iHerp Answers: What is the correct prey item size for 1yr old corn and 1 1/2 yr old corn snake? I j ust oredered some mice online from Rodentpro.com and upsized for Zoe and Bindi. I hope I didn't get to big of food.

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Home > iHerp Answers > What is the correct prey item size for 1yr old corn and 1 1/2 yr old corn snake? I j ust oredered some mice online from Rodentpro.com and upsized for Zoe and Bindi. I hope I didn't get to big of food.

What is the correct prey item size for 1yr old corn and 1 1/2 yr old corn snake? I j ust oredered some mice online from Rodentpro.com and upsized for Zoe and Bindi. I hope I didn't get to big of food.

Posted By:

anjeanettecorns28

I just ordered a week ago from Rondentpro.com for the first time. I didn't know weather or not to get a bigger sized mouse for Zoe and Bindi but decided to go ahead and do so. They were eating medium/large hoppers but I upgraded too weanlings. I am hoping that that will not be to big of a prey item for them to eat. Zoe will be 2yrs old in April 2010. And Bindi will be 1yrs old this next month. I still have some hoppers left and was thinking to just feed those to him until I run out and then just feed him the weanlings as well. Are weanlings sized mice too big for a almost 2yr old and 1yr old corn to eat? Let me know thanks.Zoe at almost 2 is my normal corn and Bindi is my amelanistic corn at 1yrs old. They both eat very good for me. Zoe being a more slow/take my time kind of eater, and Bindi who will hardly allow you to put the food item in the cage before he goes after it. Let's see Zoe is at 2 1/2 inches in diameter or at the thickest part of her. And Bindi is not far behind at just over 2inches at the thickest part of him. I can not remember what the measurements were of the weanling mice I ordered but I'm just concerned they will be to big for them to eat. Any comments or suggestions would be much helpful. Thank you!

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Points:	150
Topics:	General Health , Feeding , Digestive
Tags:	Correctsize, Food, Preyitmes
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Member Comment

11/15/2009 1:38:56 PM

dalvers63

Looking at the pictures you posted, they could easily eat adult or large adult mice. You want to feed something that is a bit bigger around than they are at the widest point. Another way to check for food size is to weigh them - shoot for feeding 10-15% of their body weight once a week.

If the weanlings don't leave a noticeable lump, I'd either feed them more often than every 7 days or feed them two of the weanling mice. I have an adult male about the size of Zoe and he eats x-large or jumbo mice every week or so.

Member Comment

11/15/2009 2:14:57 PM

JackAsp

With snakes that are still growing, I like to get something a little bigger than the size that seems appropriate, because not all the mice in the bag will be the same exact size anyway. Get a big batch of whatever "size" you know your snake can squeeze down, and then when they arrive break out the Sharpie, the digital gram scale, and some ziplocks, and get them divvied up so you can work through them from smallest to largest. Their inconsistancy is your gain, because as you run out of smaller mice, the snake will be bigger anyway.
Meanwhile, as I type this, I'm warming up some hoppers for my 4'-long madagascan hognose, because apparently once they're weand he doesn't like the smell/flavor/whatever, because he's a gourmet. Some snakes are always going to be pains in the ass like that, but for most of them the system I suggested works great.

Accepted Answer

11/15/2009 2:59:53 PM

Floof

No one can make recommendations JUST on their age. Two of my yearlings are already on weanlings, whereas the other two are on Hoppers and Fuzzies. At their age, my 2 year old was only on large fuzzies/small hoppers (and, now, she's right on the brink between weanlings and adults). Corns have considerably varying growth rates, and you can't predict how big they'll be (or what size prey they'll eat) at a certain age (unless you're talking 3-4+ years, at which point almost any corn should be on adults), even if they're immediate siblings (i.e., two of my yearlings are clutchmates and have always been 1-2 prey sizes apart).

That said, they look big enough in the pictures to take weanlings or, even, adults. The general "rule" for corn snakes is to feed prey 1-1.5x the girth of the snake. If you have/can get a gram scale, here's an awesome feeding guideline to go by:

-When they're on single pinks (2-3g), I feed every 5-6 days. (Snake = 4-15g)
-Double pinks (3g x 2) every 5-6 days. (Snake = 16-23g)
-Small fuzzies (5-7g) every 6-7 days. (Snake = 24-30g)
-Regular fuzzies (7-9g) every 6-7 days (Snake = 30-50g)
-Hoppers (9-12g) every 6-7 days (Snake = 51-90g)
-Weaned (14-20g) every 7 days (Snake = 91-170g)
-Adult (20-30g) every 7-x days (Snake = 170+) See below.

Note: Adult females are fed more frequently than adult males (especially following brumation). Adult females are fed every 7-12 days; adult males are fed every 11-14 days.

This is by no means scientific, and not all corns will cooperate 100% with the schedule. The weight ranges I gave for the prey and snakes are approximate.

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50106&highlight=munson+plan

Member Comment

11/17/2009 1:44:10 AM

Carusima

All the ones previewed in the pictures are definately big enough to eat adult mice or several hoppers. It's basically (And this is for any snake) you feed them about half an inch larger prey than the largest part of the snake. So if my corn is an inch thick, it can handle an inch and a half thick prey, or a little more. My 3 year old eats 2 jumbo mice every 7 days, my 2 year old eats 2 adult mice every 7 days. Both my yearlings though are on fuzzies. They get points where they hit spurts, whether it be 6 months, a year, or 2 years. You can't really know. Just measure the thickness of the body of the snake (If it's a skinny snake, such as one previously sick or laying eggs, then it can still handle what it normally would at a normal weight) and just go by that.

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