How Often should I feed him?

[danigurrl]

I'm a nooB. My boyfriend and I just brought Kahn home Sunday. We fed him the same day because the kid at the pet store had no idea when the last time he had been fed. He ate, no problem! Took him about 30 seconds to find it and swallow it!

I've been researching corn snakes for about 3 weeks. I've heard/read all different schedules for feeding corn snakes. Some say feed only once a week, some say twice a week, some say every 5 days, others say once every 2 weeks.

Kahn is about 14" inches long. He's still a baby. I was planning on feeding him once a week. Should he be fed more often? He gets one pinkie (I'm currently breeding my own, I'm getting my own frozen supply stocked up) on Sundays.

When do I start feeding him fuzzies?

 

[princess]

Welcome to corn keeping!

I'd say to start him off on a small fuzzy every 6-7 days. Choose the fuzzy so it's about as thick as your snakes fattest point or up to 1½ times as fat. Don't go for more than that or you could be risking a regurgitation.

It probably wasn't a great idea to feed him as soon as he got home as it's best to let them have 3 days to settle in but it's done now and no harm seems to have come from it.

See how he goes taking a fuzzy per feed every 6 days and if the lump is barely noticable after feeding, it's time to try 2 fuzzies or perhaps one small hopper.

Let us know how he goes.

Cheers,

 

[Roy Munson]

Welcome to the forum! Here's what I would do.

Feed him a large pinky every four days until these feedings leave very little lump. Prey should not exceed 1.5x the girth of the snake. When he gets to the point where large pinks aren't leaving a good lump, bump him to two large pinks every five days. When these no longer leave an appreciable lump, bump him to a fuzzy every six days. From fuzzies, bump to hoppers, then weaned, and finally adult mice. By the time the snake is on adult mice, the feeding schedule can be extended to 7-10 days, but we can cross that bridge when we come to it.

 

[Tyger9791]

as you've already read everyone has their own opinion on feeding. i feed mine once a week. usually Tuesday is feeding day. i like to keep them on a routine.
except when they are getting ready to shed, then i do not feed them that week until after they shed. my snakes dont like to be handled during that time anyway.
some people will feed their snakes twice a week, this can cause their snakes to grow faster. but i would also worry about them getting too fat as well.
i fed mine one pinky a week until there was no lump in their belly after they ate one pinky. then i bumped them up to two pinkies. soon, i'll be giving Blaze fuzzies. the usual rule of thumb is to feed them a food item that is 1.5 times the width of the snake.
corns are not an exact science...some will grow faster than others.
i also keep records of when i feed them, how much, when they shed, etc.

 

[princess]

Hehehe, Dean, we pretty much said the same thing!


...but I type faster!!

 

[Tyger9791]

i'm the slowest typer apparently, but i do agree with roy munson and princess. good luck with Kahn!

 

[danigurrl]

We brought Kahn home Sunday morning, we fed him about 6 hours later. He wasn't shy. He took right to his new home. He was the most out-going corn in the tank at the pet store. All the other corns were hiding in the corner or up in the plants, but whenever we visited Kahn he was right up against the glass greeting us! (We visited the pet store often, Kahn was there for about 2 weeks.) He just charmed us! My boyfriend is scared of snakes, he wouldn't even touch a wild Garter that I had for a short time. But he picks up Kahn now and he isn't afraid at all!