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Corn Snakes Diet Guide

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[quote][i]Originally posted by lmfastcars[/i]
[br]This is a guide i made before getting a corn snake for the diet requirements and i thought i may aswell publish it [:)]

[u][b]Diet[/b][/u]
Corn snakes are [orange]carnivorous[/orange], they will eat other animals. [orange]In captivity[/orange] they feed primarily on small rodents, for example, mice or rats. The main concern to take into account is that [orange]your set up [/orange] - the temperature and conditions must be perfect and stress free for the snake to feed. Corn snakes tend to be more forgiving than [orange]many other species[/orange], but it is still just as important. If the snake refuses to feed, make sure you check the humidity and heat levels of their housing. Also, don�t add additional stress to the snake by handling [orange]it.[/orange] Also, if the snake doesn�t eat the mouse, [orange]you can try 'braining' [/orange] - puncturing  the mouse�s skull with a fine and clean [orange]knife[/orange] so [orange]the [/orange] brain matter is released and [orange]might [/orange] tempt the snake. This will make the snake feel more inclined to eat it.
It is [orange]very strongly [/orange] recommended that you feed [orange]frozen/thawed mice [/orange] to your snake.  Rodent�s posses� very strong jaws and sharp teeth.  A misplaced strike by a snake can result in the rodent having its mouth free to bite the snake during constriction.  This will not only result in open wounds that are subject to infection, but can result in serious injury [orange]to the snake.[/orange] On occasion a snake may need some encouragement to eat a prey item that is not moving about on its own.  I typically trick the snake into eating its first few meals by simulating movement of the rodent by simply dangling the food item in front of the snakes face.  Be careful not to be too aggressive in dangling the food item as this may intimidate a young Corn Snake.
Corn Snakes take two - three days to digest a meal and prefer to do this in a dark, warm place, i.e. "hide-box". You should not handle your snake 2 days (48 hours) [orange]after [/orange] eating.  Water should be provided in a large heavy bowl, so that the Corn Snake has plenty of room to soak.  Try to utilize as heavy a container as possible to avoid the possibility the snake may tip the container over. As long as they have appropriate heating in the enclosure, corn snakes are not picky eaters and most will thrive on a regime of [orange]feeding every 5 to 14 days depending on size, sex and condition.[/orange]. Remember that appetite [orange]may[/orange] diminish around the time of a shed so feeding frequency should be reduced accordingly. Remember also that if there are not enough appropriate hiding areas, corn snakes may become stressed and refuse to eat.
For feeding hatchlings, one pinky (hairless baby mice) should be fed to the snake once every [orange]5-7 [/orange] days. There may be a small amount of time when the snake doesn�t eat, but that should only be before shedding and you will see a blue/grey cast in the [orange]snake's[/orange] eyes.

[orange]***some [b]essential [/b] changes so as not to mis-inform, by GP***[/orange]
[/quote]

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T O P I C R E V I E W
lmfastcars	Posted - 22/11/2009 : 15:33:03 This is a guide i made before getting a corn snake for the diet requirements and i thought i may aswell publish it Diet Corn snakes are carnivorous, they will eat other animals. In captivity they feed primarily on small rodents, for example, mice or rats. The main concern to take into account is that your set up - the temperature and conditions must be perfect and stress free for the snake to feed. Corn snakes tend to be more forgiving than many other species, but it is still just as important. If the snake refuses to feed, make sure you check the humidity and heat levels of their housing. Also, don�t add additional stress to the snake by handling it. Also, if the snake doesn�t eat the mouse, you can try 'braining' - puncturing the mouse�s skull with a fine and clean knife so the brain matter is released and might tempt the snake. This will make the snake feel more inclined to eat it. It is very strongly recommended that you feed frozen/thawed mice to your snake. Rodent�s posses� very strong jaws and sharp teeth. A misplaced strike by a snake can result in the rodent having its mouth free to bite the snake during constriction. This will not only result in open wounds that are subject to infection, but can result in serious injury to the snake. On occasion a snake may need some encouragement to eat a prey item that is not moving about on its own. I typically trick the snake into eating its first few meals by simulating movement of the rodent by simply dangling the food item in front of the snakes face. Be careful not to be too aggressive in dangling the food item as this may intimidate a young Corn Snake. Corn Snakes take two - three days to digest a meal and prefer to do this in a dark, warm place, i.e. "hide-box". You should not handle your snake 2 days (48 hours) after eating. Water should be provided in a large heavy bowl, so that the Corn Snake has plenty of room to soak. Try to utilize as heavy a container as possible to avoid the possibility the snake may tip the container over. As long as they have appropriate heating in the enclosure, corn snakes are not picky eaters and most will thrive on a regime of feeding every 5 to 14 days depending on size, sex and condition.. Remember that appetite may diminish around the time of a shed so feeding frequency should be reduced accordingly. Remember also that if there are not enough appropriate hiding areas, corn snakes may become stressed and refuse to eat. For feeding hatchlings, one pinky (hairless baby mice) should be fed to the snake once every 5-7 days. There may be a small amount of time when the snake doesn�t eat, but that should only be before shedding and you will see a blue/grey cast in the snake's eyes. *some essential changes so as not to mis-inform, by GP*
4 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First)
gingerpony	Posted - 23/11/2009 : 21:30:32 as the site is a valuble resource for many people i've ammended the mis-information as i saw appropriate. changes have been made in orange.
matty18714	Posted - 22/11/2009 : 15:48:36 quote: Originally posted by lmfastcars They feed primly on small rodents, for example, mice or rats. This is true in captivity, but it may be worth adding that in the wild they will eat small birds, eggs and lizards.
lmfastcars	Posted - 22/11/2009 : 15:39:28 Thabks for the comment. Any more comments are welcome to provide the best guide for beginners as possible.
SexyBear77	Posted - 22/11/2009 : 15:38:07 Some nice info there, thanks for sharing! Although corns should only be fed once a week, not twice. Hatchlings should be fed every 5 days, not 3/4.

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