Shedding, Age & Pinkie ?'s

[BIGRIG737]

hey - i just got my snake about 2 weeks ago, so i have a couple of dumb questions. I took some pictures of him. the woman at the pet store said he was 6 months old. does this look right from the pictures? also, im not 100% sure but i think hes going to shed soon, do you guys put your snake in luke warm water before hand, or just let them do it and see what happens. I feed him 2 pinkies Wednesday, b/c it seemed like 1 wasnt enough. He ate 2 right away and didnt regurge, so I guess everything went well, right?! my last dumb question - his color is an amel, right? Thanks! Sarah

 

[bitsy]

Looks about right for 6 months old.

Yep, it's an Amel.

Don't bother bathing - just let him shed. If you're concerned, put a humid hide in with him. And just in case, beware that if water feels lukewarm to you, it'll feel searing hot to the snake. You have to be very careful about water temp should you ever need to bath it.

Also looks like he's just eaten in those pics. For the future, it's best not to disturb them until they've finished digesting or you risk a regurge.

 

[airenlow]

Here is a good feeding schedule based on the weight of your snake (Wal-Mart carries a variety of scales that will work for this).
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50106&highlight=munson+plan

The general rule of thumb is to feed a single food item that is 1.5 X the widest part of your snake.

 

[claireree]

yes it looks like its about 6 months old, I have some that are july 08 and they are about the same size, all of mine are now on double pinks as well.

 

[RulinMJT]

hey - i just got my snake about 2 weeks ago, so i have a couple of dumb questions.
also, im not 100% sure but i think hes going to shed soon, do you guys put your snake in luke warm water before hand, or just let them do it and see what happens. I feed him 2 pinkies Wednesday, b/c it seemed like 1 wasnt enough. He ate 2 right away and didnt regurge, so I guess everything went well, right?! my last dumb question - his color is an amel, right? Thanks! Sarah

Its good to have a humidity gauge. If i remember correctly corns do better with 60-70% humidity. If you have a heater running it might lower the humidity and cause shedding problems so its a good thing to have.
Also corn snakes instinctively search for more food after feeding. In the wild they have no way of telling when their next meal will be so they take full advantage of all available food items. Just because they will eat doesn't mean they should. You dont want an overweight snake. If the first pinky doesn't make a significant bulge then you might need to feed 2 pinkies.
Looks like an amel to me also.

oh and bitsy made a great point. avoid handling your corn for the first 48 hours after digestion. regurgitation is not a pretty sight...

Gratz on your new Snake! =)Hope some of this is helpful.

 

[wax32]

Unless you have tiny hands your snake is probably ready for fuzzies. I don't do the two pinkie thing. Once a pinkie no longer leaves a lump they get fuzzies at my house.

 

[Hallie]

Unless you have tiny hands your snake is probably ready for fuzzies. I don't do the two pinkie thing. Once a pinkie no longer leaves a lump they get fuzzies at my house.

That is about what I do, but I also keep a range of pinkie sizes and fuzzy sizes on hand, so they move up gradually. (I know that definitely isn't something that is economical to do if you only have one, but when I order mice and have some extra room in the box, I always throw in a bag of large pinks or something, then I always have all different sizes.)

So I agree, I think small fuzzies would be fine for your snake. I have an August '08 baby that is almost eating fuzzies (she's a big girl, easily on peach fuzzies now).