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antcherry88
Snake Mite
7 Posts |
 Posted - 06/04/2011 : 17:50:53
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Does anyone have a rough guide as to the size of mice you should offer a corn snake. Specifically, the mass of the mouse relative to the mass of your snake?
My corn was (I'm assuming) hatched last year so not quite a yearling. It's currently 55g and I offer two fuzzies of 6g each, every 7 days. So roughly 1/5 of its mass.
These don't leave a noticeable bulge so the general consensus would be to move up to a single mouse the next size up (hopper) which visually looks considerably larger, but actually only weighs 9g. Therefore the snake is loosing out as it's recieving a smaller meal!
So I would probably offer it two 9g mice which is a jump to 1/3 of the snakes mass. Is this too much?
I understand this is a strange question but the classic method of judging the girth of your snake vs the size of the mouse, and doubling up two smaller mice etc, doesn't seem the best way.
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gingerpony
Queen Bee
United Kingdom
10455 Posts |
Posted - 06/04/2011 : 18:38:02
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| offer a prey item no bigger than 1.5 times the width of the corn at it's widest point |
cornsnakes, ratsnakes, bullsnakes, boas and day geckos
Location:Leeds/York/Selby area |
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Red123
Fully Grown Corn
United Kingdom
2030 Posts |
Posted - 06/04/2011 : 18:58:36
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| I can see where you are coming from. Mine eat 1 hopper weighing 7g and 1 fuzzy weighing 4g a total of 11g of food. However the next size up being a small mouse weighs 9g. So may consider going to 2 hoppers at a feed for a few weeks then moving straight to a medium mouse depending on the size of the mouse. |
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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antcherry88
Snake Mite
7 Posts |
Posted - 06/04/2011 : 19:14:05
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Hi gingerpony. Thanks for replying.
Can I ask why so many people use this method? I mean, what's the justification for it?
When feeding a growing snake, i.e. moving up the sizes of mice, feeding two at a time, then up to a single the next size up, etc., the snake loses out with a smaller meal during the transition period.
Seeing as corns grow fast i'd quite like to feed my snake a meal thats relative to its size each time so it grows at a steady rate, but without over-feeding it and it becoming obese.
So does anyone have an idea of the mass of food you should offer a snake relative to its size i.e. 1/5, 1/4, 1/3? |
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antcherry88
Snake Mite
7 Posts |
Posted - 06/04/2011 : 19:19:57
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Red123,
Out of interest do you know how much your snake weighs? |
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Red123
Fully Grown Corn
United Kingdom
2030 Posts |
Posted - 06/04/2011 : 20:42:31
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| One of them weighs 58g and the other 60g they will be 8 months on the 13th and 14th of this month. They are fed every 7 days. And measure 24" and 26" in length. |
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 |
Edited by - Red123 on 06/04/2011 20:43:04 |
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gingerpony
Queen Bee
United Kingdom
10455 Posts |
Posted - 07/04/2011 : 14:23:10
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as a very rough guide feed about 5-15% of the snake's own weight
so, for example, a 100g snake could survive on 5-15g of food a week. obviously if you're feeding for growth or to improve condition feeding more frequently like every 5 days is better than feeding a huge meal less frequently
feeding for maintenance, my 750g males will have a 35-45g mouse fortnightly, much less than the rough %age i've quoted above but the MAIN thing is to be guided by the snake's bodily condition |
cornsnakes, ratsnakes, bullsnakes, boas and day geckos
Location:Leeds/York/Selby area |
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Feeding Advice - Mass of food offered
