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A quick feeding question

queztacoatl

queztacoatl

New member
Hey everyone,

I don't have a scale to weigh my snake with, and I can't really afford one seeing as I spent all my money cutting a check to the college last week. But my snake is about 2-3 months old and about 12-14 inches long, and he's eating pinkies fine, but he seems a tiny bit on the skinny side. I feed him once a week, and on the day right before he is supposed to be fed, he looks skinny to me.

I was just wondering if anyone can give advice on how much to feed him.

Should I move up to the next biggest step? Or feed double pinks? Because his head isn't very big to eat large food items.

Also, in general what size of mice will corns eat once they are about a year old?

Thanks for help!
 
Those little heads can shove a lot in! The general rule is feed a prey item 1.5 times the width of the widest part of the snake. Double pinks should be fine for a snake of that age if a fuzzy is too large. It's very unlikely that your snake is skinny, probably the lack of a meal in the belly is what's throwing you off. :)
 
Alright, thanks a lot! I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't underfeeding him. I've read that overfeeding him is more dangerous usually than underfeeding him.
 
queztacoatl said:
Alright, thanks a lot! I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't underfeeding him. I've read that overfeeding him is more dangerous usually than underfeeding him.
Click to expand...
Yup... esp. when they're this small. A regurge at this age is quite bad (lost 2 to regurges).

He could probably do double pinks without a problem. BUT if its your first time doing doubles, make sure to leave him alone for 3 days to digest. Wouldn't do to disturb him and cause a regurge.

Good luck!
 
Thanks for the replies everyone!! Yeah I knew about the digital scales being pretty cheap, but still, I'm trying to save every PENNY i can so I don't have to take out student loans. I got by this first year without them. Maybe I"ll just watch him for a bit and see if it looks like he needs double pinks or a fuzz. Thanks again.
 
I repsect your need to save money as you are a student.....I've been there! However, when taking on a pet you also need to have the proper supplies needed to care for them.....it's part of the resposibility. I'm not trying to be mean or nasty, just saying.

Good Luck in school and with your little guy!
 
Yeah I know what you mean about having the proper supplies, but it never seemed like a scale was a "need-to-have" supply. I've keep reptiles for about 7 years and they have all been sucessful without the use of a scale. I actually have never heard of using a scale until reading on this forum. Maybe I'll just cave and pick one up tomorrow!
 
My favorite non-weight method is to find a handy finger that's about the same diameter as the snake, and use that as a guide. We have a trio that are index-finger size, and one that's pinkie-finger size. It makes it easy to remember (handy, at my advanced age:D) and easy to tell the guys at the pet shop what size I need. Just be sure to use a polite finger, ok?;)
 
Haha, that's a good idea! Every time I'm at the pet shop I find myself trying to explain what size I need, usually they give me a fed up look like "I get paid minimum wage to do this".
 
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