of bread, how their body is mostly round but then they've got the little crust that touchs the ground.

It's hard to pick *any* particular weight for her, or a target weight to keep her around because like people every snake is different.

Like Corny said she is fine (I think she is a fabulous looking snake) and at 2.5 years of age, she still has some growing to do.

If you feel she might be getting fatty just take her out and excersice(play) with her. Keep an eye on her vent for those hips. But it surely seems you have things under control.....

Thx guys very much, I never understood what "hips" were supposed to look like and now I understand the bread analogy helped alot!!

Tisha