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Adult Corn Snake Growth Questions

DollysMom

DollysMom

It never gets old!
I'm a little slim on experience with the growth (or lack of it) in adult corn snakes. A search of older posts didn't give any satisfactory answers.

So here are the facts as I know them. When I first got my presumed 14 year old adult Mandy, about 6 months ago, she weighed 464 grams and measured 4 ft 4.5 inches.

I fed her as the rescue recommended. She was a little on the thin side with a bit of the triangle look. Even the vet said, "I don't want her to lose any more muscle mass". I fed her 20 to 25 grams every 7 days

When she got to 525, she looked filled out and it was time to slow down the feeding so now I'm feeding her 20 grams every 12 to 14 days and she's still packing on the grams. Her last weigh in was 572 grams. She still looks good. In a effort to build muscle instead of fat I do make sure she gets at least 30 minutes of excecise in my hands or on the floor every day I can which averages 4 or 5 days a week.

She is pooping very regularly.

Today, I took another measuring picture and she measured as 4 ft 7 inches:

udXPhp0l.jpg


I measured both pictures, the old one from May 3 and the one from today multiple times so as far as that goes, I'm confident that I'm using Serpwidgets Snake Measurer as accurately as I can.

She has shed twice in my care, 85 days apart. It is 70 days since her last shed. I'm guessing she's due to shed on schedule, but it's too early to know for certain.

So what do you make of this? Is this even possible for an older adult to grow 2.5 inches in 6 months? Did she possibly add length? Is it more likely that I just took bad measuring pictures?

As to weight for an adult, I don't want to feed much less than 20 grams every 12 to 14 days. I don't want her to become overweight, but I don't want to underfeed her either. What's your experience with adult weight?

Any answers, suggestions or insights would be appreciated. I know they grow all their lives, but this seems like a lot.
 
Her weight looks good in the pic! IMO that's how a corn snake should look. Somewhere in between the triangle and the loaf of bread references. :eek:k_01:
Her shed cycle is normal for a snake of that age. :)
Elderly snakes might grow in length but it is usually barely measurable in their last few years or so. Growth in weight will depend on feeding of course but at some point close to the end of a long life they they tend to lose weight. Shedding is not an indicator of growth. The house snake that lost 2/3's of his weight shedded regularly.
At 14 which for Mandy could be middle age might of grew a few inches.
I would try to keep her weight around where it is now. You'll have to figure out a feeding schedule that works for you and Mandy like maybe the first and 16th of every month. Based on the pic a few more grams won't hurt her though.
I've thought of hiring a "snake walker" just so some of my snakes could get more exercise :laugh:
Mandy is so lucky to have found you ! :dancer:
 
Thanks Daddio. I appreciate your insight.

Yeah, I just threw in the shed as another data point. i didn't think it was significant but wanted to make sure.

I suspect my measuring pics might be off a bit too. I'll take another one in a week or so and see what I get. For now, if anyone asks I'll call her 4 ft 6 inches. She sure looks a yard and a half long to me! She's definitely longer and slightly larger than either of the female corns I handled while working the Chicago Herp Society booth at Tinley this weekend.

I'll keep monitoring and make adjustments as needed to maintain her weight. I put it on a calendar so feedings are very regular unless I have to adjust for travel. She'll go to the vet again in the spring and if I have any real concerns in the meantime, I'll call the vet; but sometimes when it involves basic husbandry the folks here can have more hands on experience.

Lol on the snake walker. My only problem is keeping her from going under the furniture. She's pretty good, but every once in a while she makes a dash for the forbidden hide.

As to her being lucky to have found me, I feel even luckier to have found her. :dancer:

esFi0l9l.jpg
 
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