feeding questions

[tttaylorrr]

Corny hasn't shed in over 100 days. he weighs somewhere over 350g (i haven't weighed him in a month). i've recently started feeding him 2 large mice every 7 days. they leave a bit of a lump but he poops a few days later and is usually pacing after 4 days. once when he was being overly obnoxious in his enclosure, i caved and fed him a rat pup 3 days before his regular feeding day (i was out of mice; was planning on buying them on feeding day). he hesitated but happily took it.

a rat pup isn't going to be as nutritious as a large mouse, correct? not in terms of rat vs mouse, but a rat pup is a young animal; an adult mouse has all it's muscle, fat, bone density. etc. i've gone back to 2 large mice/7 days.

i never really read about people feeding rats to their Corns, and this old thread i found isn't exactly what i was looking for LOL. Corny took that rat pup no-problem and was still pacing before his regularly scheduled feeding day afterwards eating it. you guys know i've been really hesitant to grow him up too fast as he's spent years eating only pinkies. can i offer Corny a weaned rat? it just seems so darn big. i feel like i'm going to freak him out, or he's going to explode lol. but since he hasn't shed in over 3 months, his body is literally telling me he needs more to grow, right?

halp pls & ty.

EDIT: also his one year anniversary with me was back in march.

[Phillydubs]

How big is what you want to offer in comparison to his girth?

[Prognathodon]

Our three adult corns, in the 450 - 600 gram range, get a medium mouse once a week, with the occasional day-old rabbit kit instead of a mouse, and seem to be doing well on them. Their weights are slowly increasing, in line with growing their whole life, but they don’t seem to be getting fat. They typically shed every 60 days or so.

I get most of my rats and mice from Big Cheese, and going by their size/weight ranges, a rat pup is about the same as a medium adult mouse, and a weaned rat is about the same as a jumbo mouse. So if he’s been eating two large mice at a time, one weaned rat is probably about the same, or a bit less food.

I tend to switch from mice to rats once the snakes “outgrow” medium mice, as I figure jumbo mice (the next size up) are likely to be more fatty, and weaned rats should be fairly well-developed in terms of skeletal structure, etc. I originally got the rabbit kits to give my carpet pythons some variety, and then realized they were probably natural prey for corn snakes. The two we had at the time were on a fast, but took their first kits with enthusiasm (and proceeded to resume regular feeding), as did Aurora the first time I offered her a kit. I get the kits at Scott Smith’s, from Rat Pack Feeders (west side of the room, usually near the door in the west wall).


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[Sgt7212]

I don’t know much about corn snakes. Until arriving on this forum, I’ve always read and been told you feed a snake prey items about the same size as your snakes girth at its widest point once a week or a day or 2 after it poops.

I’m guessing since ball pythons are more sedentary and also sometimes like to be hoarders and not poop that’s the reason for the differences in that feeding chart.

Back on topic, are corn snakes more active? I think you’d be fine offering him a prey item that’s as big around as his body. If it is too big for him, I don’t think he would even try to swallow it. That’s just my theory. I’m sure someone with more (or any) corn snake experience will have a better/ more definitive answer for you.


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[tttaylorrr]

How big is what you want to offer in comparison to his girth?

they're about the same size, girth to mouse. the mouse definitely isn't bigger around than he is tho, but i feed two.

[tttaylorrr]

Our three adult corns, in the 450 - 600 gram range, get a medium mouse once a week, with the occasional day-old rabbit kit instead of a mouse, and seem to be doing well on them. Their weights are slowly increasing, in line with growing their whole life, but they don’t seem to be getting fat. They typically shed every 60 days or so.

I get most of my rats and mice from Big Cheese, and going by their size/weight ranges, a rat pup is about the same as a medium adult mouse, and a weaned rat is about the same as a jumbo mouse. So if he’s been eating two large mice at a time, one weaned rat is probably about the same, or a bit less food.

I tend to switch from mice to rats once the snakes “outgrow” medium mice, as I figure jumbo mice (the next size up) are likely to be more fatty, and weaned rats should be fairly well-developed in terms of skeletal structure, etc. I originally got the rabbit kits to give my carpet pythons some variety, and then realized they were probably natural prey for corn snakes. The two we had at the time were on a fast, but took their first kits with enthusiasm (and proceeded to resume regular feeding), as did Aurora the first time I offered her a kit. I get the kits at Scott Smith’s, from Rat Pack Feeders (west side of the room, usually near the door in the west wall).

thank you so much for the reply. this has put me at ease with offering a weaned rat. he's never seen food that big in his life! i'm just a worry wart, same as everyone.

how active are your Corns? does the pacing i describe sound normal to you, or do you think it's from hunger? compared to balls, this guy is a drag racer!!! hahaha. he's in a 20gal and i'm desperately looking for a 40gal to upgrade him.

[tttaylorrr]

I don’t know much about corn snakes. Until arriving on this forum, I’ve always read and been told you feed a snake prey items about the same size as your snakes girth at its widest point once a week or a day or 2 after it poops.

I’m guessing since ball pythons are more sedentary and also sometimes like to be hoarders and not poop that’s the reason for the differences in that feeding chart.

Back on topic, are corn snakes more active? I think you’d be fine offering him a prey item that’s as big around as his body. If it is too big for him, I don’t think he would even try to swallow it. That’s just my theory. I’m sure someone with more (or any) corn snake experience will have a better/ more definitive answer for you.

from my limited experience, yes they are way more active than beeps. they're also out throughout the day, which is pretty cool.

this guy was severely underfed for his first 3 or 4 years, so i've been really careful about upping his prey size for...reasons? i'm just a worry wart.

[paulh]

....

a rat pup isn't going to be as nutritious as a large mouse, correct? not in terms of rat vs mouse, but a rat pup is a young animal; an adult mouse has all it's muscle, fat, bone density. etc. i've gone back to 2 large mice/7 days.

i never really read about people feeding rats to their Corns, ....

Correct, a rat pup isn't going to be as nutritious as a large mouse. This assumes that the mouse is not obese.

For what it's worth, my first corn snake was a 6 month old baby that was starving. She had eaten maybe 4 pinky mice when I got her. When offered a pinky rat, she dived at it and never ate any other kind of rodent. At the age of three, she mated and produced a clutch of eggs that hatched normally. Mice are a more appropriate size for food, especially for hatchlings. But my corn snake did just as well on rats as other corn snakes do on mice.

[dakski]

Figment (my corn) is about 625G now. He was happily eating a 35-45G mouse weekly, but I have moved him to an every two week schedule of the same size mouse. If he starts losing weight, I will go to ten days or one week, then two weeks, etc.

I have heard mixed things about feeding rats to corns. Every once in a while, I am sure it is fine. However, corns eat mostly mice in the wild and their system is designed for that. I was told to keep them on mice, as they tend to get fat(er) on rats.

I go by the Munson Feeding Chart for Corns, and that only shows mice.

[AbsoluteApril]

you can feed both, either or, not a big deal IMO. I generally stick to mice but my adult corns will get the random weaned or rat pup from time to time.