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crazysnakeman
Snake Mite
42 Posts |
 Posted - 23/12/2010 : 02:04:01
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Heya, My corns roughly 4 ft, and 730 grams. I give her a rat weekly (weaner rat) and she seems to be doing fine on it, she gets an adult mouse - similar size to the rat as a bit of variety and sometimes if one of the other snakes dont want theirs, shel have another one.
Is this around right? so many people say different things, she loses weight when she just eats one mouse, stays the same on the rat, and increases with two prey items, but her head is fairly small for her size and she wont take anything bigger..
Shes been ok for the past 5 years, but if she should be slightly heavier, i'd rather know! shes my first snake and only corn snake, so I dont really have a comparrisson, BUT, the snakes I work with at work are all much smaller then her - not length ways, but muscle, she has very defined muscle lines and can be fairly powerful for a colubrid.. So im guessing shes liking the diet! shes handled daily and gets the most attention of all my snakes! bless.. anyways, any thoughts on increasing, decreasing or staying the same?
Cheers,
Josh |
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n/a
deleted
61 Posts |
Posted - 23/12/2010 : 08:53:09
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| if its been doing well she might be a bit of a fatty so maybe 1 sm/rat and like 1 fuzzy |
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Tiffany-x
Sub Adult
United Kingdom
1189 Posts |
Posted - 23/12/2010 : 09:07:52
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Are you sure its muscle and not fat? Corn snakes can get fat fairly easily, and this usually causes "lines" from what I have seen on here. I recommend you post a couple of pictures, so some more knowledgable members can see her, preferably at least one around her bottom end, because then tend to get what appears to be hips. She may be doing fine but a couple of people have noticed a large weight gain on rats. I hope this helps you.
Tiffany-x |
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Red123
Fully Grown Corn
United Kingdom
2030 Posts |
Posted - 23/12/2010 : 10:37:22
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| I feed my adults both of which are around 5ft, every 2 weeks on 1 rat weaner and this seems to keep their figure. I used to feed weekly on rat weaners but found that they gained to much weight like that. Both of mine lose weight if fed on mice. |
Corn Snake
, 1.0.0 Amel (Stan),
Royal Pythons
1.0.0 Normal (Nigel)
1.0.0 Albino (Tony)
Boa Constrictor Imperator
0.1.0 (Agatha)Western Hognose
0.1.0 Normal (Stevie)
0.0.1 Schneider Skink (George)
1.0.0 Extreme Blonde Harlequin Crested Gecko (Bert)
4 GALS.
Tarantulas
Red Rump (B. Vagans) Jo.
Chaco Golden Knee (G. pulchripes) Charlie, Greenbottle Blue (C. cyaneopubescens) Gus, Honduran Curly Hair ( B. albopilosum) Titch, Mexican Fire Leg (B. boehmei), Salmon Pink Bird Eater(L. parahybana), Fort Hall Baboon (P. Lugardi) Blanche, Stout Leg Baboon (E. Pachypus) Graham, Chilean Rose (G. Rosea) Glen.
Border collie x (BoB), 2 Cats (Lucky & Dip), 17 Goldfish, and The Dubia Family |
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mikerichards
don't say the 'M' word!
United Kingdom
2901 Posts |
Posted - 23/12/2010 : 11:16:14
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Weight wise she is fine, 700 - 800g is a good healthy weight, so as long as the weight isn't rising she will be fine. I would be surprised though if no weight is being put on, I am all up for feeding rats, as many know, however, not weekly!
Adult corns tend to grow outwards more than length, and as such, feeding should be a maintenance diet, rather than a grower diet.
Personally I would say you are feeding a grower diet, and will find that although not right away, the snake will start to get a bit chubby.
As it stands though 5ft and 750g is a good weight, especially if you plan to breed.
As an example, my 5ft female weighs 500g and is skinny, she's hammering weavers too. It's still worth chucking a couple of pics up though, just to be sure. |
Location : Worthing, West Sussex
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Sta~ple
qeeun speler
United Kingdom
6129 Posts |
Posted - 23/12/2010 : 14:39:09
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Just watch out for any fattness as it really is so hard for them to loose it :( They don't seem to need so much food when they are older.
I feed my lovely boy that is over 5ft in length 1 weaner every 2 weeks and over the years, he became morbidly obese and this guy is always active and getting exercise too, but he is a male not female. Only fed my girl the left over weaners every 2 weeks and you could tell the difference in a month! It was my intention to get some more weight on her bones though.
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A very special super, duper thanks for K :3 |
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rockroyal
Hatchling
United Kingdom
235 Posts |
Posted - 24/12/2010 : 05:24:24
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quote:
Originally posted by Red123
I feed my adults both of which are around 5ft, every 2 weeks on 1 rat weaner and this seems to keep their figure. I used to feed weekly on rat weaners but found that they gained to much weight like that. Both of mine lose weight if fed on mice.
i totally agree my 4.5 ft corn is the same fed every 2 weeks not only does his body mass stay very good but he also enjoys restricting his food before eating |
1.0.0 corn snake
0.1.0 royal python
0.1.0 hognose
Who moved the light at the end of the tunnel |
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crazysnakeman
Snake Mite
42 Posts |
Posted - 29/12/2010 : 16:37:25
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she had a huge infestion of hook worms about 3 months ago, which is why i started wieghing her - i do it weekly now, all my snakes are fed in RUBs and not their vivs, so the RUBs i know the weight of, so they just get weighed wuickly before being fed, and she tends to fluctuate around 750 grams - this week shes a bit higher for example. shes been putting weight back on after this worm problem - my parasitology lecturer at uni showed me how to do faecal flotations, so I do my own now, and can monitor them all fairly well - and is now back to where she was before. Im fairly confident she has no fat deposits - I have had a looky online at what obesity or fat deposits look like and she definately has none. I can put some piccys up if some one knows how to..? but with the information you've put up, I think I might try experimenting on the 2 week cycle now - what would be an ideal weight for her, and what would be a minimum weight for her that I should be confident with? that way if I know 750 is a good upper limit, if I have a lower and an ideal, aslong as she doesnt drop below the lower limit, I can experiment - maybe a mouse one week and a rat the next would keep her around her ideal wieght..
Anyways, for the moment, her weight isnt increasing, but I think if 5 ft and 750 is ideal, then I have to get her down a little! so I'll go on the 2 week cycle for her, and with some advice on an ideal weight and a lower limit, I'll see how she fares on it! then adjust accordingly..
Cheers guys,
Josh |
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Red123
Fully Grown Corn
United Kingdom
2030 Posts |
Posted - 29/12/2010 : 18:29:56
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| Crazysnakeman, if you don't mind me asking what were the symptoms of the hook worm infestation? |
Corn Snake
, 1.0.0 Amel (Stan),
Royal Pythons
1.0.0 Normal (Nigel)
1.0.0 Albino (Tony)
Boa Constrictor Imperator
0.1.0 (Agatha)Western Hognose
0.1.0 Normal (Stevie)
0.0.1 Schneider Skink (George)
1.0.0 Extreme Blonde Harlequin Crested Gecko (Bert)
4 GALS.
Tarantulas
Red Rump (B. Vagans) Jo.
Chaco Golden Knee (G. pulchripes) Charlie, Greenbottle Blue (C. cyaneopubescens) Gus, Honduran Curly Hair ( B. albopilosum) Titch, Mexican Fire Leg (B. boehmei), Salmon Pink Bird Eater(L. parahybana), Fort Hall Baboon (P. Lugardi) Blanche, Stout Leg Baboon (E. Pachypus) Graham, Chilean Rose (G. Rosea) Glen.
Border collie x (BoB), 2 Cats (Lucky & Dip), 17 Goldfish, and The Dubia Family |
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eeji
The Morph Master
United Kingdom
4335 Posts |
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crazysnakeman
Snake Mite
42 Posts |
Posted - 31/12/2010 : 15:02:21
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She didnt display any symptoms specifically to hook worms, they were intestinal and as such, I realised something was up simply because of her eating/defecating routine went up the shoot - She would eat, then regurge, but then sometimes eat and be fine, but when anything came out the end, it smelt awful and was runny and.. just pretty grim, I think those details will have put anyone reading this off their coco pops.. but there you go!
Anyways,I know a retired vet who still has a small practice at his house, but he specialises in reptiles, but snakes imparticular! He took a faecal sample, and I left her with him over night. I picked her up the next day, he had taken the liberty of doing a complete health check physically - lumps/bumps/ectoparasites etc etc, as well as a thorough faecal floation, stains etc! He even tested for cryptosporidium, which I was fairly suprised at because I know its a hard one to test! he doesnt even send it off to the lab, he does it all in his practice!
The only problem he found were hook worm eggs in the faecal floatation. we injected a mouse with a wormer - cant remember which one, its really commonly used for cats and dogs, but we also use it on the farm here. she took at and kept it down thankfully, I left her with him for two more days, then took her home.
Next time she passed waste, it was still fairly horrible, but the time after that it was back to normal, and has been fine ever since..
Anyways, If your worried about any nematode or cestode worms, pop into the vet.. I don't know what they usually charge, mine charges me what it costs him, he doesnt charge for labour, he just likes to keep up with the practice.. He charged me 8 pounds in total for everything including the crypto test and medication, but he did comment that it would have been a hell of alot more in a normal vet, and that if ever hes not available, to go to the nearest zoo and ask who they use - he doesnt like "regular" vets treating birds, reptiles or fish, he thinks if your forte is mammals, stick with mammals, if your forte is birds, stick with birds.. but there you go!
Hope that helps mate, any behaviour out of the ordinary could indicate an entire range of things, vomiting could mean too large a meal, its not always gonna be worms..
josh |
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mikerichards
don't say the 'M' word!
United Kingdom
2901 Posts |
Posted - 31/12/2010 : 23:03:39
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Most vets wont do a faecal sample in house, mostly they get sent off to a specific vet lab that deals with that sort of thing.
Its not gonna be cheap, and as for the crypto test, a lot of labs cant do it either and has to go to an even more specialist lab, which in turn is much more expensive.
If you can get all that for 8 quid, then you are onto a winner, Kate cant get a crypto test for 8 quid, and she works for them!!!!
The wormer you are on about is most likely panacur, however, thats a 3 week course if you do it properly.
If you can do your own floats, then keep checking regularly, because most wormers dont kill the eggs, hence the 3 week course. |
Location : Worthing, West Sussex
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Edited by - mikerichards on 31/12/2010 23:04:51 |
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crazysnakeman
Snake Mite
42 Posts |
Posted - 02/01/2011 : 09:54:10
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Well, he said he'd done the crypto test as a precaution because he wasnt sure about the start of a mid body swelling, he said the 8 pound included the crypto test, but i dont think it necessarily means he charged me for it as he didnt ask "permission" before doing it, sort of like a builder fixing your chimney when you asked him to have a look at your roofing.. I dont know!
He does have his own lab, which is why he does all his tests in his own practice, and as far as I'm aware there are two tests for crypto, one that uses a stain, and a far better one that as you said, specialist labs do and does cost a fair bit! I suspect he did the staining test, which as i understand is qualitative and not quantitative, but I guess he wasnt concerned as to how infected she was, just whether or not she was infected.
He's a really really good bloke, He must be in his mid 70's, and his wife gets grumpy that hes still doing work, and not charging people, but it seems to keep him happy! He helped me get a hatchling royal with severe lacerations on its belly and would not eat for 8 months, and was exceptionally dehydrated back to full health - although the scars are clearly visible and he cant shed in one piece - it took about 3 months of work with him seeing it on a weekly basis, and he didnt charge me a penny! He taught me to probe snakes and helped me with some burns on a rescued boa..
Anyways, i guess what I'm saying is he does alot for me with no charge, and only charges me what he uses when he does use up some of his own supplies, but everything hes done for me has had really good results so I don't think he'l have fobbed me off or anything.. The only thing he's gained really from me was a breeding partner for his pueblan milk snake! But there you go!
Cheers,
Josh |
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Adult feeding
