"Adult" Corn Weight

[wax32]

My corns are 3 this year. The male weighs 217g and the female weighs 132g. This seems low. The female did lay eggs both this year (about 12, I didn't incubate them) and last year (5, one of which hatched at room temp after about 70 days, the baby was kinked). I did not know it was "bad" to co-hab them. I will be getting them into their own tubs shortly, so there won't be any more "surprise" stork visits.

At any rate, how much should they really be weighing at three years? For a couple of months after Hurricane Katrina (they were a year old) their eating habits were very sporadic to say the least, but since then they have been getting a hopper once a week.

I am guessing I need to up their feeder size/frequency?

Give me some advice.

 

[ssmith_1187]

Do a search on the "Munson Plan", this should point you in the right direction.

Regards,
Steve

 

[Cegninedorf]

I second that suggestion...in fact, here is the link if you haven't already found it... The Munson Plan link

Since putting my snakes on this "plan," they've really put on some weight! My Fritz is about 2 years old now, and he's at 235 g -- though I'm sure that there are plenty other '05s that weigh more. My oldest chica, Maizie, a June '06, is 150 g now...although I'm sure that with laying eggs, that took a lot out of your female. Hopefully with her own tank & the Munson Plan, she'll put that weight back on quickly.

 

[wax32]

Thanks both of you.

 

[wax32]

OK here's what that plan lists:

-Single pinks (2-3g) every 4-5 days. (Snake = 4-15g)
-Double pinks (3g x 2) every 4-5 days. (Snake = 16-23g)
-Small fuzzies (5-7g) every 5-6 days. (Snake = 24-30g)
-Regular fuzzies (7-9g) every 5-6 days (Snake = 30-50g)
-Hoppers (9-12g) every 5-6 days (Snake = 51-90g)
-Weaned (14-20g) every 7 days (Snake = 91-170g)
-Adult (24-30g) every 7-x days (Snake = 170+)
-Jumbo Adults (40-50g) every 7-x days (Snake = 400g+)

No wonder my two are growing slowly, I am still feeding hoppers!

Looks like my male should be getting adult mice and my female should be getting weaned.

I am going to weigh the adult feeders I have for my king and see how much they weigh...

 

[wax32]

OK. I picked a random "adult" mouse: 32g. Random "hopper": 12g.

So... I think I'll try to offer the male an adult next time and the female 2 hoppers and see how that goes.

 

[MegF.]

I don't feed as frequently as Roy does. Once my animals are off pinkies they are fed weekly until they are adults when they are fed every 10-14 days. My adults at 3 years old are still 500-700 grams. My male weighed in at 724 grams yesterday. He's fed every 2 weeks.

 

[wax32]

My adults at 3 years old are still 500-700 grams. My male weighed in at 724 grams yesterday. He's fed every 2 weeks.

WOW.

I for sure need to at least give them bigger meals!

My 12 year old king snake is only 700 grams! :eek1:

 

[Flagg]

Definitely up the sizes if you are still feeding hoppers to 3 year olds. Most corns should be on adult mice well before 3 years, but yours should catch up if you start feeding them more.

For breeding, the rule of thumb is "3 years - 3 feet - 300 grams".

 

[MegF.]

And I would add....at least 300 grams. It's better to have more IMO. My females routinely lose 100 grams after laying. A 300 gram female is dangerously thin after laying the way I see it. I was very worried after my 330 gram female layed her eggs. She was terribly thin and took a long time to recover. I did not breed her this year, but she's now closer to 500 than 300 these days.

 

[wax32]

Thanks guys!

 

[wax32]

So I got them separated. I've got them temporarily in the boxes meant for my incoming hatchlings. They are about 8x12 inches. A little snug, but at least they are separated now.

Should I get 12qt type boxes (11"x16"ish) or go larger?

I was thinking I'd like to use these: http://www.rubbermaid.com/rubbermaid/product/product.jhtml?prodId=HPProd100217

if I can actually find them anywhere.

I like the boxes with the latches like that because with those I could use my regular shelving unit and not have to build a special rack. They also make them larger I believe.

 

[wax32]

Here are the little boxes they are in now...

The left one looks wet because I just misted a bit... the sunglow is blue.

 

[wax32]

Here is a bigger box that might work:

http://www.rubbermaid.com/rubbermaid/product/product.jhtml?prodId=HPProd100223

 

[Flagg]

If you plan on keeping them in the tubs, I'd go with the 30 or 32 qt size. You can keep adults in that size, the floorspace is about equal to a 20L.

 

[wax32]

Kinda what I am thinking too. I was just worried about it being too big a jump at once.

 

[desertanimal]

A rule of thumb that I find useful when I'm not sure about whether I'm feeding the right prey size is that you should see a lump from the prey item for between 24 and 48 hours. If you can't still tell they were fed after only 24 hours, bump them up to larger items. If you can still see the lump after 48, bump them down to smaller items.

 

[Cam5]

I was just curious the length of your (everyone who has replied) corns. If one 3 year old is 5 feet and another is 3 feet this could also account for some body weight discrepancies.

I am not contradicting any of the prior posts...I was just curious...to see if there was a big length difference.

Our 3 year old male is 44" (about) and 323 grams after a 4 month food strike.

 

[wax32]

Good info desertanimal...

cam5: My corns are for sure a lot shorter than that. I am not saying they are skinny... just that they should have grown more.

 

[wax32]

Picked up two 35qt sterilite tubs today:

First thing tomorrow I'll use the soldering iron to poke some air holes in them. I plan to adjust my rack's shelf to just allow the tubs to fit, with lids. Being this wide I feel snakes could push their way out if I depended on just the latches holding them closed. The covers flex a good bit at the corners.