Concerned About Girth, Sticky, and Heavy Breathing

[d.neat.oh]

First, I just recently found out Vash was hatched in July last year, making him approximately 10 months old. He's been eating fine, and I am planning on moving him up to fuzzies as soon as we finish the pinks in the freezer (he's my only snake and I wouldn't want to waste the food we have for him). I'm just a little concerned about his growth. He's definitely gotten longer since we got him (about 4" since April 3), but he's still reeeaaalllyyy thin... which makes me worry about him being able to fit fuzzies (then again, I have no idea how big those are).. but based on his weight and the Munson plan he is definitely ready for the upgrade in size (35.8g last I checked). If anyone could give me a little information on the average size of fuzzies and thicknesses of a snake that are ready for them I'd appreciate it.
Second, as my boyfriend and I were handling Vash the other night we noticed that he felt sticky/tacky. Normally he glides right along, and it felt like he was struggling to move this time... I've read that it could mean an upcoming shed, but it still seems a little too soon for another one (he shed April 25, went into blue around April 20-give or take a few days). Is there some other reason he would have felt that way?
Lastly, I've noticed a couple of times where he seems to be breathing heavier than normal while handling him. It doesn't typically last very long, and when during the handling varies. When it happens his body noticeably expands and contracts, quite drastically. Is that normal? I mean, obviously he has to breathe, but is it strange that he starts breathing heavily at random?
As always, I appreciate any input you all have on these topics. So happy to have you all for support. I always feel so silly for asking all these questions, but Vash is my baby and I just want to make sure everything is going along smoothly.

-d.neat
1.0.0 Amel Corn Snake
1.0.0 Papillion
0.1.0 Husky/Brittany Spaniel Mix
1.0.0 Maine Coon
1.0.0 Ragdoll

 

[Nanci]

If he weighs 35g, he's definitely ready for a peach fuzzy, or a small fuzzy. 5-7 grams. I'd start with the smallest fuzzy you can find. It takes snakes a few times with a fuzzy before they get coordinated with swallowing it.

Are you feeding double pinks now?

I can't tell anything about the stickiness without seeing him. The breathing sounds normal. The lung takes up so much of the body, motion is very visible when the snake is breathing deeply.

 

[albertagirl]

I have seen this sort of "panting" from time to time. It used to freak me out too! I usually see it during a pause in movement, when they are really interested in something, so I equate it to a dog sniffing. I know they smell with their tongues, but maybe they use their noses too? I don't really know what they're doing, but it does seem to happen when they're really investigating something.

 

[axis1]

Hello d.neat.o!

I don't think you have to apologize for asking ANY questions here. Besides, the only stupid question is the one you DON'T ask!

As far as the size, fuzzies are not too much bigger than pinkies but can mean a world of difference to hatchings, of course. A 10 month-old snake with the weight yours is should be able to be eating fuzzies or hoppers by now (just go by the rule of thumb of the prey falling within the 1 to 1.5 of the width of your snake at its widest point) but since you have pinkies for now I doubt it would hurt to feed him a couple at a time as long as he has a full meal according to the feeding plan you're going by. My little guy was hatched on 7/30/15 and he's eating large hoppers by now, but he's a voracious eater and a little on the chunky side! (A scaled picture of your snake would take a lot of the guess work out of this, BTW)

As far as your snake being "sticky," are you perspiring when you're handling him? Does he slide along easier if you're wearing long sleeves, do you notice? I notice my snake's ability to move easily across and around my arms and hands has to do more with the state of my skin as opposed to his. Just a thought.

About his breathing, I may be wrong, but observe your snake and how he breathes in different states (at rest, when he's moved about, before and after he eats, etc.) and compare it to when you pick him up. For a young snake, this is probably a terrifying time, which probably gets easier the more he's handled as long as it's somewhat regular. I handle my snakes several times weekly, at least 30 minutes each and two of my three 8-year-olds are calm as cucumbers but the female of the three is always skittish and sometimes rattles her tale until she's settled and if I look I notice her breathing is always somewhat heavier than if she were at rest because she will NEVER be calm, it's just not who she is. I really believe all snakes are different and some will never "like" being held! My 10-month-old darts if I surprise him and takes a couple of minutes to calm down. I notice his breathing to be labored until at least five or ten minutes after I'm holding him. Also, remember that corn snakes only breathe with one of their lungs, so that also may have something to do with it.

All of the above being said, there is always a chance his breathing could be attributed to something else, but I'm pretty certain mine do the same things as what you're describing. Maybe one of the experts here on the forum will add more or correct me if I'm off.

In any event, I hope this helps some!

 

[d.neat.oh]

Thank you all for your responses!

As far as feeding goes, he gets 1 pinky every 3-4 days (Wednesday and Saturday). And I'm picking up the fuzzies Sunday, although maybe I should get a smaller bag considering he's almost onto the next size according to axis1.

His "panting" typically happens after he's been out of his tank for about 10-15 min, not immediately, which is why I was curious. Most things I've read say it happens usually right after they've come out. I would be surprised if it were from stress. He's a bit unusual in the sense that my boyfriend and I have been having him come to us when it's time to get him out (unless it's a feed night and he's being stubborn, then we scoop him out so he doesn't miss a feed). He typically comes right over and starts climbing our arm within 5 min.

I've thought about the possibility of the stickiness being from us, rather than him. It just seemed odd to me that both my boyfriend and I experienced it on the same night.

I'll be taking measurements tonight, so I'll upload the photo if it helps with any of this..

-d.neat

 

[DollysMom]

Each one of my snakes has been sticky at some point. It always seems to happen on me. I've never seen them stick to clothes or bedding, etc.

 

[axis1]

Hi d.neat.o!

While there's nothing written in stone, I think every 3-4 days is too often, since you might be keeping your snake in a constant state of digestion (it takes anywhere from 1-3 days for a snake to digest). While I digress to the opinions of more knowledgeable experts here, unless I'm WAY off, I would try to get my snake in the habit of eating every 7 days at that age, and he should be able to handle fuzzies with eaze, unless you plan to exhaust your supply of pinkies at 2-3 at a time. You mentioned that he's thin, so make sure you can notice a significant lump in him AFTER he's completely swallowed his complete meal and I'll bet he gets up to satisfactory girth in no time!

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[d.neat.oh]

Axis1, I'm planning on finishing the pinkies I have before moving him up. He is starting a shed, so I'm not sure if a double feed is the best idea, but I'd be willing to try it... are there any suggestions for doing that? I've read about lots of regurge issues with double feeding, do I've been hesitant. Vash has eaten in deep blue before, so I'm thinking that he would be fine with it..

-d.neat

 

[axis1]

I don't think 2 pinkies is considered to be "double-feeding," as it's more like 1 meal in 2 parts, especially if your little sneaky one is 35-40 grams and eating regularly. IMHO, I would think it's better on a snake's digestive system to have 2 pinkies every 7 days as opposed to 1 every 3-4 days, until you can bump him up to small fuzzies. Snakes grow more rapidly during their first year. I have a snake who was hatched on 7/30/15 and he's eating hoppers for about two months already (he weighed 103 grams prior to his last meal on Sunday). He IS on the chunky side and if he continues to eat and grow consistently throughout this summer without incident, I may extend the time between meals until his weight is more proportional to his length and overall size. When you exhaust your pinky supply, you might want to start with the smallest fuzzies available, which I believe are called "peach fuzzies," as referred to by Nanci earlier.

With all of the above being said, as long as the size of the prey is not too large and all of your temperature parameters are within the appropriate ranges, a regurgitation event is most probably not something you should be concerned with.

 

[d.neat.oh]

Awesome. Thank you! He's scheduled for a feed tomorrow, so I'll definitely try. I did get fuzzies at the expo on Sunday, and have subsequently weighed them out. He's definitely not big enough for hoppers yet though. He'd have a pretty hard time with that.

-d.neat