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T O P I C    R E V I E W
marc_sg Posted - 27/11/2011 : 23:58:54
When i boufht my first corn i looked into what to look for and was told not to buy a corn that had its back bone showing. however my female amel has always had a ridge going down her back. her stats which i recorded earlier are. Firstly my female amel (shelly) d.o.h 14/4/08 = weight.552.9g ,length113cm/ 44.5"/3.8ft. heres a picture of her i have just taken. theres a glare off the glass but you can see what i mean. heres also a picture of a year ago and you can see it there aswell
20   L A T E S T    R E P L I E S    (Newest First)
marc_sg Posted - 02/12/2011 : 00:16:30
Right ok ill drop it to mediums for 4 feeds and see how she gets on and then ill up datefor an opinion on the next step
lotabob Posted - 02/12/2011 : 00:08:32
Its not as simple as averages, its all about the shape of their body. They should be slender, flowing, no 'hips' where they clearly have laid down an excess of fat.

If it was me, and that is just my approach would be to switch to mediums every 10 days for a month, monitor the weight, if it drops a little then you are on the right track, if its still going up then either drop a size again or increase to 14 days. The idea is to lose weight slowly but steadily. To put it in perspective my 4 foot Boa constrictor eats 1 jumbo mouse every 7 days, she is 250ish grams, Boas are heavier bodied snakes with a heck of a lot more muscle mass too, she is still growing but your corn has been on the diet of a growing Boa.
marc_sg Posted - 01/12/2011 : 23:09:35
Whats a average weight for a 3 year old corn at 3.8 foot roughly. just out interested. i will down size her mice then from jumbo to large and ill feed her every 9 to 11days. is it ok to do that
lotabob Posted - 01/12/2011 : 19:31:34
quote:
Originally posted by Emmy1

You see a back ridge on pretty much every snake.


True, there is no muscle over the top of a back bone of a snake everything attaches at the side. The ridge will be very slight though unless its obese (dips in) or under weight (sticks out).

quote:
Originally posted by Emmy1

I remember someone asking me once if 'you have to buy your snake based on how well it flicks it's tongue?'. Your snake appears healthy and well fed, so I wouldn't worry at all. Clearly what your doing feeding/ watering/ handling/ set up wise has a good effect on your snake.



I would worry slightly, it is overweight, its not massively obese yet but action does need to be taken to bring its weight down. You do this very slowly over many months though, crash diets dont work in reptiles. A reduction in the size of mouse is probably the best bet and you only want a few grams at the most to be coming off. Its care is not in question, it is very well looked after it just needs to shed a few pounds to be on the safe side, you definitely dont want it getting any fatter.
Emmy1 Posted - 01/12/2011 : 00:02:13
You see a back ridge on pretty much every snake. I've never heard that one before. I remember someone asking me once if 'you have to buy your snake based on how well it flicks it's tongue?'. Your snake appears healthy and well fed, so I wouldn't worry at all. Clearly what your doing feeding/ watering/ handling/ set up wise has a good effect on your snake.
kdlang Posted - 30/11/2011 : 23:08:57
I think those that stop feeding are the ones who brumate their corns for breeding.

My amel was 100g less at that length and I think he is looking a little portly. Currently he is being fed 2 large mice every 2-3 weeks.
lotabob Posted - 30/11/2011 : 22:55:41
Blimey Spot is 3'1" and 250 Grams. I consider Spot to be as round as I'd want him to get and his food has been cut to every 10 days.



That is a picture from today, corn snakes are slender bodied, I dont want Spot to get any fatter, just bigger in proportion to his length.
marc_sg Posted - 30/11/2011 : 21:38:15
Its all at the top she 3.8 ft and 552g and 2008 hatched
mikerichards Posted - 30/11/2011 : 20:41:58
Whats her weight and length?? she only looks like shes nudging 3 foot, if that.
marc_sg Posted - 30/11/2011 : 19:57:32
this was just taken. im just thinking about holding her food till end of december or even mid january. just spoke to the bloke whos shop i go to and he said he stopped feeding 2 weeks ago
marc_sg Posted - 29/11/2011 : 22:28:05
Ive just xhecked that last pic was taken on 18/08/2010
marc_sg Posted - 29/11/2011 : 22:22:52
Ok i will put her on a diet that last picture was when i first got her i found it on my fone. that was taken about year and half ago. just put that on the coz of the ridge. tommorrow i will take a fresh picture of her. but she ate on sunday first time in 2 weeks
eeji Posted - 29/11/2011 : 21:49:58
if you are planning on breeding her, please rethink. She is too podgy for her body to cope with pushing eggs out and will be at a vastly increased chance of becoming eggbound which in most cases is fatal.
lotabob Posted - 28/11/2011 : 23:24:47
Aww a chubby little snake. Its not massive but its on the fatter side of perfect. As above maybe a rethink on feeding is required, a bit smaller or a bit longer between feeds.
kdlang Posted - 28/11/2011 : 22:00:11
To my eyes she looks overweight. Not only does she have the fat deposits either side of her spine but she has very distinct hips. I would say that 1 jumbo every 7 days is way too much. I would be careful that if this is the female you are planning to breed then being overweight can be just as dangerous as being underweight.
eeji Posted - 28/11/2011 : 18:39:55
she looks more on the chubby side than underweight :)
marc_sg Posted - 28/11/2011 : 18:36:36
marc_sg Posted - 28/11/2011 : 17:48:18
Heres another picture when she was on tbe bed
marc_sg Posted - 28/11/2011 : 11:02:50
Ok lovely im just looking for the good news that i think ive got now thank you everyone
Sta~ple Posted - 28/11/2011 : 09:56:47
BS, in my morbidly obese snake you can see the "back bone rid" too which is just muscle and fat lol. Underweight snakes have it rising, normal and chubby snakes have a dint where their backbone is like yours has.

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