Babies Growing At Different Rates?

[Mintyrush]

I have two baby cornsnakes that hatched at the same time, I'm just wondering why one is growing much faster than the other?
One is already a good 10 inches long, while the other baby is still around 6 inches. I'm feeding them at the same rate, but while Virgil (the larger one) moved on to fuzzies, Lucy (the smaller one) is stuck on pinkies! She eventually moved on to fuzzies as well, but I'm still not completely understanding.

Is this normal? Otherwise everything else seems healthy.

 

[Floof]

Just like people, not all snakes are the same. Some metabolize as different rates. As you've seen, even in clutchmates, the difference can be enormous! I once had two corn snakes, also siblings, fed at the same rate, housed in identical conditions, but they both still grew at MUCH different rates. As long as you're sure the smaller one's living conditions are correct, all you can do is chalk it up to an individual thing. Though if you're really concerned, a fecal on the smaller snake certainly wouldn't hurt.

With that said, I do have one question. Do you house the two snakes together, or are they separate? If they are together, that may actually be your problem. Corn snakes are solitary creatures, and do not enjoy being near other snakes, much less sharing a territory with them. Even if they're both eating well, the stress of being constantly dominated by the other snake can affect bodily functions, including how effectively they digest and their immune system, which, in turn, makes them more susceptible to things such as parasites that also inhibit normal growth.

If you have them housed together, I would HIGHLY recommend separating them, for their own good. There are many, many pit falls and risks with housing snakes together, especially young ones (increased chance of cannibalism, and the inherent risks of them breeding too young/small).

I hope this helps answer your question!

 

[Mintyrush]

They were actually housed separately until very recently. Now unfortunately I'm temporarily housing them together as I needed a tank desperately, and I'm worried about them. Hopefully they won't hurt each other, but this isn't permanent.

I'm thinking I might need to relinquish a corn snake if I can't separate them soon.

 

[Floof]

That's good that you've had them separate. In that case, it most likely is just plain old individuality.

I actually have a suggestion, as far as getting them separated again. Tubs can actually make great snake enclosures, if properly secured, especially in a pinch. Between my roommate and I, we have 4 corn snakes currently living in appropriately sized Sterilite storage tubs (clear sided, not colored), as well as 3 of my other snakes. It might be worth looking into to get your corns separated without having to spend a great deal of money.

It's very straight-forward getting a tub ready for a snake. Locking lid tubs work best, since they're naturally more secure. 6 quart tubs work great for hatchlings; 12-16 quart tubs work for smaller yearlings; 28 quarts for larger yearlings to smaller adults; 66 (approx floorspace of the 28, but taller), 41 quart (longer), and 110 quart (long and tall--pretty close to 40 breeder size, actually) all work great for even the biggest adult corns.
You'll need to drill/melt ventilation holes in the sides... 1/8th of an inch is usually a good size. Drills and wood burning tools both work... Even a nail, held over flame for a few seconds or so to make it nice and hot, can work for melting holes if you don't have a drill or other tool. I usually aim for something like 1-2 dozen holes on 2 opposite sides of the tub. You may want more holes for bigger tubs, and you can get away with fewer holes for smaller tubs.
For best security, get binder clips to secure the long sides with. I find 2 per side (towards the ends) does the job, but you can do more if you want.

I hope that helps. It would be really unfortunate if you had to give up one of your babies.

 

[Mintyrush]

That really does help! I was thinking of giving up one of them this week before I read this suggestion! It doesn't seem like I'll be able to separate them into different tanks anytime soon. I would just really like to have room for all my guys...

My boyfriend I have moved into a place that's kind of small... I'm worried that I really might need to cut down on the amount of reptiles that my boyfriend and I have, but it's sad because on my own I have 2 cornsnakes, a bearded dragon, and a crested gecko. My boyfriend has 2 toads, a crested gecko and a bearded dragon, but obviously my snakes take up too much room. As do the bearded dragons, they need plenty of room.

Your tub idea helps a bunch.

 

[Floof]

I'm glad it helped! I know how you mean by space issues. Between my roommate and I, we're at 15 snakes, 3 big space lizards, 5 tortoises, 2 toads, and a crestie, not counting the mammals. It is just not big enough for 2 people and all those animals, but having half of the snakes in tubs helps enormously.

Another thing to look into is front-opening, stacking cages, or at least front-opening cages on a shelving unit. Exo-terra and Zoo Med terrariums are front opening but not stackable, so you can pack them in tight on a shelving unit without worrying about leaving overhead space to get in and out. Then there are nice stacking caging systems like Animal Plastics or Vision. Animal Plastics even has a cage designed for Uros and Beardies, though I've never used it so I can't speak to whether it's a good cage or not, though AP has a reputation for great caging.