Overweight Corn Snake - rehab time

Okay... in the next few days we are getting one of our corn snakes that we gifted to a friend back. From what I understand he's become aggressive (and he was a sweetheart when we gifted him to them) and he's HUGE.

He was full grown and in perfect shape when he went there so if he's waaaaay bigger... well he's gotta be overweight. (I've been told they were feeding him a lot... unfortunately his new family didn't understand that he didn't need to fed so often and so much.)

So... what's the best way to rehab him?

I know I've heard of people 'cooling' corn snakes... anyone have any advice on what may be best for him? I want to get him back into perfect condition again.

I'll have more details once he's here but I want to figure out how to set him up first. (in case I need to do something out of the ordinary... our other corns are kept in a rack)

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

Okay... in the next few days we are getting one of our corn snakes that we gifted to a friend back. From what I understand he's become aggressive (and he was a sweetheart when we gifted him to them) and he's HUGE.

He was full grown and in perfect shape when he went there so if he's waaaaay bigger... well he's gotta be overweight. (I've been told they were feeding him a lot... unfortunately his new family didn't understand that he didn't need to fed so often and so much.)

So... what's the best way to rehab him?

I know I've heard of people 'cooling' corn snakes... anyone have any advice on what may be best for him? I want to get him back into perfect condition again.

I'll have more details once he's here but I want to figure out how to set him up first. (in case I need to do something out of the ordinary... our other corns are kept in a rack)

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Put him on the ISHY diet :P.If he is overweight then i would just cut back on the size of the prey and skip a week or two before feeding again until he gets better looking :gj:.

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Originally Posted by joepythons

Put him on the ISHY diet :P

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lol :P

I have an adult female that I took on that I am dieting as well. One thing I was told on another forum for fatty-fat-fat colubrids was LOTS of handling... let him out to roam, run through your hands, etc.

My girl has major middle aged spread on the lower body... fat deposits at the end of the tail. I thought there was actually something wrong with her, as I had never seen this before.

And she is feeding A LOT less now than she was. Not sure an overweight 8 year old corn needs to be feeding every 7 days on a too big rodent.

Good luck with him.

Yes, some great advice. Corns are known for being prone to getting overweight. You can easily tell by looks, and feel. They will have a "squishy" feel to them.

A couple of my male corns started to get a little on the pudgy side. What I did is to make sure I handled them a lot. Maybe 15-20 minutes 5 days a week. I also decreased feeding from every 7 days to every 14 days and went down in prey size from x-large mice to just large mice. They'll be a lot more active, but don't let them fool you, they're getting plenty.

After a few months mine had gotten that firm feel again. I don't really keep up with the handling part as often, but I still do feed every 14 days and only lg mice. I've since switched all my adult males to only 14 days to keep them trim, and its working very well.

I wouldn't cool him or change temps to get him to lose weight. That will just make his metabolism slow and he won't burn anything so won't lose weight.

Keep in mind that he won't be back to normal overnight, it took a while for him to get big and will take a while for him to lose it. But after a few months of decreased feeding and increased handling, you should easily get him back to being slender and in shape.

Good luck!

i've read that letting them swim in the tub is super good exercise as well... and climbing the stairs. even holding their prey item at the top of the stairs and making them work for it LOL

one way or another... we'll get this guy slimmed down again... to the same as my other corns. he's one of my personal favourite snakes... so it'll be nice to have him back home again.

thank you all!!!

I do not doubt he is back home for a very good reason.

Sometimes the troubled ones have to come home for a bit of rehab with those that love them. :D

I like the idea of making him work for his meal... I should do that with Violaine... tie her rat to a string and make her chase me down the block.

Nah, she would just stop and eat a puppy instead... :P

Bruce

Once he gets home again... I'll share some pics. I'm a little nervous to see how overweight he is.

My 8 year old male also got overweight and developed the fatty deposits near the tail. I have heard the deposits dont go away but I have heard from others they do.:confused: In my snakes case they have stayed but have not gotten bigger or any more. I have him on a weaned rat every 2 weeks, where he used to get that once a week.

that's a pretty big meal for a corn snake... perhaps that's why he's still overweight?