when do...

[beyond_my_dreams]

at what age do corn snakes become adult i have a 7 month old corn snake who is aready 3ft long how much bigger do u think she will get?

sam x

 

[MegF.]

I find it hard to believe that you have a 3 ft. 7 month old. How often are you feeding this animal and what are you feeding? If you're power feeding I suppose it's possible to have one that young be that large. Usually snakes are considered adults at around 3 years of age. That doesn't mean that they can't or won't breed at an earlier age, but that's when I consider them adults. I consider them sub adults at 2 yrs. old.

 

[beyond_my_dreams]

so is this bad then? she is currently eating a small adult mouse every 2 weeks

 

[MegF.]

No, every two weeks is not too often. How do you measure your snake? How often were you feeding before and have you had this animal since a hatchling? I'm wondering if your snake isn't smaller than you think. My animals were eating small adults at around 1 to 1 1/2 yrs. old. They were probably 30" long at the time. How much does your snake weigh? Do you have a picture of it next to something of known size that we can compare it to?

 

[BeckyG]

I find it hard to believe that you have a 3 ft. 7 month old.

I agree, especially if you are only feeding her every two weeks. It's either older than you think, or smaller than you think. Are you measuring its shed? If so, that is not an accurate measurement because skins can stretch up to 30% when the snake sheds. Post a picture taken directly overhead with something like a ruler, and we will figure out how long the snake is.

 

[Droptines]

:-offtopic I don't understand the whole "power feeding" process..

 

[Nanci]

Doesn't "power feeding" just mean you are feeding at a higher frequency than the norm, say twice a week or every three to four days? I have just discovered that many people on here slit or slice their mice to allow easier digestion, and that there is one informal study which showed greater weight gain in slit vs non-slit mice. I am not sure if slitting constitutes "power feeding" though. And I am not sure that if you aren't in a hurry to grow your snake to breeding size that fast growth is optimal.

Nanci

 

[BeckyG]

Power feeding means overfeeding, either by feeding multiple prey items at a sitting or feeding very frequently--as in every 3 days or so. This technique is most often used by unscrupulous breeders in order to get a snake up to breeding size faster. It is best recommended that it be avoided, as it can shorten the snakes life. Please note that power feeding is not the same as optimal feeding. If you are feeding one appropriately sized prey item every 5-7 days, you have nothing to worry about.

Cutting the skin of the prey is not power feeding. It is simply making it easier for the snake to digest it. Kind of like baby formulas that have the proteins already broken down to make it easier on the baby's tummy.

 

[Droptines]

I have my snake on a 4 day schedule,but this is with one small pinkie.I have had a few regurges in the past,so I'm going to stick with the small,more frequent meals.Should work OK.

 

[MegF.]

That's fine. I usually use every 5 on pinkies unless the animal is very small, or like yours, has a health issue. After they get off pinkies, it's ever 7 days.

 

[beyond_my_dreams]

it is her shed we have mesured and it was just over 3 ft and that was about 3 months ago and she is due to shed again soon. she is still in her small tank that is 40 x 20 x 25 cm and she goes right around the edge and nearly touches her tail this would make make he just over 3ft long. i got her when she was 6 weeks olds and that was back in may. ive read that if you have fed you snake too big a mouse then it mite regurgutae but this hasnt happend. i am not able to take a photo with her next to a ruler

 

[logic]

Power feeding means overfeeding, either by feeding multiple prey items at a sitting or feeding very frequently--as in every 3 days or so.

I have a pair of hatchlings that are eating 2 prey items (small pinks), approximately ever 5 days. They are about 4 months old. I have noticed that their bellies will bulge for about 24-48 hours after each feeding. Unfortunately, I bought more frozen pinks then I needed. I was considering giving them 3 prey items after another month or so. Do you think this is too many items per sitting? I have about 50 small pinks left...

 

[MegF.]

No, just to use them up shouldn't be a problem. You're not giving them more than they would need, just more of a smaller item. If you are giving larger items and then multiple feedings of those, then you're overfeeding. Of course, you could always save the pinkies for the next babies you get

 

[BeckyG]

Let me try to rephrase this: Powerfeeding is deliberately stuffing your snake full of food to make it grow to breeding size at an earlier age.

Feeding twice a week, or feeding multiple small prey items in order to use them up does not constitute power feeding. I've done the three pinky at one feeding thing myself in order not to waste the little mice's lives. This was only a temporary situation, and the total size of all the prey items was still the recommended amount for my snake at that age.

I wouldn't worry too much about it. If you aren't doing it on purpose, you likely aren't powerfeeding.

 

[logic]

Thank you ladies...!

I just wanted to make certain I wasn't doing anything to compromise the little snakies' heath... thank you! :cheers:

 

[logic]

Oh and MegF...

Stop being evil... if you keep that up, I might just go out and get that motley I was thinking about... hmmm.... let me see... maybe I can get it here before xmas... I diserve it ... right..!?

***Rational thinking***
... no, no, no... must resist...!!!! lol

:grin01:

 

[MegF.]

Resistance is Futile....you must reward yourself with a new motley