Sheila - Caramel Corn Snake

Here are the first few pics of Sheila, our new caramel corn snake. Thanks again to everyone who assisted with my questions in other posts.

Pic 1 - Teaching my son how to hold her.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/rVJIus4.jpg


Pic 2 - Showing a little yellow after shed.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/STyGWs8.jpg


Pic 3 - Her 1st shed with us, perfect!
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/W6cAQzV.jpg

What a sweet new snake. Fun watching their yellow increase, you really have to be patient for colors to come in on corn snakes but they're worth it- great pets! :gj:

Corns are great pet snakes.

Sheila looks good and ask away if you have questions. We want to help.

Very cute!

Question on feeding...

She's getting 1 pinkie every 6 days now with the intent of going to every 7 days once I get her to Sunday's. I haven't weighed her, but is 1 pinkie per week enough? I'm asking b/c some of the feeding guides/care sheets appear more aggressive. Take the one below for instance, it would have me feeding her every 4-5 days, then 2 pinkies every 5-6 days. That feels like too much, but I'll defer to the experts. Am I good with 1 pinkie every 7 days now or should she get more? When should I step it up to 2 pinkies per feeding? The every 7 days thing is more of a convenience for us to consistently feed on Sunday's, but it's no problem if that needs to be variable as well. Thanks!

Snake (4 – 15g) = 1 Pinkie (0.5 – 3g) - feed every 4 to 5 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

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nick_MD

Question on feeding...

She's getting 1 pinkie every 6 days now with the intent of going to every 7 days once I get her to Sunday's. I haven't weighed her, but is 1 pinkie per week enough? I'm asking b/c some of the feeding guides/care sheets appear more aggressive. Take the one below for instance, it would have me feeding her every 4-5 days, then 2 pinkies every 5-6 days. That feels like too much, but I'll defer to the experts. Am I good with 1 pinkie every 7 days now or should she get more? When should I step it up to 2 pinkies per feeding? The every 7 days thing is more of a convenience for us to consistently feed on Sunday's, but it's no problem if that needs to be variable as well. Thanks!

Snake (4 – 15g) = 1 Pinkie (0.5 – 3g) - feed every 4 to 5 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

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A weight would be helpful, but how much of a bulge does one pinkie make?

If you are feeding one pinkie weekly right now, and the bulge is gone in 24-48 hours, but noticeable after she eats, you are probably fine.

It's hard to starve a small corn, even if the pinkies are a little small, feeding weekly.

Weighing isn't a bad idea anyway as it will give you an idea of growth rate as well.

I've raised lots of corn & rat snakes & I don't routinely weigh any of them. I go by looks...hatchling corns are pretty small, about 10" long & as skinny as a #2 pencil.
It takes a while before they can handle either a larger pinkie or 2 at a time, and feeding about every 6-7 days is just fine, but that's for a hatchling corn snake & yours
appears older than that, by some months???

What is the age of your snake? When did she hatch?

Or what is her length (in inches)?

I think she was an Oct '19 hatch. So roughly 5-6 months.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nick_MD

I think she was an Oct '19 hatch. So roughly 5-6 months.

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That's about what I figured. So depending on the width of her midsection (before being fed), I'd expect her to be eating 2 (mouse-) pinkies or 2 (mouse) fuzzies at a time-I'm not seeing her compared to the prey you have, but normal mouse pinks are pretty small & unlikely to be an adequate meal for her at this time. If that's all you have at this time, you can feed them off before sizing up. You want the prey to be roughly equal to (& not wider) than her un-fed mid-body. If you are feeding small pinks, you could feed 2 every 5-6 days, or (later) 3 once every 7 days. Just go by how she looks & digests...don't upsize too quickly but yeah, she's needing more food. :gj:

Beautiful corn! Congrats!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

That's about what I figured. So depending on the width of her midsection (before being fed), I'd expect her to be eating 2 (mouse-) pinkies or 2 (mouse) fuzzies at a time-I'm not seeing her compared to the prey you have, but normal mouse pinks are pretty small & unlikely to be an adequate meal for her at this time. If that's all you have at this time, you can feed them off before sizing up. You want the prey to be roughly equal to (& not wider) than her un-fed mid-body. If you are feeding small pinks, you could feed 2 every 5-6 days, or (later) 3 once every 7 days. Just go by how she looks & digests...don't upsize too quickly but yeah, she's needing more food. :gj:

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Okay, glad I asked. The pinks in the bag of 50 I bought are mostly a slight bit larger than Sheila's midsection. They leave no noticeable bulge after she gets them down though. On the night she eats, she does tend to go re-investigating the spot she ate. I'm interpreting that as "I'm still hungry" behavior. If she was full, then I'd expect her to go hide for a couple days. I'll bump her up to 2 pinks on Sunday and see how she does.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nick_MD

Okay, glad I asked. The pinks in the bag of 50 I bought are mostly a slight bit larger than Sheila's midsection. They leave no noticeable bulge after she gets them down though. On the night she eats, she does tend to go re-investigating the spot she ate. I'm interpreting that as "I'm still hungry" behavior. If she was full, then I'd expect her to go hide for a couple days. I'll bump her up to 2 pinks on Sunday and see how she does.

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One reason that snakes are so easy to over-feed (this is just a generic caution) is that they USUALLY act "still hungry" after they eat*, so you can't go by that...they stay in "feedmode" for hours to even more than a day, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea (ever!) to feed them more, separately from the original meal. So if & when you feed multiple prey items, you need to do them at the same time, back to back...otherwise, adding more later can mess up their digestion & cause them to regurgitate all they've eaten, so don't ever risk that. (not saying you would have, just a good time to give you a bit more info)

*It's not unlike humans who, after eating a huge meal, still go looking for dessert! :D

Pinkies digest very fast...as prey gets larger, it has more hair & larger bones & takes progressively longer to digest, but even if your snake looks pretty full with 2 pinks, it's most likely not going to cause a problem, as long as you don't handle the snake after feeding. (pretty sure you know that too?) But from what you say (you still didn't share how LONG she is???) I'd go ahead & try 2 pinks next feeding. The reason I ask about snake length is that in a snake's body all their
organs are proportionally longer & narrow, so by seeing a snake or knowing their length, I can better suggest how much food she can comfortably hold; pinkies are roughly an inch long. ;)

She is roughly 17 inches or 43 cm.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nick_MD

She is roughly 17 inches or 43 cm.

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She should easily be able to consume 2 pinkies at a time, then after you do that a few times, go to one pinkie + one small fuzzie for a while, then after that you'll progress to 2 small fuzzies, etc. Can't tell you exactly how long at each level...up to you to be observant, but that's what I'd do. She'll start growing faster as she consumes the slightly older prey. :snake: You'll want to stop doubling when she's old enough (or rather BIG enough) to eat a hopper...that will be harder to digest. OK?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

She should easily be able to consume 2 pinkies at a time, then after you do that a few times, go to one pinkie + one small fuzzie for a while, then after that you'll progress to 2 small fuzzies, etc. Can't tell you exactly how long at each level...up to you to be observant, but that's what I'd do. She'll start growing faster as she consumes the slightly older prey. :snake: You'll want to stop doubling when she's old enough (or rather BIG enough) to eat a hopper...that will be harder to digest. OK?

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Got it. Can I do all of that on a consistent 7 day basis?

Teeny baby! Very cute.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nick_MD

Got it. Can I do all of that on a consistent 7 day basis?

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I don't know, it depends on your snake & how fast she digests, which also depends on temperatures in her cage & your house (but don't over-heat a corn snake to make them digest faster)...best I can do is say "maybe or probably". Like all snakes, corn snakes thermo-regulate but some snakes prefer to hang out on the cool side more than others.

I assume the rigid schedule is for your convenience (?) since snakes sure don't need fed at exact intervals...it doesn't happen in nature. It doesn't take very long to feed a snake either, & personally, I'm pretty flexible & feed when my snakes are acting hungry, & I think you'll know too. (Shed cycles tend to destroy the schedules too, lol.)

Yes, the 7-day thing is totally for our convenience of a Sunday and so we remember after the novelty of a new pet has worn off. That said, it shouldn't be a problem as I'm making my son keep a chart updated with feeding, shedding, and cleaning schedules. So...we're flexible. As you said, it's a fairly quick process and there's only 1 snake at the moment.

Thus far with the winter ambient temps being ~73, she has seemed to prefer the hide above the UTH which I dialed down to a max of 85 after advice on these forums. I'm predicting she'll enjoy the cool side once the weather warms up and the ambient temps go up to ~79-80. She comes out to cruise and climb every night after the lights in the room are turned low. She goes back to her hide after an hour or so.

Congratulations on the new corn!

Another perfect shed a few weeks ago. Doing very well on 2 pinkies. I'll get some fuzzies at the next Repticon in June.


This is her favorite, nightly perch. She's going to be upset when she outgrows it.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/L9HyRo2.jpg

Beautiful corn, congratulations on the addition! (I know i'm a bit late to congratulating you, but oh well.)

Question- I see something in the water bowl, I've heard of people putting pennies in snake's water dishes but I've never known what it does. If it's not a penny, what is it? If so, what does it do?

Thanks!

It's a pre-1982 penny. I saw it on Snake Discovery ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opojR4Qu2P4&t=181s ). Supposedly the copper cuts down on slime/algae growth. Admittedly, it's probably overkill on a water dish that small that I'm changing every 2 days anyway. She has another water dish I don't have a penny in so it's a test of sorts to see which she drinks from more.

She looks great. Corns can be a great way to learn.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nick_MD

Thanks!

It's a pre-1982 penny. I saw it on Snake Discovery ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opojR4Qu2P4&t=181s ). Supposedly the copper cuts down on slime/algae growth. Admittedly, it's probably overkill on a water dish that small that I'm changing every 2 days anyway. She has another water dish I don't have a penny in so it's a test of sorts to see which she drinks from more.

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Another thing the penny is supposed to do is turn the water blue if your snake has peed in it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nick_MD

Another perfect shed a few weeks ago. Doing very well on 2 pinkies. I'll get some fuzzies at the next Repticon in June.


This is her favorite, nightly perch. She's going to be upset when she outgrows it.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/L9HyRo2.jpg

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That's a cute phase when they do that.

Sent from my E6810 using Tapatalk

She got her upgrade to 40 gallon this weekend. She's been with us roughly a year or about 13 months. After speaking to the breeder, she was born Aug'19 instead of my previous Oct estimate. I'm considering dropping her to a 10 day feeding schedule now as she's looking just a tiny bit rounder than before. She's getting a small/med mouse every 7 days currently (unless she's in shed). When do you all typically move from the weekly schedule?

[Not pictured] I installed a fake vine covered, PVC cross beam last night to give her more vertical climbing space. It runs the full length of the cage.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/aGk4af6.jpg

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/bIClK2J.jpg

I feed both my adult corns (370G and 585G) 1 adult mouse every two weeks.

Switching your girl up to a 10 day schedule will help keep her lean and healthy IMO.

Also, once she's ready for an adult mouse, that can be her food for the rest of her life. You do not want to go to jumbo mice - too fatty - or rats.

Agree with dakski ^ ^ ^ :gj:

And just to clarify, the reason rats would be too fatty for a corn snake is that they'd only be eating rat pups at the most. It's always preferable to feed the prey item that is the most mature as well as the right size, so in the case of an adult corn snake, that would be an adult mouse (& not a big old "breeder").

Baby rats or mice both have higher fat contents, which is fine for "baby" snakes that need that size prey, but you don't want adult snakes eating "baby food", any more than humans would stay on a diet of milk & Gerbers into adulthood, lol.

I think this might be confusing for some, since there is a lot of talk about rats being leaner, etc.- but that's only for snakes big enough to eat young adult rats. ;)

Sounds good. I'll bump her to 10 days immediately and keep her on that schedule for another 6 months or so. Then, I'll get her on a 14 day cadence. She was 113g when I weighed her about a month ago, mid-Feb'21. I'm aligned with you all on the size too as I never thought she would get above large adult mice.

Been another year and still doing well. Here's an update with more of her yellow coming in. Getting a medium mouse every 14 days now. How's she look?

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/y8fY8uD.jpghttps://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/6jjUeVO.jpg

She looks pretty well toned but on the slim side. I would consider feeding every 10 days, 2 weeks is a long timed interval. Nice work you’ve done with her.

She looks great! :gj:

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Originally Posted by Albert Clark

She looks pretty well toned but on the slim side. I would consider feeding every 10 days, 2 weeks is a long timed interval. Nice work you’ve done with her.

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Interesting. I actually thought she might be getting just a little chunky as the prey item is leaving a slightly larger lump than I'd like. I had her on a ~12 cycle before the last bump in prey size. The mediums I got are just a tiny bit smaller than the large ones I got for the boas.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nick_MD

Interesting. I actually thought she might be getting just a little chunky as the prey item is leaving a slightly larger lump than I'd like. I had her on a ~12 cycle before the last bump in prey size. The mediums I got are just a tiny bit smaller than the large ones I got for the boas.

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She looks fine to me, but keep in mind that we're only seeing from a photo so we can't tell as much as you can in person. It's okay to vary the feeding frequency some too, & gauge feedings based on the snake's current appearance relative to the size of prey available, & their activity (including sheds), etc. Snakes don't get perfectly consistent meals in nature & they manage quite well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nick_MD

Interesting. I actually thought she might be getting just a little chunky as the prey item is leaving a slightly larger lump than I'd like. I had her on a ~12 cycle before the last bump in prey size. The mediums I got are just a tiny bit smaller than the large ones I got for the boas.

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Thats fine, it’s a subjective interpretation of the photo. She looks toned enough and healthy. I breed kingsnakes and garters so my view can certainly be a little skewed. One of my Lake Chapala garters (a female) takes 2 hairless small mice twice a week. I think the metabolic rate of garters is different from corns though. My kings eat 2 hairless fuzzies twice weekly. They are adults as well.