6 month monster

I just recently got back into colubrids. Anywho, have a ghost female june hatch about 150 grams now. Taking adult mice. Although I prefer rat pups as afeeder and believe feeding her rats as soon as she could take them is what got her to this size. Shes going to spend the winter eating at this rate she could easily be 300+ by next Nov. Anyone have a snake sucesfully breed in this situation

ps she was never powerfed no sewing objects to each other, no shoving in the mouth. presented an item and she ate

Dunno if she would be sexually mature by 18 months old.

Holy cow! My (assumed) June hatchling is less than 20g. An Aug hatchling is 16g! Or is the ghost you're talking about a June 06? Makes me feel like I'm starving my kids.

My more robust, late June/ early July hatchlings are at about 30 grams or so, that snake does sound like an 06

shed'n my skin said:

My more robust, late June/ early July hatchlings are at about 30 grams or so, that snake does sound like an 06

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Ditto... :shrugs:

Okay... whew... was wondering about that...

Not to take this threat too far OT, but is my assumption correct that the initial growth stage (from hatchling to say, 25 g or so) the slowest, and that once they're on fuzzies and larger the growth rate increases? Seems like when they're as small as mine are, they can't eat much, so don't grow much, until they bit by bit reach the point that they can safely eat larger, more nutritious sized mooses, then they take off (to an extent).

They do tend to take off once on fuzzys or larger, but it still takes time to get to 150 grams. I wouldn't really expect a growth spurt from one of my 07s until spring of 08. I did purchase some 06s that were small earlier this year that have increased tremendously in size in the 6 months I've had them, so it probably is possible for a precocious baby to grow that fast if it was a huge hatchling with perfect conditions and ample food. But I still would not breed it that young.

Hey, Jen! Thanks for answering my OT question in a way that pulled it back ON topic!

I'm not trying to rush any of my little ones along...but I would like them to get out of the "wee little fragile baby snake phase."

lol, I almost wish mine would stay small a little longer... some of them are starting to get too big for shoebox size tubs, and I am going to have to move them up to something bigger.

By no means an 06 raised her from 12 grams. Actually bred by Jodu aka mojoherps and sold to me. Granted she had three day feeding cycles. Once she good take fuzzies I moved her to rat pinks and so on. Rats I think made a huge difference Ive raised my fair share of colubridsand corns and this is the 1st time i got these results.

3 day feeding, woah I didn't know they could really properly digest and process on that quick of a schedule?

What cycle you change to after pinkies?

Wow. 3 day feeding cycle. My guys havent even pooped their mouse out in 3 days.

With that said, I have a Okeetee I got from Lee Abbott. Hes an 07 June hatchling and hes 97 grams as of today. I think there is still a difference there though, my yearling is only 150.


My 07 June is on the Munson Plan, eating every 5-6 days, still on hoppers. Since hes over 90 grams Ill be switching him to Weanlings but bumping back to eating every 7 days. I dont think every 3 is healthy at all.


You should knock him back and start keeping records of what he is gaining.

On average mine gains about 20 grams a month, sometimes more sometimes less. Think he was about 50 grams when I got him in September.

I fed quite a few '05 hatchlings on a 3-day schedule when they were on pinks, and a 5-day schedule once they were on fuzzies. I went back through my records, and I don't think I had more than a couple over 100g at 6 months, and these weren't far over 100g. I'm guessing that you (Cali66) fed the snake on a fairly aggressive schedule even when it was on fuzzies and larger prey.

Conscious planning, greater numbers of hatchlings, and general laziness prevented me from feeding my '06s and '07s nearly as aggressively. Some say that power-feeding is ok only until the snake reaches adult/breeding size. But I can't think of any compelling reasons to power-feed corn snakes anyway. Even with moderate, but consistent, feeding of nutritious prey items, a corn could achieve breeding size and breed in her second year (though some recommend waiting until the third year).

I would love to see a pic of this snake. It seems all the energy the snake has would be used digesting, and breathing. What is the muscle tone like?

I'm actually going to slow down my 06 gals, because I won't be brumating and they're growing so fast on a mouse a week that they'll be well over 300 this spring, but I'm not breeding them until 09. I shudder to think how big they'd be on an aggressive feeding plan

Even every 4 days seems a little close together to me, I like my snakes to spend 2-3 days 'hunting' around their vivs after they have digested for a little exercise before they get their next food item.

diamondlil said:

I'm actually going to slow down my 06 gals, because I won't be brumating and they're growing so fast on a mouse a week that they'll be well over 300 this spring, but I'm not breeding them until 09. I shudder to think how big they'd be on an aggressive feeding plan

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I did the same with my '06s. A couple of them hit 300+ before brumation started, so I put them in. But some of the ones that stayed out of bru will be 300 soon enough, so the females are eating an adult mouse every 8 days, and the males 8-10.

Roy Munson said:

I did the same with my '06s. A couple of them hit 300+ before brumation started, so I put them in. But some of the ones that stayed out of bru will be 300 soon enough, so the females are eating an adult mouse every 8 days, and the males 8-10.

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I'm going to shoot for putting the females on 10-day schedules, the males on 14. I weigh all of them monthly so I'll be able to see how they grow, and shorten the feed schedules if they slow down too much. I've got to get the serpwidget program to get their lengths, Buck's last shed (I know it's inaccurate) is 5'

susang muscle tone was actually my concern when trying this. I knew rats to be higher in fat then mice and the last thing I wanted is a a obsese snake. With that being said Ive heard and read the pissing storms that amount of muscle tone and overfed snakes to me. This girls muscle tone looks fine. More important to me she can do what she suppose to go back on her own body weight, climb go up nearly vertical when climbing my arm.

I found and I dont know if this holds ture for others but Ive seen Colubrids process rats at a way faster rate then mice. Thats my experience Ive seen 4 to 5 days for a rat pup and up to a week for the same proprtionate size mouse. I use a slightly warmer hotspots of 88 with the option to go down to 70-73 I think that could play a part in the growth Ive seen. When it comes to a schedule after pinkies I kind of winged it but never really went more then 4 days. Ultimately since after I fed one rat pink and now at her curent size I see about 2-3 rat fuzzies producing the fastest processing and the most growth. When she does getting to breeding size I will switch her to adult mice and go to a 5 to7 or 10 in some cases as Ive seen in all snakes that at adult size feeding in proprtion to growth changes dramatically.

without getting into a firestorm here of the philosophical nature, I use to keep monitors and there is a monitor keeper(legend if you will) who in his postings really influenced my thinking on feeding and husbandry and some of its very applicable to all herps in general. We can and do get all bent out of shape over husbandry and we will debate to the bitter end myself whose methods are right and whose are wrong. My thinking on feeding is provide the snake with what it needs and let it go. If it wants to eat and has the ability to process what it eats then wheres the harm? Well many people then go onto cite while I killed a animal, go it fat or a friend did the same and then begin to bicker about the schedule the prey item and so forth. We are all to tempted in this age of science to want to be able to take a scenario and put numbers to it. Well when we deal with living creatures most of the time this goes out the window. Long story short, I hope my scenario/methods do not unleash a hail storm of criticism and debate.