• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

Question on one of the FAQ

T

Thom

New member
so one of the FAQs are:
Q: How do I know when to move up to the next size mouse or rat?
A: Move up to the next sized prey item when you do not notice a visible 'lump' after 24 hours following a feeding. There should be a lump visible between 24-48 hours after any feeding. Also remember, feeding items that are over 1.5x the thickness of the snake can cause problems. Try not to feed any items that are larger than 1.5x the thickness of your snake.
Click to expand...

I just moved my Loki up to a small mouse/fuzzy (60-70mm long exc tail, 20-25mm dia.) from being on fluffs (40mm long, 15mm dia.) . He is a year and half old, around 2 foot long, but not very fat. It went okay, although he did seem to struggle a little and it took much much longer for him to get it down than when he was on fluffs.

Anyway my question is about the 1.5x bigger thing in the answer above.. Is this 1.5x bigger than the middle or the neck?? Obviously this would make a big difference to whether its a good idea to keep him on the bigger food... If its the middle then no worries, but his neck is only around 12mm wide at its thinnest point.

Any feedback would be much appreciated, sorry if its a repetitive topic.

Thom
 
Yup - the widest part of the body.

It went okay, although he did seem to struggle a little and it took much much longer for him to get it down than when he was on fluffs.
Click to expand...
This is absolutely normal and nothing to worry about. The first few feeds on the next size up, always seem to take mine ages. It's really nerve-wracking! Don't worry - they get the hang of it and you'll both get used to it. As with most things Corny, patience is the key.
 
Thanks guys,

Fed him his second one a few days ago and that went a bit better, still looks concerning mind, he's getting proper fat! Also his pooing habits have changed - my shirt had to make it to the wash early this week...

Thanks for the help.
 
If you think he's packing on the weight a bit fast, remember that as you increase food size, you should decrease the frequency of feeding. That makes sure they don't get overweight and that their digestive systems have time to keep up with the new good stuff!

You can always feed less than advised, if you think that's what yours need. A couple of my adult males need to be kept to one large mouse every three weeks, or they start piling on the pounds. Each one is an individual, so don't be worried to tweak guidelines if you need to.
 
Just to give you something to flame me for........
A few years back I fed an adult corn an adult rat... About 4x the fattest part of the snake.....
It ate it, didn't regurge, and was as fat as... I should of got a pic......
I never tried it again as I didn't think it would kill and eat it...
So two flamings..... LOL
But it was 30 years ago and we didn't have the net, so we were stupider than you guys.... It was suck-it-and-see time.... ;)
 
snakewispera snr said:
Just to give you something to flame me for........
A few years back I fed an adult corn an adult rat... About 4x the fattest part of the snake.....
It ate it, didn't regurge, and was as fat as... I should of got a pic......
I never tried it again as I didn't think it would kill and eat it...
So two flamings..... LOL
But it was 30 years ago and we didn't have the net, so we were stupider than you guys.... It was suck-it-and-see time.... ;)
Click to expand...

I seen a huge rat snake in my yard one morning and she had a HUGE lump in her tummy. Looked like she ate a rabbit...:uhoh:
 
A couple of years ago, I watched a wildlife documentary where they showed a large constrictor swallow something so large, that its skin split.

When it's that or starve, they can eat things a lot larger than we give 'em credit for. And (mainly) nature programs them to believe that they'll starve unless they eat what they have in front of them at any given time.

After all, you *can* cohab, feed live and use an unregulated heat source. But just because a Corn will tolerate something and survive, doesn't make it a sensible thing to do ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top