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ben11
Egg
United Kingdom
52 Posts |
 Posted - 16/03/2010 : 03:28:41
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| Hi I am a little concerned about my snake as he hasnt shed in around 5 months(i think).. he is around a year and a half old and is still feeding ok, but recently been acting a little strange, very nervous and defensive, i thought maybe this was because he has started to shed but no joy yet.. any advice? thanks. |
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Kellog
the nice one
United Kingdom
7308 Posts |
Posted - 16/03/2010 : 04:48:23
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Can you give us a bit more information Ben? How often did he used to shed? What is his weight? What is he being fed on and how often? What is your viv set-up? The more information you can give us the easier it is for the experts to give you some idea of what might be happening.
xxx |
  
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ben11
Egg
United Kingdom
52 Posts |
Posted - 16/03/2010 : 09:23:30
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Hi, he used to shed about every 2 months, i have never weighed him! he is over 2ft now.. i feed him 2 pinkies every week.. going onto fluffys very soon though i am certain he is ready.
this is my current viv, he has 2 coconut hides, log, plants and a water bowl. I have never bothered with moss, maybe this could be the solution?
http://www.thepet-shoponline.co.uk/komodo-vivarium-reptile-habitat-50x30x40cm-2749-p.asp
I am building him a bigger one soon.
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HannahB
The Corn Snake Moderator
United Kingdom
5491 Posts |
Posted - 16/03/2010 : 09:31:58
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its possibly because hes not being fed enough to grow properly.. ideally he should be on fuzzies by now  |
2.0 Normal Royal Pythons - Q and Little One
1.0 Chihauhaun Mountain Kingsnake - Simba
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DannyBrown91
Fully Grown Corn
United Kingdom
3070 Posts |
Posted - 16/03/2010 : 10:12:36
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quote:
Originally posted by HannahB
its possibly because hes not being fed enough to grow properly.. ideally he should be on fuzzies by now
Also moss is to aid the shedding process not to induce a shed.
My casper has just gone onto 1 small fuzzy and she is around 20 inches long and weighs 22grams atlast weigh. so i would certainly think that your snake is most probably more than ready to move up. |
0.0.1 Ghost Corn - Casper
0.0.1 Diffused Corn - Reggie
0.0.1 Amel Corn - Candy A.K.A Baby
1.0 Commom BCI - Rocky
0.1 Japanese Akita - Sasha
Location: Liverpool |
Edited by - DannyBrown91 on 16/03/2010 10:13:08 |
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Kellog
the nice one
United Kingdom
7308 Posts |
Posted - 16/03/2010 : 11:24:49
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Your viv set-up sounds good, it is nice to hear that he has 2 hides and the logs and plants to fill out his viv. As it is a glass viv, is it exposed on all sides? It might be that he is feeling rather exposed. You could cover the back and even the 2 sides of the viv with aquarium backing or even brown paper/newspaper (on the outside of the viv), just to make him feel more secure. Regarding him moving into a bigger viv, we tend to use the guide that once the snake's length = the length + depth of the viv is the time to move up a size, not before.
I would suggest that you weigh him and use that as a guide to work out what he should be eating. It does sound as though he is not putting on weight and therefore is not needing to shed often.
It is easy enough to weigh a snake. I used digital scales. I have a shoe box with air holes punched in it. I weigh the box, zero the scales, add the snake = snake's weight. I do this before every feed.
This is just a VERY rough guide that some of us follow to help us have a vague idea of what our snakes might need to be feeding on -
Snake (4 – 15g) = 1 Pinkie (0.5 – 3g) - feed every 5 to 6 days
Snake (16 – 23g) = 2 pinkies (3 – 4g) - feed every 5 to 6 days
Snake (24 – 30g) = small fuzzy (3 – 6g) - feed every 6 to 7 days
Snake (30 – 50g) = fuzzy (7 – 9g) - feed every 6 to 7 days
Snake (51 – 90g) = fluff/hoppers (7 – 12g) - feed every 6 to 7 days
Danny is right in what he says about the moss, it is only useful once they have turned blue and begun the shedding process. The only thing that will aid a shed is for him to put on weight.
xxx |
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Edited by - Kellog on 16/03/2010 11:26:58 |
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ben11
Egg
United Kingdom
52 Posts |
Posted - 16/03/2010 : 11:46:41
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| thanks very much ill weigh him and get some fuzzies ordered. as for him feeling exposed, i have the parts for a wooden viv so ill get it built asap! Ben |
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ben11
Egg
United Kingdom
52 Posts |
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HannahB
The Corn Snake Moderator
United Kingdom
5491 Posts |
Posted - 17/03/2010 : 09:07:18
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your not starving him!!
but i would recommend giving him fuzzies now, hes the same size and weight as my mont and hes comfortably on double fuzzies so Murray would be fine on fuzzies
hes lovely btw |
2.0 Normal Royal Pythons - Q and Little One
1.0 Chihauhaun Mountain Kingsnake - Simba
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Kellog
the nice one
United Kingdom
7308 Posts |
Posted - 17/03/2010 : 12:06:14
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He really is gorgeous Ben, and dont worry....you havent been starving him. You have probably been just keeping him on a maintenance diet, which is what a lot of pet shops would do.
The main thing now is not to overfeed him. You need to move him up slowly. So definitely move him onto 1 fuzzy now and see how his weight increases. You said that you were 'going onto fluffys very soon though i am certain he is ready.' I think the jump from pinkies to fluffs would be too much for him to handle.
But please dont worry, you havent done anything wrong and you now know what you need to do that is best for him.
xxx |
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Kehhlyr
ǝʞɐɔ sǝʌoן
United Kingdom
8173 Posts |
Posted - 17/03/2010 : 14:02:53
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One thing to remember in regards going up a feed size is to not take a huge amount of notice of the weight, I've had large mice weigh more than jumbos.
It's more the size, make sure that the prey item is not much thicker than the thickest part of the snakes body. |
-=Kehhlyr - The Resident Loon
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ben11
Egg
United Kingdom
52 Posts |
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HannahB
The Corn Snake Moderator
United Kingdom
5491 Posts |
Posted - 17/03/2010 : 14:47:26
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quote:
Originally posted by Kehhlyr
One thing to remember in regards going up a feed size is to not take a huge amount of notice of the weight, I've had large mice weigh more than jumbos.
It's more the size, make sure that the prey item is not much thicker than the thickest part of the snakes body.
definately agree there..
iv never weighed any food for any of my corns or my king and have never had any issues,tbh im not convinced weighing food is a vital thing to do even though a lot of members do it |
2.0 Normal Royal Pythons - Q and Little One
1.0 Chihauhaun Mountain Kingsnake - Simba
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Kellog
the nice one
United Kingdom
7308 Posts |
Posted - 18/03/2010 : 04:39:10
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I know most people dont go by the weight of the 'dinner', but I must admit that I find it a helpful guide as long as I keep in mind what HannahB and Kehhlyr have said, that the 'dinner's' girth is 1.5 times the size of the widest part of the snake's body girth, no bigger.
Ben, this link may help with regard to the different names of mice (it is a long topic but worth reading) - http://www.thecornsnake.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2622&whichpage=1&SearchTerms=crawlers.
I THINK, according to this, hoppers/crawlers are equivalent to small mice - the size up from fuzzys once they've got a bit of proper fur and open eyes....but I am not sure....it is definitely confusing!! Someone once said they had a mouse that was called a 'jack russel' size  !
I do hope I havent just made it more confusing for you  .
xxx
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Edited by - Kellog on 18/03/2010 04:46:57 |
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ben11
Egg
United Kingdom
52 Posts |
Posted - 18/03/2010 : 08:49:29
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Guess who had a shed last night woooo :)
on 888reptiles it goes
pinkies
fluff
crawler
small
medium
large
jumbo
how confusing!!
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no shed in about.. 5 months??
