General Feeding Question

[axis1]

Hi everyone! How ya been?

Haven't really been around much in the past couple of weeks since there have been an unfortunate set of crisis-driven events occurring on my job (been busier than a cobra at a mongoose convention!). It hasn't been by choice, that's for sure. That said, I do hope everyone's little sneaky ones are as healthy & happy as possible!

I have a question for those knowledgeable or experienced enough to know the answer: Ozzy, who hatched a year ago this past July 30th (coming up on 14 months old) is approximately 2.5 feet long and 190 grams. He is being fed adult mice (approximately 25 grams) once a week (every 7 days). When is it appropriate to go from a feeding schedule of every 7 days (1 week) to every 14 days (2 weeks)?

I have 3 adult corns who are fed a large mouse (approximately 28-30 grams) every 14 days (recently modified from a small rat - 50-65 grams - every 21 days) but I can't remember exactly I switched from a one (1) to a two (2) or three (3) week feeding schedule. Might have been when they were 2 or 3 years old but in the event there is a better way to do things, I'd like to know that I did my best in the case of any newer snakes I'm taking care of. Ozzy is an offspring from 2 of my adult snakes (probably Chili-Pepper & Lilly, as he resembles the former, who I was told is a motley bloodred - pix are available in the album section).

Any and all responses will be greatly appreciated!

In any case, here are recent pix of Ozzy:

 

[axis1]

Oops!!

I apologize for the flip-flopped picture, but for some reason, it appears to be beyond my control. Then again, as most of you already know, I'm not the BRIGHTEST bulb on the MARQUEE!!! :nope:

Sorry. :shrugs:

 

[Corning]

I don't know the answer to your question but I love the pictures of that guy!

 

[axis1]

I don't know the answer to your question but I love the pictures of that guy!

Thanx for the acknowledgement Corning! Ozzy certainly IS photogenic! BTW, How ya been? :wavey:

Also appreciate the bump because this thread was just about due to being relegated to the ranks of the forgotten threads of the cornsnake forum board! :eek1: Then sometime around the end of December, someone who does a search using some common or forgettable keyword will probably resurrect it along with an ad for single-use Viagra tablets available for bargain-basement prices throughout Christmas & New Year's! :santa:

:-offtopic BTW, I know I'm just kidding everyone sometimes, but just for anyone even THINKING of using Viagra, BEWARE!

During a recent poker game and after one-too-many beers, one of the guys egged me on to try the little "magic" blue pills after a boastful claim I made during which I stated that I would probably NEVER need them, as when I enter a room even the TROPICAL FISH in the aquarium have been noted to STOP SWIMMING!! (OK, so I'm exaggerating a TAD!). But at the continued badgering of my poker buddies and partially as a goof, I tore open several of the one-use packages and swallowed a total of four or five of the little blue Viagra pills! Unfortunately for me, in my HASTE, several of the little blue tabs got STUCK in my THROAT and I wound up getting a STIFF NECK for about seven days!!!(Anyone ever thinking that a priapism might be painful should consider the same thing occurring to their NECK!)! ! Fuhgeddaboudit!!!

:kids: (Sorry, I tried to use some clinical terms but kids nowadays just "google" these things, so I'm hoping that those old enough to do so aren't in need of supervision! Besides, they gotta learn this stuff SOONER or LATER, no?)

Getting back to my original question, does anyone know the answer??? I'm trying to keep thee post alive long enough to find out, lest I'll have to research it somewhere else. And unfortunately, I've been busier than a hooker at an Elk's convention!!!

:eatsmiley

 

[daddio207]

When is it appropriate to go from a feeding schedule of every 7 days (1 week) to every 14 days (2 weeks)?

It's appropriate when you believe your snake is gaining weight to quickly that it could jeopardize its health. Call me Captain Obvious :laugh:
Ozzy is ahead of the curve on growth for a 14 month old but he is also in his growth years so try a 10 day schedule and see how that goes.

 

[axis1]

When is it appropriate to go from a feeding schedule of every 7 days (1 week) to every 14 days (2 weeks)?

It's appropriate when you believe your snake is gaining weight to quickly that it could jeopardize its health. Call me Captain Obvious :laugh:
Ozzy is ahead of the curve on growth for a 14 month old but he is also in his growth years so try a 10 day schedule and see how that goes.

Whoa! Thanx for the response there daddio! I believe my somewhat attempts at off-color humor is either turning some folks off who don't wanna say so or I'm simply becoming boring at this point, both of which are OK. It's just that you don't wanna have a cornsnake forum that resembles one for morticians. Ok, probably a dead issue for now (if not, I'm sure I killed it!), but I sincerely wanted to thank you for noticing, at the very least. (I also don't wanna be part of something that's a tad more exciting than watching PAINT DRY, ya know what I'm saying?)

In the interim, I was reviewing the Munson feeding plan and I DID notice that it doesn't actually go by age, but weight. So I'm wondering how that relates to what you referred to, which is Ozzy's "growth years" or even growth MONTHS at this point. According to the version of Munson's plan that I have, the days between feedings moves from 7 days to 7-10 days for snakes that go up to 170 grams and stays that way up to 300 grams at which point 10-14 days is indicated. Interestingly, he does enter a separate category for gravid females over 300 grams (5-11 days). So 10 days actually makes sense by both Munson's plan AND your suggestion!

Sounds like a plan! Thanx a bunch daddio! Guess I'll start that this week and see how it goes from there!

opcorn_02: (Not THAT suspenseful, but I like the newer emojis!)

(Check out the level of concentration & interest in their eyes!!! That's like me and my dolly watching the Game of Thrones finale! Or the Cubs in the World Series, right Dollysmom? LOL! HEY, FIRST TIME since 1945 and if they WIN, first time in like 117 years? Somewhere around there anyway! Sorry to anyone living in Cleveland - in addition to my sympathies! LOL! - but I'm rooting for Chicago in this one! If the series doesn't include the Mets or Yankees in it, in THAT order, I always go for the underdog or the most interesting, in this case the latter! GO Cubbies!!)

 

[Dragonling]

When is it appropriate to go from a feeding schedule of every 7 days (1 week) to every 14 days (2 weeks)?

It's appropriate when you believe your snake is gaining weight to quickly that it could jeopardize its health. Call me Captain Obvious :laugh:
Ozzy is ahead of the curve on growth for a 14 month old but he is also in his growth years so try a 10 day schedule and see how that goes.

I've been told that once a male hits 3 feet you should put on the brakes for feeding and slow to every 10-14 days. My only adult male (though Tango almost qualifies at this point) eats a ~23g mouse per 10-14 days and has still gained 130g in 7 months. They have just the most incredibly efficient metabolisms.

 

[axis1]

I've been told that once a male hits 3 feet you should put on the brakes for feeding and slow to every 10-14 days. My only adult male (though Tango almost qualifies at this point) eats a ~23g mouse per 10-14 days and has still gained 130g in 7 months. They have just the most incredibly efficient metabolisms.

OK, sounds like something to consider. But at 2.5 feet, he is a chunky 190 grams, so is it length or weight, the latter of which is mentioned on the Munson Feeding chart? I would much rather go by those of you who are knowledgeable AND have the practical experience necessary to be able to sort this stuff out as opposed to going by a chart that looks somewhat modified from another version of the same name that I've seen.

In the interim, I'm not uncomfortable with going to 10 days between feedings for now, as Ozzy is definitely NOT underfed!

Thanx for the response Dragonling! BTW, HOW YA BEEN? k_01:

 

[Dragonling]

Man, that's a chunky boy, looks more like a gravid female from that photo lol. Yeah I'd definitely slow feeds. He looks built more like my buf tessera, short and stocky. Tango is crazy long and I think that's where a lot of his weight comes from. I wouldn't be surprised if he hit 6ft someday.

 

[daddio207]

I've been told that once a male hits 3 feet you should put on the brakes for feeding and slow to every 10-14 days. My only adult male (though Tango almost qualifies at this point) eats a ~23g mouse per 10-14 days and has still gained 130g in 7 months. They have just the most incredibly efficient metabolisms.

There's a lot of "ifs, ands & buts" to along with a basic statement like that. Length means nothing without weight factored in and even age can a play a part when deciding to slow down a feeding schedule. The 3 year,3 feet, 300g rule of thumb pertaining to when it's healthy to breed females is one that I use to gauge how my corn snakes are growing. Using that rule with a +/-20% I like to see my corns be at 1 year 100g (80g-120g), 2 years 200g (160g-240g) and 3 years 300g (240g-360g).
They do have the efficient metabolisms! In their growth years (hatchling, yearling, juvenile, subadult) they want to convert as much fuel from their prey to growth. What they don't use for growth is stored for later in the form of fat. The less energy they need in growing then the more fat they will store. Our snakes don't have to expend any energy like their wild counterparts hunting so especially in adulthood we like to slow their food intake as much as possible to prevent to much fat storage which is unhealthy as it collects around the intestines and vital organs.

Another "Captain Obvious" comment :laugh: but much of what I post is from years of study, first hand knowledge and experience. I'm probably wrong often but that's how these forums work. We all chime in to give additional info that sometimes agrees, disagrees or goes somewhere else totally like Axis1 one does (Axis1 oke::laugh: just kidding with yeah my friend. I'm not tired of your posts. )