| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Trekky |
Posted - 26/08/2012 : 23:19:57
Drago was born on 9/7/12 and we have had him 2 weeks now. He was already on 2 pinkies every 4 days. He has taken his 2 pinkies every time I've fed him with very little persuasion and has been quite happy to retire back to his viv after the 2.
He shed on Friday night, which is his third shed since hatching, with no problems and has been more energetic now he's had the shed and taken his pinkies more eagerly tonight. I understand that sometimes they can go off their food when getting ready to shed so this will be why he hasn't taken his food so eagerly before.
My questions are:
1) how soon should you handle your corn after they have shed, we did handle him yesterday as hubby bought him a new viv but although more active seemed fine with being held? Is this ok as I thought I read somewhere that snakes don't like being handled straight after a shed or is this purely all dependant on the snake?
2) Is feeding every 4 days too much as everywhere I have read said once a week (5-7 days). If so how should I go about extending this as he does seem to be more active on feeding days which I assume means he's looking for food?
3)Tonight after eating his second pinkie he looked like he was looking for another one straight after... Again more active than with his previous feeds does this mean I should be looking at increasing his feed to 3 pinkies or moving up to the next size, if so how many should I feed of the next size?
Sorry I know you guys like to know weight and length but I hadn't thought about this question until seeing how he was when feeding tonight and obviously I don't want to be weighing him just yet now he's fed, but will get his stats up for you in 48hrs if you need them.
His breeder said to up his feed if he looked like he was looking for more food after eating 2 pinkies but how do you know if they are still hungry?
Thank you in advance for any advice.  |
| 8 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Trekky |
Posted - 28/08/2012 : 07:19:08
Cool, am due to get some more this week so will see what the local pet shop has available |
| Razee |
Posted - 27/08/2012 : 15:20:40
Hm, maybe you could try 2 big pinkies ( or one big, one tiny )... they can vary in size so much, there's quite a difference between newborn pinky and one that's several days old. I'm lucky I found a shop which lets me choose the mice myself, you could try asking in your shop and they might let you choose, that takes lots of worry out of it.
If he manages 2 big pinkies with no problems for a couple of feeds, he can easily manage a small fuzzy - you could choose especially small fuzzy for the first attempt.
It can be nail biting, upsizing for the first time, it always is for me. :-) |
| Trekky |
Posted - 27/08/2012 : 14:29:40
It was about half a day after Drago's shed before he got handled and he didn't seem all that bothered about being held to be honest.
You can see the pinkie bulge when it reaches his stomach but it's not a huge bulge... Not that much wider than his thickest part |
| Razee |
Posted - 27/08/2012 : 09:39:25
That's a good guide, just bear in min you don't have to stick to it exactly... what is important is that the mouse should not be bigger than 1.5 x width of the snakes thickest part, and it should leave a visible bump in their belly when they finished.
Little T is due to move on to mediums, according to his weight, and the smalls don't leave a bump.. but he still struggles to swallow them, it takes him ages and he seems to get stuck on the way. So I gave him small and a fuzzy, which worked out about 14 - 15 grams for both together.
It's meant to be easier for them to digest 2 small pieces than 1 huge one.
I generally leave mine about 1/2 day after shed, if I find the shed in the morning, they get a ( very short ) handling and feed in the evening. They don't seem to like being handled straight away, but that 1/2 day rest is usually enough with mine. |
| Trekky |
Posted - 27/08/2012 : 04:16:31
I found the following info while looking through the forum in another topic about feeding regime and thought this might be good to follow:
quote:
Originally posted by ptmbradley
[quote]Originally posted by tk72
Snake Weight | Type Of Mouse | Weight Of Mouse
4-15g | 1 x Pinkie Mouse | 1-3g
16-23g | 2 x Pinkie Mice | 2 x 1-3g
24-40g | 1 x Fuzzie Mouse | 4-6g
41-70g | 1 x Large Fuzzie Mouse/2 x Fuzzie Mice | 10-12g/2 x 4-6g
71-130g | 1 x Small Adult Mouse | 12-14g
131-200g | 1 x Medium Adult Mouse | 15-20g
201-300g | 1 x Large Adult Mouse | 20-25g
301-500g | 1 x X-Large Adult Mouse | 25-30g
501-700g | 1 x Jumbo (Ex-Breeder) Adult Mouse/1 x Small Adult Rat | 30-35g
So will definitely make a point of weighing Drago when I'm able to hold him again.
This looked like a good guide... |
| katy |
Posted - 27/08/2012 : 01:07:56
As said every 5 days that's how often I feed my hatchling. As long a the mouse the next size up isn't bigger than one and a half times the diameter of the biggest part of his body and after shedding I wait about 1 to 2 days before handling again. |
| Trekky |
Posted - 26/08/2012 : 23:37:01
From the moment he has had his food we don't handle for 48hrs. I feed in the evening then it's easier for the kids to know when they can next hold him if they have to wait exactly 2 whole days.
When it's time to feed him he is literally picked up and put straight into his feeding tub which is a good size so that I can let him slither out of it straight into his viv without the need to be handled again once fed so minimum of stress for him after feeding. |
| paulie78 |
Posted - 26/08/2012 : 23:25:30
2 pinkies every 4 days is really too much for such a young corn ideally it should be one pinkie every 5 days only feed 2 if one is not leaving a noticable feed bump in the belly (not the neck) after feeding some snakes stress if handled whilst they are in blue so its best avoided or kept to a minimum during such periods |
