Finally!!!! Pics Of The Infamous Ren!

[leia]

A tip for picture taking is also to use the Macro feature, it makes the images clearer when they are closeups, though it freezes the zoom at a specific location.

 

[Bekah]

Thanks for the advice leia, but I don't have a "macro" feature on my digital camera...only "normal" and "distant". I will eventually fiddle with some of my programs and possibly even my regular ol' camera and see what I get!

 

[Bekah]

CornCrazy,

Yes...I can try to take a picture of Ren's belly near the tail (if snake will stay still...lol!)...I know exactly what you want...unfortunately, this being my first corn I can't figure it out on my own, try as I may! I will take and post pic tomorrow evening.

I feed Ren 2 feeder mice every approximately every 10 days. They are definitely not adult mice...the man at the pet store where I purchase my mice has breeding pairs and they are larger then what I feed (which are about 2 and a half to 3 inches long not including tails. I also feed live (not sure if that has an effect on growth). How often do your 18 month-olds shed? Less often? Does shed depend on feeding schedule? At approximately what age do they stop growing?

I've measured both the shed and the snake. We measure the snake about a month and a half ago by putting it on the floor and holding a piece of yarn right where it's head meets the body and running the string along the length of the snake. We came up with just under 3 and a half feet. I measured her last shed (just a couple days ago) in comparison to last month's shed and it was about 2 or 3 inches longer.

I paid $49 for Ren and I was fortunate that he seemed well taken care of (considering he came from a pet store). The man who sold him to me (one of the store employees) told me to feed Ren one feeder a week...that was the schedule they had him on. I complied for a few weeks, but the snake always seemed hungry. I was hesitant to push up to 2 mice, but I figured it was no big deal if he refused it. He didn't refuse and seems more "satisfied" with 2. The seller did not give me an age, he only said Ren was too young to sex. I didn't know too much about the sexing thing at the time so I figured I got what I got!

I mentioned in another post somewhere that my cousin told me she didn't think I was sold a cornsnake. She was convinced it was either a baby boa (or python) or a rat snake. I know well enough that Ren is not a boa or a python! I've read up in some books in stores and library and they leave me a little confused. Some sources say a rat snake are the same...size is the only difference, while in other books they fall into two seperate catergories. Most books I've read said that there can be size variences with both rat and corn snakes. That some corns may reach about 4 feet, while others can attain 6 feet and rats can go up to 8 feet. I've also read that females tend to be larger than males.

I dunno CornCrazy...sometimes I feel like the more I learn the less I know! I don't think Ren is obese, in fact I have a good shot of Ren crawling on my bedroom floor (see pic)...you can see entire length and, to me, seems well proportioned. When I first came on this sight, there was another member who had a rather large corn (can't remember where post was or what member's name was) that was not obese, but as the member stated, just a really large corn. I'm wondering if that's my scenario.

I appreciate all your help and I'm sorry for the length of this post...just trying to cram in as much info as I can! Thanks and look forward to hearing from you soon!

 

[CornCrazy]

Yes...I can try to take a picture of Ren's belly near the tail (if snake will stay still...lol!)...I know exactly what you want...unfortunately, this being my first corn I can't figure it out on my own, try as I may! I will take and post pic tomorrow evening.

I look forward to seeing the pics. Hopefully, I (or someone else on the forum) will be able to help give you a good idea as to Ren's gender. Of course, sexing by looking at the tail is not always accurate, and you should probably still get a reptile vet to probe him/her to verify gender.

I feed Ren 2 feeder mice every approximately every 10 days. They are definitely not adult mice...the man at the pet store where I purchase my mice has breeding pairs and they are larger then what I feed (which are about 2 and a half to 3 inches long not including tails.

Your feeding schedule sounds fine. I actually feed my yearlings 1 small adult mouse once a week. Your schedule is about the same as mine, I would think.

I also feed live (not sure if that has an effect on growth).

I am not sure if this effects their growth or not. I feed frozen/thawed to most of my snakes. I have a few that want live or fresh/killed, though. I haven't really noticed a difference in growth...but I haven't really looked for one either.

How often do your 18 month-olds shed? Less often? Does shed depend on feeding schedule? At approximately what age do they stop growing?

My snakes that are around that age shed about every 6-8 weeks...which is more often than I realized, actually. And shedding depends on both feeding schedule and the genetics of the snake. I have been told that they never stop growing, but when they reach adult age, growth slows down tremendously. Most of my snakes are 2002's or younger. Most of my 2002's are still shedding every 3-4 months. I have a 2000 male that has shed only twice this year. I would guess that growth slows down at 3-4 years of age...

I've measured both the shed and the snake. We measure the snake about a month and a half ago by putting it on the floor and holding a piece of yarn right where it's head meets the body and running the string along the length of the snake. We came up with just under 3 and a half feet. I measured her last shed (just a couple days ago) in comparison to last month's shed and it was about 2 or 3 inches longer.

If you were just measuring the skin, I was going to tell you that your measurements would not be accurate because the skin stretches a lot during shedding. Serpwidgets has an awesome computer program for measuring snakes. You can find it here: http://serpwidgets.com/Apps/apps.html

I paid $49 for Ren and I was fortunate that he seemed well taken care of (considering he came from a pet store). The man who sold him to me (one of the store employees) told me to feed Ren one feeder a week...that was the schedule they had him on. I complied for a few weeks, but the snake always seemed hungry. I was hesitant to push up to 2 mice, but I figured it was no big deal if he refused it. He didn't refuse and seems more "satisfied" with 2. The seller did not give me an age, he only said Ren was too young to sex. I didn't know too much about the sexing thing at the time so I figured I got what I got!

Regardless of Ren's gender, you got a VERY good deal on the price. $49 for an 18-month old is an awesome deal! CONGRATULATIONS! And if Ren seems to be doing better on the feeding schedule you have him on, then stick to it. It doesn't sound like Ren is being overfed. If Ren turns out to be a male, then you may have to cut back some, though. Males don't need as much food as females. Most of my 2002 (or older) snakes get fed every 2 weeks. Of course, this does not include feeding during breeding season. The females get fed more often, then.

I mentioned in another post somewhere that my cousin told me she didn't think I was sold a corn snake. She was convinced it was either a baby boa (or python) or a rat snake. I know well enough that Ren is not a boa or a python! I've read up in some books in stores and library and they leave me a little confused. Some sources say a rat snake are the same...size is the only difference, while in other books they fall into two separate categories. Most books I've read said that there can be size variances with both rat and corn snakes. That some corns may reach about 4 feet, while others can attain 6 feet and rats can go up to 8 feet. I've also read that females tend to be larger than males.

Well, you definitely did NOT get a boa or a python You can put your cousin's mind at ease...LOL! OK, now I will try to clear up your confusion about the whole rat snake/corn snake issue...A corn is a type of rat snake. All rat snakes are not corns, however. A corn is just one type of rat snake. I hope that makes sense because it kind of sounds funny to me As to adult size, what you have read is pretty accurate. Most "other" rat snakes DO get larger than corns. Corns average around 4 feet, but can definitely get bigger. I personally have some that are close to 5 feet.

I dunno CornCrazy...sometimes I feel like the more I learn the less I know! I don't think Ren is obese, in fact I have a good shot of Ren crawling on my bedroom floor (see pic)...you can see entire length and, to me, seems well proportioned. When I first came on this sight, there was another member who had a rather large corn (can't remember where post was or what member's name was) that was not obese, but as the member stated, just a really large corn. I'm wondering if that's my scenario.

Ren does not appear to be obese in that picture, but it is kind of hard to tell for certain since the picture is so small. Do you have any larger pics? As for the other member, it may have been me. I do have some large snakes. I think maybe it is the stock I get them from. I have noticed that my snakes from certain breeders get larger...faster. I have several 2003's that are quite big. They have been on *once a week* feedings ever since they started eating fuzzies. I've been trying to work on measuring everyone, but only got a few done. I will work on some more during the week and post them so you can see the variance.

I appreciate all your help and I'm sorry for the length of this post...just trying to cram in as much info as I can! Thanks and look forward to hearing from you soon!

You're welcome. I am happy to help! Unfortunately this post is twice as long as yours was...sorry

 

[Bekah]

OK, now I will try to clear up your confusion about the whole rat snake/corn snake issue...A corn is a type of rat snake. All rat snakes are not corns, however. A corn is just one type of rat snake. I hope that makes sense because it kind of sounds funny to me

LOL...Let me start by saying that this makes TOTAL sense to me...it's along the line of "all tigers are felines, but not all felines are tigers".

So Ren could be about a year or 18 months based on shed schedule, correct?

I'm also relieved that my feeding schedule sounds ok. I keep seeing these posts on power feeding and the negative effects a snake can suffer and I don't want to do that at all! I was concerned that although the snake seems fine with it and isn't obese that I was pushing the envelope with 2 mice.

LOL! Thank you for the congratulations on the deal I got on Ren...BTW...went back to same store about a month later to look at aquariums with my cousin and found myself looking at snakes again. $150 for a corn snake like mine, but it was much smaller...in fact, seemed tiny, but this one was an amel...pink eyes.

Thank you SOOO much for all your input and advice! I will have to get a picture of Ren next to some common objects to give you a better idea of size/length. In the meantime I took 2 shots of my daughter (who just turned 7) holding Ren. I am convinced that this snake absolutely adores her! When I am holding the snake and she stands near me, Ren will get stick-straight and go right to the tip of her nose and flick his/her tongue out a few times. Daughter gets a kick out of it. Only problem is Ren also loves her long hair and tries to "nest" in it which makes for some tricky removal! LOL! I will post those pics under a new thread.

I can't seem to get my pics to come up large...I do know that if you click on what is in the post it will enlarge somewhat, but won't fill entire screen.

I am posting the best of the pics we tried to take of Ren's tail end...they're not the best pics (we tried with and without flash...lighting quality was poor both ways...either too much or not enough) and Ren wasn't too fond of having his/her tail stretched out straight. We tried to take them as close up as possible, but as mentioned before, I don't think I have the best digital camera. Let me know what you think, I don't know if you'll be able to make a good determination based on these pics, but you're also more experienced than I am so if you see something that might help your opinion as to what gender Ren is, by all means let me know! Let me know too if pictures are too junky to even tell gender! LOL! Oh...I also have yet ANOTHER question (sorry) is it true that females tend to be larger than males, or is that one of those things that again depends on breeding?

Here are 2 pics...I think I have to post the 3rd seperately because I get a message saying it is too large (so don't worry about your posts being long! LOL!) :

 

[CornCrazy]

I am glad you understood what I was trying to say about corns vs. rats.

And yes, Ren could be about that age. I think it is real hard to determine an exact age unless you know its birthday. So 18 months is as good of a guess as any.

I will check out the pics of Ren and your daughter. They sound really cute

Based on the pics you posted, I would guess that Ren is a female. Please try to get a picture that shows all the way from her cloaca to the tip of her tail. I'd like to see the whole tail in the pic. By the way, the darker picture is much easier to see.

I am not sure if it is true about females being larger. I have heard both ways. There are some species of snakes where this is definitely true, but I have not seen this with corns. I lean toward thinking it all goes back to the genetic make-up of the snake.

Sorry if I missed anything...I have a headache this morning and am trying to get done in a hurry.

 

[Bekah]

Thanks yet again CornCrazy! I will try to get a closer pic of Ren's cloaca to tip of tail. It may take me a couple days however as Ren just had supper tonight and I don't like to disturb until she's done digesting!

The darker picture was taken without a flash, so I will not use a flash with the next pic you are requesting. The only thing with the darker pic is that it makes Ren's belly appear as if it were orange instead of white...weird!

I don't think you missed anything and even if you did, don't worry about it - I've had a long day myself...a fun filled day of constant noise for eight hours (we had seven humungous trees taken down today)! Talk about fun. :nope:

Talk to you soon and take care!