feeding question. plz help

[mrgoogls]

i have been feeding my corn snake 4 MICE for about the last year( he reached full size about a year ago). that is working fine. he is still healthy so i know he is getting enough food but i have a few qustions

1: can i upgrade him to rats? i know it is supposed to be as big and their widest part, but i cant really tell is it is to big or small. the pet stor i get my mice from also carries rats, duh, but they are all a bnch of stuid teenagers that have no clue whatthey r doin. so they really only have 2 sizes, pinky, and feeder mouse........ STUPID. i cant even get like say, an extra large mouse. i have to just say feeder mouse and hope that they happen to pick out big 1s. but anyways, i currently am feeding on live prey cuz the mice cant hurt him but when i switch to rats i wana get the frozen thawed rats. i dont want my luittle man getting hurt eating by some dumb rat but he is a little over 4 feet long and ill try to find out how big around he is and post that latr.

2: how to i switch from live prey to frozen? i probably wont switch to frozen unless they are rats because in the 6 years iv owned my corn he hasnt got hurt my no mouse and i dont think he is any time soon or ever. but anyway, i know he might just take the frozen rats but if he dont how do i get him t eat it?

 

[kjinxx2]

Usually snakes get acclimated to one kind of prey or another (f/t or live). If you're worried about him getting bitten by the rat you can always cull the rat before you feed it, this avoids the whole f/t process and usually snakes will take to that.

 

[mrgoogls]

1st of all, how would I kill the rat? Hit it with sumting or like a knife? And I have heard of ppl switch from live to prelilled then from prekilled to frozen. Would that work?

 

[kjinxx2]

This is a bit rough to read for qweezy people so here is my warning.







Okay you've been warned.





There are a lot of ways to humanely kill a feeder: you can lay it flat on a desk and put a pencil across the back of its neck (firmly) then quickly (and firmly, but not too hard) pull its tail. This will break its neck effectively. You can also hold it by the tail and hit its head on the edge of a desk. The most humane way, I've found, is to build a euthanization chamber (using CO2), that's what I do.

 

[mrgoogls]

srry for so many questions but, how do i know if i am feeding to much or to little? right now i am feeding 4 of the biggest mice the petstore has in stock( they let me into the back room and i grab the mice) but since there are no sizes really( witch again, is really dumb) i cant tell you how big the mice are. i also cant tell you how much the mice weight because i dont have a scale that uses grams but shod i break up the feeding from 4 mice every other week to 2 mice a week? or is that just to much or to little in general.

 

[kjinxx2]

I'm not sure with corn snakes but I'm sure there is a corn snake website much like this one that has care sheets etc.

 

[AtlasStrike]

Corn snakes really never need to eat rats. Corns are perfectly fine once they reach adult size on one appropriately sized (1 to 1.5 times their width) food item every week. Mine get fat on that and eat every two weeks. Less is more with corns, they are prone to obesity and rats have a higher fat content than mice. http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/ is a fabulous forum devoted entirely to corn snakes.

Four mice at a time seems like an absolutely absurd amount of food for a corn snake. One is more than enough, even if the mice are small.

 

[mrgoogls]

1st of all, EVERYBODY says to feed the snake 1-2 apropriotly sized food items every 1-2 weeks. and, a small rat seems to be the best size so there for i think rats would be better. and 2nd, the mice are very very small, some of them barly have fur. they are all smaller then he shoudl be eating so i give him more of them so he has enough. and it seems high because that is every other week. if it was every week it would be 2 mice.

 

[AtlasStrike]

The consensus among corn snake owners seems to be to stick with mice. Are there any other pet stores near you? It might be worth travelling a ways. One mouse is WAY cheaper than 4, and if you are feeding every two weeks, you don't need to double the amount. Weekly or every two weeks, a single prey item of the appropriate size is the best thing to offer.

Once corns are full grown, the size of the prey in proportion to their body can be drastically reduced. My 09 is nearly 4 feet, weighs 400 grams and his food doesn't leave a visible lump. That is fine for him. Switching corn snakes from live to frozen is pretty easy most of the time. If you heat them and offer with tongs to a hungry snake, most will take them no problem. I really advise against switching to rats.

 

[mrgoogls]

i dont see why u r against rats, my corn is pretty big and small rats( not sure what size) are the right size, they are bout the widest part of him. that way i feed only 1 a week instead of 4 mice, so it saves me money

 

[kjinxx2]

i dont see why u r against rats, my corn is pretty big and small rats( not sure what size) are the right size, they are bout the widest part of him. that way i feed only 1 a week instead of 4 mice, so it saves me money

Just a quick question:

You started out your post asking IF your snake was big enough for a rat and asking IF you could feed your snake a rat. Now a member who seems to be very keen with raising corn snakes gave you a clear answer which reflects the majority of what I've read on cornsnake boards.

If you're going to ask for advice, then at least hear it out.

With that being said, if a snake misses (or refuses) food for one of its sessions you never give it a 'double feeding' the next time around. Likewise, if you're only feeding every other week, you don't double its prey. That'd be like saying "I only feed my snake once a month, so I give him 8 mice at a time". Pretty crazy eh? A snake can only healthily process a certain amount of food in a given amount of time, so giving them too much strains their system.



I'd highly suggest you start reading snake boards that are specialized in what you're looking for,

You're asking a lot of questions: that's a good thing. But if you just do your homework and start doing some research on your own, without expecting people to hand it to you on a platter, you'll be much better off. This is indeed one of the most important parts of pet owning - many people learn that much too late.


Take Care,

Ken

 

[AtlasStrike]

Thank you for your support, kjinxx2.

I have already pointed out that corn snakes are prone to obesity and that rats have a higher fat content than mice, so that in itself should be self explanatory. One mouse is cheaper than one rat anyway, and since you need only feed one food item, the financial aspect is pretty much moot. Also, you feed live, and the risk to snakes from rats is much greater than from mice, they have much stronger bite, larger teeth and are much more aggressive. If you are going to do it anyway, there is nothing that I can do to stop you, but I have given you an excellent rationale and very good advice based on a great deal of research and experience. If you switch to rats, please be aware that it is solidly for your own personal satisfaction and is largely contrary to the best interest of your corn snake.

Please visit the corn snake forum I provided the link to earlier. There is a plethora of wonderful advice available there and a number of members here, myself included have accounts on that board.

 

[mrgoogls]

I do thank you for your opinion even though it is not in agreement with mine. I do understand were u are coming from. I do plan on switching to frozen food from live so he does not get hurt. I am not worried about the fat since I let him crawl around my house( with supervision of course) for about at least a half hour per day. Since I only have a berdie and corn snake they get alot of attention because there is only 2 of them. Also, I bought some frozen rats and they are a good size for him. I will post wen I feed to give the results

 

[mrgoogls]

i also looked up the fat content of rats and mice. juvanile rats only have abut 6% more fat then adult mice

 

[kjinxx2]

That's fine, but if you're genuinely looking for advice then that's one thing. It seems like you are set in your ways.