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Meal size?

Similar question: I have a 5 month old corn snake. Three weeks ago he was eating 3 4-5 day old frozen pinkies every 7-8 days, and was slow to go for the third. Now he is eating four six day old pinkies every 7 days. He has no trouble eating them. He engulfs one after another, and comes searching for more (sliding out to peer at me, following me around when I move from one side of the viv to the other. After a day the bulges in his belly have been reduced by half. After two days, the bulge is nearly imperceptible. I've read that snakes can eat more than they should, as most animals will. What is too much for my growing boy? FYI, he's shed three times since I acquired him two months ago.
 
I was just about to send you the same link that Smigon did, good thing I double checked, anyway that's what I use as a guide
 
It isn't about the age, it is about the weight. I had two corns the same age but one weighed 75g and another 25g. They are still different sizes although, 7 months later, she has gained over 100g and he has gained 55g. He was fed only one pinkie a week for the 1 1/2 years he was alive when I rescued him, I bumped that up to a proper amount every 5 days and he took off like a rocket, he is happy and healthy now.

Use the Munson plan, it really does work, and you don't want fat snakes. They are opportunistic feeders and will eat until there is no more. They don't know when their next meal is coming so they don't stop.
 
Thanks All! I will Google Munson Plan for feeding corn snakes and/or reptiles and see what there is to learn. Smigon, your comment re: opportunistic feeders linked my wildlife training and my "domestic" pet husbandry knowledge in a good way. Thank you.
 
Just wondering... is the Munson Plan a diet with a specific goal? I ask because it is significantly different than the diet suggested by folks from whom I bought the snake. They are called Prairie Aquatics and Exotics and have a good reputation for putting the health and well being of their creatures before making a profit. They suggested 3 pinkies (of a girth as wide as the snake's body) every 7 days. The Munson plan feeds fewer pinkies more frequently. Perhaps the outcome is the same. The Munson plan is not geared toward bulking a snake up fast for breeding purposes, is it? The other thing at play here is, well, play. I have a 5 yr old son who loves to hold the snake. On the Munson plan, tholding time will be considerable reduced...
 
If he's big enough for 3 pinkies he's big enough for small fuzzies which are more nutritious. I don't like feeding multiple prey items because I've had problems with regurges doing that. The Munson plan is a bit aggressive but is a good starting point. I bump my snakes up in prey size when they are several grams over what they Munson plan recommends. There is also nothing wrong with feeding every 7 days. They will just grow a lot slower.
 
The size of the mouse should be 1.5 times the width of the snake at his widest point. HVani is right, it is much better to feed one properly sized mouse than three tiny ones.
 
Part of this is because of the percentage of bone vs cartilage, developmentally speaking, right?

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk
 
I use the Munson Plan as a guide. For those weights, I'd be feeding 2 pinkies per meal.
I usually move up to fuzzies about 30 grams.
Some think the Munson plan is aggressive feeding.
My personal opinion is that babies eat to grow, and the less time they are smaller, the less chance they have to be eaten.
With my schedule, I don't always feed that frequently, but I see no problem with the Munson plan schedule.
I also do not handle my babies very often, so as to not stress them out.
 
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