Corn Question

[Midnightrdr456]

I have a corn snake that is I would GUESS about 6-8 years old (i honestly forget when i got it but i know s/he was one year old then).

What im wondering is what should it be eating at this point and for healthy rate of growth how large, do these ever really get large enough to eat rats, mine is at full grown mice but thats it.

 

[scottyk]

All of my adults get one adult F/T mouse every one or two weeks. You can feed them every week during the summer, and should slow it down if you have a cold winter where you live.

At that age, it may refuse food every once in a while. This is more likely in the winter. If it's a male, it may be restless and finicky for a while in the spring also. None of this is anything to worry about if it's otherwise healthy and at a good weight.

Usually, the biggest danger is overfeeding. Don't let him get overweight. I like to see my snakes prowling around and active for a few days before I feed.

Here's a pic of my 04 male Crimson. This was taken last fall, and is about as heavy as you want to see an adult corn get. He's slimmer now, after brumating and being too love crazy to eat in April and May

 

[scottyk]

4' is a good size for a male, and 3' for a female. It's not 100% accurate, but at that age you can get a good idea of it's sex by how big it is. Adult mice are all you ever need to feed.

Technically, you can also feed rat pinks or fuzzies, but these are not as nutritious as adult mice. They also have less calcium as the skeletal system of a pink is not fully developed.

Lastly, you could try F/T chicks. Again though, there is no health advantage, and your snakes poops will absolutely "STINK" if you do.

Edit on my first post: You obviously have a cold winter, as you're from LI. I live in Suffolk County....

 

[Midnightrdr456]

yea mine is about 4' and about as thick as a half dollar coin give or take. I just wasnt sure about size, i kept reading in books that corns grow to 5' and eat rats, which didnt seem right.

Yea i feed my corn and my king about once every 7-10 days a mouse each, and they are usually moving around looking for food by then.

My boa i feed 1 weaned rat every 7-10 days but he rarely moves except at night and even then very little, hes lazy, but devours the food each time i offer it.