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Feeding Young Snake

A

Axent

New member
Ok so the exact age of this little guy is unknown. I work in a pet store and we had an albino corn snake shipped to us I don't even remember how long ago and escaped.....he was later caught at least over a month later in a glue trap for our escaped crickets. He stayed in captivity once again for another couple of months before another escape from the tank that was ZIP TIED closed. After another month or so we found him....in another sticky trap on Thursday. He has once again been freed of the glue and is ok but has not actually eaten in who knows how long. He is now in my care after the decision that we could not allow a customer without knowledge to take him home.

Now back to the question. How often should I feed this guy? He just ate 2 pinkies like they are nothing and still looking at me and flicking his little tongue. I don't think he can eat a fuzzy yet, his head is only the length of a nickle. Should I stick with pinkies and for how long?
 
Axent said:
Ok so the exact age of this little guy is unknown. I work in a pet store and we had an albino corn snake shipped to us I don't even remember how long ago and escaped.....he was later caught at least over a month later in a glue trap for our escaped crickets. He stayed in captivity once again for another couple of months before another escape from the tank that was ZIP TIED closed. After another month or so we found him....in another sticky trap on Thursday. He has once again been freed of the glue and is ok but has not actually eaten in who knows how long. He is now in my care after the decision that we could not allow a customer without knowledge to take him home.

Now back to the question. How often should I feed this guy? He just ate 2 pinkies like they are nothing and still looking at me and flicking his little tongue. I don't think he can eat a fuzzy yet, his head is only the length of a nickle. Should I stick with pinkies and for how long?
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Hi Axent!!

How ya been?

It sounds really nice of you to take care of this little corn (I'm assuming he's a baby?) but I do hope you are a snake lover also.

Corn snakes will sometimes eat as much as you give them, hence the tongue flicking. But it depends upon his exact weight to determine how much to feed him and on a weekly basis for baby corns. Adults can eat every 2 to 3 weeks.

A good rule of thumb is to feed a baby snake around 10% of its body weight on a weekly basis. (There is a feeding plan called The Munson Plan and someone will probably (hopefully) soon chime in with the specifics, especially if I'm wrong, but I think it's safe to say that you can feed your snake up to 13% of it's body weight on a weekly basis up until it's a yearling or an adult at which time you can feed it 10% of its weight every 2-3 weeks).

Most importantly, for now, ESPECIALLY if it's still a hatchling who can't eat fuzzies yet, make sure you DON'T feed it anything that is more than 1.5 x the diameter of the snake at its widest point. If he's still a hatchling that is under 15 grams, even two pinkies would be too much. As a matter of fact, if it's still a young hatchling, a day-old pinky every week for the first month would be preferable. But going by weight is better at that particular age.

Some more details on size and weight would be better for you to elicit the information you need which would be appropriate for your particular snake. Pics would also help.

Just sayin (my own 2 cents).

Take Care!!
 
He has just weighed in at 15 grams but I would think is closer to a yearling just from his past. That measurement is on a full belly of 2 pinkies but having not eaten in over a month. so I'm not sure how reliable of a measurement that is for aging. The pictures are being a pain in the butt right now but i'll try to get them up soon.

How will I know when to give him larger food? He is my first snake but I've always tolerated and now begun to enjoy them.
 
Whoa!

15 grams is a really REALLY small snake for one that's been around as long as you say this one has. He sounds emaciated, poor thing! He could PROBABLY tap dance on razor blades dude! There are folks with yearlings on this forum that are upwards of 175 grams!!! (I have an 11-month old who weighed in at 117 grams today!!! He eats a medium-sized hopper weekly!).

I hope you see where this is going dude! That snake is probably lucky to be alive. And nothing personal, really, I just hope your past "tolerance" of snakes which has evolved into enjoyment means you also care about them. I guess your posting here and asking questions does indicate that you do and forgive me if I come across a little harsh, but it sounds like this snake has suffered a great deal.

He should be eating a pinky every 6-7 days until he's where he SHOULD be for his age. How long is he? Do you have him in a setup with appropriate temps, hides, and bedding? Also, he should have fresh water all the time. If you can't post pics here, you can try to start an album in the section where your public profile is. I think pictures would be able to help US help YOU.

Hope to talk soon!
 
No offense taken. I wouldn't want someone who just simply tolerated a snake to handle this case. In the past year and a half I have worked with them and have come to enjoy them although it was just recently I could bring myself to feed them since I had rats and mice as pets. I just looked at it as "well they gotta eat too." Now I look at the frozens and think "well it is already dead and he needs to eat. I don't feel so bad."

I don't remember exactly how long he was in our store but I do know he was there in December. When he was on the loose this little guy pretty much had crickets who escaped to make his meals and I know those aren't good for him. He is not happy to be measured and actually bit me while attempting so I'll answer that when he has calmed down some. As for housing and lighting he has a tank with shredded aspen and a fresh water available at all times. As for lighting I am not very familiar with his needs. I was reading they don't need UVB or heat lamps and benefit from an under tank pad instead. Is this correct?
 

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That's no albino, looks phantom-ish, maybe diffused as well? I'll be in Columbus tomorrow. Which store are you at? If I get a chance I'll come check him out.
 
Axent said:
When he was on the loose this little guy pretty much had crickets who escaped to make his meals and I know those aren't good for him. He is not happy to be measured and actually bit me while attempting so I'll answer that when he has calmed down some. As for housing and lighting he has a tank with shredded aspen and a fresh water available at all times. As for lighting I am not very familiar with his needs. I was reading they don't need UVB or heat lamps and benefit from an under tank pad instead. Is this correct?
Click to expand...

Hi Axent!

Thanx for the quick response! Unsure if they would even TRY to eat crickets, as I believe that could be fatal to a corn, so I doubt it.

You don't have to measure him to the CENTIMETER, I was just looking for an estimate and I think the pics are good enough. (There IS a measurement app somewhere on this forum or there is a LINK to it. It's called "SerpWidgets" or a facsimile thereof. Maybe someone who sees this can direct us to where it is? All you need to do is take a picture of your snake next to a ruler or another object that is measurement-specific and the app will help you figure out the EXACT length of your sneaky one!).

That IS a small snake for one that's as old as you think he is, but he doesn't look to be at death's door or CIRCLING THE DRAIN as I suspected. On the other hand, 15 grams DOES mean that he STILL has to RENT a SHADOW!! He's thin! I would just feed him a pinky every 6 days or so until he got a little larger to either handle 2 every week or a small fuzzy. Hopefully, some more experienced members will chime in shortly to help out.

Corns do not need ANY light other than what the room he's in has (i.e., natural daylight NOT in direct sunlight). I have a light over one of my vivs that's in a corner of the room and far away from a window. The others are illuminated by the ceiling lights well enough. And YES, a UTH which preferably has a thermostat to prevent anything OVER the mid-90's on the bottom of the glass under the substrate (the temp should be read at the point where the glass meets the UTH on the tank-side and not above the bedding or the air-temp, if that's clear enough). An optimal temp variance would be 70-75 on the cool side and 85-87 on the warm side, give or take a few (you can find more specific and scientific temp requirements if you look hard or do a search in the Husbandry section or from some members who may chime in soon). he also should have adequate hides on both sides of his enclosure. And I believe Aspen is fine!

I am really glad that someone who CARES got ahold of that beautiful hatchling. Don't quite know what morph he is as I can't tell an AMEL from a CARAMEL but he is GORGEOUS and his eyes are PIERCING!!!!

He's a great snake who deserves a decent life and I commend you for caring!!!
 
He certainly isn't as plump as any snake should be, in fact he is more of a triangular shape so he really is underweight. Something about him from the first time I saw him he just captivated me. With his eyes they are black around the outside and pink in the pupil (hence why I was calling him an albino). I'm going to do my best to care for him and if I am unable to I will certainly find him a proper home but I'm going to do my best.
 
Oh, I misread the last part. I'm going to the Paws for a Cause event at Defining Skin Tattoo on Cleveland Ave. I'm carpooling though, so I'd have to see if they're cool with making a stop. Pets are welcome at the event, since it's for pet charities, and if it weren't so far I'd bring London along. I don't imagine you'd wanna drag the little guy over there though.
 
I heard about that event! I'd go if I could but we are busy tomorrow. You don't need to make a stop to see him. I'll post more images as he gets calmer.
 
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