Best time to weigh?

I am a new BP owner, and I'm about to start weighing my little guy to track his growth and determine what size food to give him. I was just wondering, when is the most accurate time to weigh your snake? Right before feeding him, or in the middle of the 'feed cycle'?

The most accurate time is right after the snake poops and before the next feeding. But as long as you don't weigh the snake right after a meal the weight should be close enough.

I am super anal about the weight of my snakes (about a year ago, I lost two corn snakes because one failed to eat for me and had to be put down and the other could not digest food). I want to make sure all my snakes are at least growing. So what I do is I weight them the morning of feeding day (I usually try to give them at least two or more hours between the time I weigh them and the time they are presented with food) and I also weigh them when they poop. If you weigh them before meals, you'll get a good idea of if they are gaining weight weekly but you'll also have to consider that some of that weight will be poop eventually. If you want the most accurate weight, weigh the snake after they poop (assuming they didn't eat within 3 days).

my snake usually releases an enormous amount of feces when he sheds... so i weigh him after that.... then meal time

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Originally Posted by royal constrictor

my snake usually releases an enormous amount of feces when he sheds... so i weigh him after that.... then meal time

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A lot of them will poop right after they shed. I have three and none of them poop when they shed. It's really up to the snake. However, I sure do wish mine would do that. It would make tub cleaning much more predictable!

I weigh all mine about once a month. I try to make it the day before feeding day so they are as empty as they really ever get. I do not weigh more than once a month. As long as they make progress in the upward direction or at least aren't declining in weight I figure they're doing ok. I keep an eye on my fasting males but still don't weigh more than once a month.

I weigh mine right before feeding. Now is don't know how accurate or silly this next statement is but it is something I've noticed for quite some time. After I weigh them all and put them all back into their tubs, its like they've become "conditioned" to know that after weighing comes food. The snakes I've had the longest seem to come out to the front of the bins and pace around waiting for food. I know snakes really can't be trained but I think that can put together "after I get put in this small tub, then get put back into my home, food comes!" Call me crazy, but I've noticed a definite trend.


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I weigh all of mine on the first day of every month. It doesn't matter if the have eatin', shed crapped or fasted. The first, is weigh day..... It is interesting how diferent the growth rates are among the snakes....They all puttin' on weight. some just faster than others....

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Originally Posted by boafa

I weigh all of mine on the first day of every month. It doesn't matter if the have eatin', shed crapped or fasted. The first, is weigh day..... It is interesting how diferent the growth rates are among the snakes....They all puttin' on weight. some just faster than others....

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I agree! The amount of weight they gain can be so much fun to watch! I rescued a normal female in July. She was 6 months old and 44g (Yes...44g) and now she's about 325g and growing just a little a month. On the other hand, I have a spider female who is a SUPER picky feeder. I finally found that she refers live rats so since I've been feeding her live rats for about a month, she's doubled her weight. She's now over 400g with a 200g gain since starting to feed her live. My male has double his weight since October and is about 450g now. I also have two corn snakes that are currently in a growth spurt. They were slow growers until I started feeding them weanling mice and now they are growing like weeds!

Thanks everyone! I got a scale, but i went too cheap and got one that wasn't good at all. it said he was 100 grams, which is pretty close, but it didn't even change when i put the mouse on it, and i know they weigh at least 5 grams. I'll be getting a digital scale. Anyone know a good scale that I can use? One that will weigh small mice as well?