Greedy corn

[NickB]

I recently acquired two corns 1.1 (male 4.5ft f/male 5.0ft) the information I got on receiving them was a little scarce to say the least the only thing the bloke said was that the f/male was feeding every week and the male every two weeks and that they had not fed for several weeks due to hibernation. As they had not been fed for a while and even though the f/male is shedding I decided to see if I could get both of them to have a feed (adult mice), now the male took his no problem gulped it down and the f/male as I had suspected was not interested but the male raced across the viv and grabbed the other mouse before I knew what was going on, anyway that was 3 days ago and he kept them down ok. Today I tried feeding the f/male as she has finished shedding (thanks for the bath advice by the way) she was still not interested but again the male has gulped it down after striking from under one of the hides, my question is this ok for him? will it do him any harm to eat that much?

The viv they came in was very badly designed way too cold 65-70 at most with no ventilation etc. could this have been why he was only eating every 2 weeks and could he just be making up for lost time new his viv is a LOT better?


Nick

 

[drizzt_19]

hello

from whati m reading they are both in the same viv. it is possible that the female is stressed out. that would explain why she wont eat. try separating them for a week and she if she will eat then.

HTH
drizzt

 

[NickB]

From the way she behaves with the male I would say she is not stressed by him she is always glad to be handled and will come when called and when put back in the viv she will always go straight to the male and they will curl up in a ball together also they have 5 hides in the viv now and she will always choose the same one as the male.


It is mainly the amount the male is eating that concerns me is it normal?


Nick

 

[kenalotia]

The male will be okay. Two adult mice is not an especially big meal for a 5 ft. snake. He could definitely be eating weaned or small rats. (Female too, probably.)

Also, snakes do not always show stress the way we, as humans, would expect them to. Despite appearances, the female may be more stressed than you think.

Lastly, but most important, is that it can be dangerous to feed two snakes while in the same enclosure. Some snakes can be perfectly happy housed together, while others are not, but they should all be separated for feeding to avoid any unpleasant accidents. (i.e. both snakes start to eat the same mouse - what happens when they meet in the middle?) If you do continue to house them together, please separate them at feeding time.

 

[drizzt_19]

well

for a four and half foot male it is normal to eat three adult mice a week. the female may go to the same hide as the male because of several reasons
1. may be warmer in that area
2. more humidity

i still beleive if you separate them the female may eat unless she is gravid. have you noticed any signs like a bulging belly on the third half of her. strecthed skin . she may be gravid as to why she ius not eating

HTH
drizzt

 

[Outlaw]

Don't overdo it

Intensive feeding is okay in the short term. Prior to brumation or in the case of the female, to regain strength after egg laying.
I currently feed both the male and female one large mouse per week.
I'm not sure if they could fully digest any more in the space of 7 days.
I'm a firm believer that small meals more often is the way to go. If either of my snakes were to eat 3 mice, I would probably leave it for 3 weeks before the next feed.
I would also ask why most of us feed our snakes at such regular intervals? It's simply not natural, but I'm as guilty as the next.

 

[NickB]

Thanks for all the advice.


kenalotia: I see your point about meeting in the middle I will feed sepratly in future.

I will give her a week and if she is still not feeding I will seperate them and give her some time on her own.


drizzt_19:No there are no signs of bulging though the bloke did say they mated soon after coming out of brumation he also said that eggs were produced on several other occations so I will keep an eye on her.

They seem to like snuggling up in the colder less humid end of the viv even though there are ample hides in both ends and the middle, they also like to rap round each other on one of the braches in the viv again in the colder end. I was woundering if this could be a result of the old viv being a lot colder than the current one and it beeing what they were used to.


Nick


P.S. She is sitting on my sholder/ wrapped around my neck veiwing this post as I type she says hi.

 

[NickB]

Sucess at last she ate two mice today, I took her out of the viv, still noting so I heated the mice up a little more, still nothing, then as a kind of after thought I swung the mouse round quite fast by the tail and bam she struck contricted it and gulped it down, I repeted this with the second and down that went as well..


Thanks for all your help


Nick and a very full and happy Zith