Amanda47
New member
Looking for someone with experience with potentially fat snakes and putting them on a diet.
I have a seven year old female corn, former breeder. At her heaviest (with me), she weighed 1005 grams and weighs 947 now. She's 4'9" long.
I don't really know if she needs to lose weight, but I've read that 1000+ grams is really heavy for a corn. She doesn't have "hips" but noticeably settles and flattens out when she's resting. I assumed that was excess fat.
My questions are-
1) Does she need to drop some weight?
2) If so, how much? What's a healthy weight for this snake?
3) Is a 3-week feeding interval too long? Should it be smaller meals more frequently?
4) How quickly should she lose weight?
5) Will she shed if she loses a lot of weight instead of gaining?
Some other info:
- I got her Oct 2013 but didn't weigh her until Jan 2014, weighed 948 grams at that time.
- I started her feeding on jumbo mice (I thought that's what she needed) every 14-18 days when I got her, until I found that she'd gained 57 grams in two months. Changed to large mice every 21 days.
- She's shed four times with me. Four times in six months --almost as often as my hatchlings :/
- I pull her out for exercise once or twice a week for 30-60 min. She usually roams around during that time.
- Can take pictures if needed.
The records I keep for her:
Next meal on May 1.
~ Thanks for your consideration
I have a seven year old female corn, former breeder. At her heaviest (with me), she weighed 1005 grams and weighs 947 now. She's 4'9" long.
I don't really know if she needs to lose weight, but I've read that 1000+ grams is really heavy for a corn. She doesn't have "hips" but noticeably settles and flattens out when she's resting. I assumed that was excess fat.
My questions are-
1) Does she need to drop some weight?
2) If so, how much? What's a healthy weight for this snake?
3) Is a 3-week feeding interval too long? Should it be smaller meals more frequently?
4) How quickly should she lose weight?
5) Will she shed if she loses a lot of weight instead of gaining?
Some other info:
- I got her Oct 2013 but didn't weigh her until Jan 2014, weighed 948 grams at that time.
- I started her feeding on jumbo mice (I thought that's what she needed) every 14-18 days when I got her, until I found that she'd gained 57 grams in two months. Changed to large mice every 21 days.
- She's shed four times with me. Four times in six months --almost as often as my hatchlings :/
- I pull her out for exercise once or twice a week for 30-60 min. She usually roams around during that time.
- Can take pictures if needed.
The records I keep for her:
Next meal on May 1.
~ Thanks for your consideration