I just fed my new corn snake on Sunday. I fed it 1 pinky, but should I be feeding it 2?? It's roughly 10-12 inches long and approximately 1/2 inch or so around.
i would say you could probably feed it a small fuzzy every 6 or 7 days or even just one large pinky every 5 or 6 days
I'd give him either a rat pup or a small fuzzy/large pinkie, as Shanna66 said. And for a snake that small I usually go once a week, sometimes more if the food items are small.
Both a rat pup and a fuzzy mouse would be too big for that little one. I would feed two pinkies every 5 days to a week, and then once he/she gets a little bit bigger move up to once fuzzy at a time once a week. Belletair, please don't give advice if you aren't sure as to whether or not you are right. A rat pup would never fit down a hatchling cornsnakes mouth. Also, a rat pup could injure the snake if it were to strike and constrict it while the snake was wrapped around the rat. Basically, incorrect advice like that can put someone's animal in danger.
Do I feed him 1 pinky at a time? How long should I wait between giving him each pinky? Perhaps till he has gotten it swallowed down to about his middle??
right away. when i dont have any feeder rats in the house i give my ball python 2 mice and right as the tail of th efirst one is going down i start teasing her with the second one, sometimes ill even just put the head of the second one right on her nose so she just sucks it down too without missing a beat
jayhawkbruce, so sorry. I didn't mean rat pup, I meant a rat pinkie. I wasn't thinking straight yesterday or something, but yes. DO NOT feed him a rat pup, I was completely wrong on that. I meant and should have said rat pinkie. So sorry guys, I just... missed that mistake. Further shows that proof reading a post is always a smart thing. And I'm glad there was someone here to catch my error. Okay, now that I feel like a freaking idiot... I've always been of the mentality that rats are better than mice for food. I dunno why, but they just seem to raise up a healthier snake (I've been told it's in the bones, I dunno. I just like 'em better due to experience). Again though... I usually find it better to go once a week. I honestly hate feeding more than one rodent per time, I always try to feed one food item the proper size than two smaller ones. Buuuut you do what you think is best. You've got to develop your own system with your snake(s) and find out what works best. So yeah. What I have always used for young corns like that are either rat pinkies, large mice pinkies or peach fuzzies. (the large pinkies I use are the third one down here, the peach fuzzies I use are the fourth one down here: http://www.rodentpro.com/catalog.asp?prod=...bel=frozen_mice, the rat pinkies I use are the first ones here: http://www.rodentpro.com/catalog.asp?prod=...el=frozen_rats) Also, is this little guy on f/t? If not, I'd get him on them soon. It's usually pretty easy when they're this small/young. btw, beautiful snake you've got there.
While rats have more nutritional value for sure, a snake like a corn wouldn't necessarily need them. A corn is small enough that it doesn't really need rats like pythons do to support their large amount of muscle. Rats are fine for a snake but if fed rats they should be fed less often than with mice, as snakes can get overweight like anything else. Since the rat comment was an honest mistake no worries at all. Don't feel dumb, we all have those moments!
Aye, very good points. I do feed my guys less often, mainly because they are on rats (most of them) and I find they just don't need to eat as frequently. And thanks, I just gotta be more careful not to say something like that when helping someone out, especially if they're new to the herp world.
My snake was a little cranky for a few days and I couldn't figure why. So I decided that since I knew he hadn't been mistreated, that maybe he wasn't getting enough to eat. So, I fed him a pinky on Wednesday (as well as 1 on Sunday), and I'm happy to report that he's happy again. According to my book, I should be feeding him every 3-4 days rather than once a week like I was before.. ^_^"
They can be fed more often right now but it will only make them grow faster. Being fed once a week is as healthy as being fed every 3-4 days.
I'm sure your snake would loooove to be fed every 3 days, but it isn't entirely necessary. And when you consider the fact that it's recommended to give them a day or two to digest a meal before handling them again, if you feed twice a week then you're only left with one day a week to snuggle ^_^ Was your snake cranky as in, striking crazily in hopes of hitting food? Or cranky as in, cruising the cage more frequently than normal in a hungry-looking way? Well, in either case really, you could try a slightly larger food item (say, the small fuzzy mouse) to try and keep him satiated longer.
