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Pros and Cons of Power feeding corns.

Posted By:

carnivorouszoo

I would like to know the pros and cons on power feeding young corns. Also your definition of power feeding. I have 2 females, nearly 1 year old each. Neither have been fed entirely consistently. They have been fed every 1 to 2 weeks and so are a bit on the smaller side. Compared to how my 2 year old looked at there age, they still look like what you would expect to see at a pet shop. Would it hurt if every 3rd month I fed these two every 5 days instead of every 7-14 to boost them up a bit? I would keep close watch for them getting heavier than they should be, they will also be well excercised on the 4th day between feedings.

Attached Photos:


Points:	50
Topics:	Feeding
Tags:	Growth, Powerfeeding
Species:	Other Colubrids > Other Colubrids > Elaphe guttata guttata
Administrative:	Show/Hide

Member Comment

6/23/2010 9:07:48 PM

tmth

Why not just feed every 7 days instead of 7-14 days? Or slightly larger meals? That's what I would do... but, I don't have corns or any knowledge of them.

Author Comment

6/23/2010 9:51:33 PM

carnivorouszoo

Things had been hectic and I would forget or have to put it off because of a stressful event. They are not ready for the next size feeder. They were upped recently. I would really only like answers from people who KNOW corn snakes please.

Accepted Answer

6/23/2010 10:03:23 PM

aalomon

My definition of power feeding corns really depends on the animal (baby, juvi, adult female, adult male...). Personally, with yearlings I dont think there is any problem with feeding every 5 daysbut I would recommend feeding meals that are slightly on the smaller side. In this situation, I dont think that feeding every 5 days would be considered powerfeeding. Just my opinion.

Member Comment

6/23/2010 10:50:53 PM

FyreFocks

Right now im feeding my 2010 butter pair and my 09 anery mot, all of whom weigh </= 10 grams, 2 pinks every 5 days. Thats powerfeeding. My 3 2009 kids who are still on fuzzies are getting 1 or 2 every 5 days. The guys who get 2 could be accused of being power fed. I do this to get them to the next size, which in my house is hoppers. At hoppers, its every 7 days until 100 grams. Then i move to rat things.

Most people power feed to get to breeding size quickly or to get to a bigger prey item. The down sides are (probably) shorter life span, possible prolapse (never seen one in a corn), or regurge issues. Im sure there are other reasons as well.

You cannot compare snake X's size at a certain age and then compare it snake Y's size. Metabolisms are different for each animal. I suggest you stick with every 7 day feedings. Its not hard to keep up with. I feed thursday night into friday morning around midnight. Takes me a couple hours, but you could do it for your snakes in 45 minutes.

Author Comment

6/23/2010 11:09:00 PM

carnivorouszoo

Hey Nick, if it weren't hard to do I would be doing it lol. It can depend on the circumstances in which the owners are living not just the snakes! I know I can not really compare one snake to another its just that I fed my 08 amel male a lot more consistent than these. That is the difference. I just wanted to know mostly if every 3rd month I jumped up feeding to every 5 days to give a boost, would it really be all that bad.

Member Comment

6/23/2010 11:11:30 PM

FyreFocks

Ack! Nick i am not!

I guess what im really saying is, if you cant feed them consistently every 7 days, how are you going to be able to do it every 5 on every third month? Im not trying to be rude. Its a valid question.

In summation, your corns are fine as long as they get fed every 2 weeks, regardless of their size or age. Just keep doing whats working for you now.

Author Comment

6/23/2010 11:21:31 PM

carnivorouszoo

Sorry, got you mixed up with someone else. Things have settled down and I am getting back on the 7 day schedule. I was wanting to incorporated a few boosting months to get the girls where I think they should be. Your questions were valid, the circumstances behind my recent issues are private, but they have been corrected. Your concern is actually touching and appreciated. I just wanted info to setup what I wanted to do in a way that would minimize risk to the girls futures.

Member Comment

6/27/2010 2:32:38 AM

bondo

I feed all my corns every 5 days for the first two years, unless they start getting fat then I throttle them down. Every 5 days to anything smaller then 250 grams or so isn't power feeding in my opinion. They are babies and they need the food and nutrients. If you get a regurge on a thin corn you are in trouble, because you have to bring them back on food so slowly. If a problem happens I want my corns to have a few extra grams on them. Like I said this is my opinion and how I do it.

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