First Corn Snake

[bkastel]

Well, here is my new (and first) corn that I got last week off Craigslist. He's about four months old, and I've (tentatively) concluded that he's an amel motley . . . is that anywhere near accurate? He has a milky white belly and beautiful bold colors I just swoon over, and he's developed a habit of going into his box hide and sticking his little head out through the top holes to observe. He's adorable.

Anyway. We're getting to know each other. There was a bit of tail-rattling when I took him out for pictures, but he quickly mellowed out.

I'm undecided about his name. It's between Sirius and Vega (after the stars), but I just call him 'baby' all the time, anyway.

Apologies if the pictures are too big!

When I put him away and closed up his bin after handling him a bit, he looks at me through the plastic like, "Filthy human, don't ever touch me again!"

I'll likely start a progression thread eventually, just for the heck of it -- just because I'm thrilled to have him.

 

[ssssinful-1]

Beautiful corn... it looks like a Amel Motley. Just stunning.

 

[Aislin]

Gorgeous colours! Is he big for 4 months?

 

[bkastel]

Is he big for 4 months?

I'm not sure. I don't know what he weighs, but he's nearly two feet long.

 

[Teddy Roosevelt]

That's HUGE for 4 months. Are you sure it's not more like 1 year, 4 months?

 

[bkastel]

Well, here's how it went: the girl I bought from said she got him at a reptile show and was told that he hatched in late August. She could very well have been mistaken -- it might have been August last year. Me, I wouldn't know. He still seems pretty small, but if he's older, I'm glad to have been informed of it!

Also, she'd been feeding him fuzzies every ten days without a problem, if that determines anything.

 

[Kaminoke]

I would say it's a juvi, but definitely older than 4 months, unless they were feeding it fuzzies stuffed with some magic snake miracle grow. I'm betting they meant August '08, assuming they had the month right to begin with.

 

[bkastel]

Okay, this is embarrassing, but it appears I overshot his length in my previous estimation. I put him up against a ruler this afternoon (which took a little work), and it turns out he's closer to 13-14 inches, from tail-tip to snout. I think my pictures make him look bigger than he actually is. Oops.

I'm pretty sure he's as old as I've been informed. His previous owner said that when she picked him up in September (I'm guessing NARBC in Anaheim) he was a tiny little thing. Also, I don't know anything about his genetic heritage and whatnot, so that might be a consideration (size, growth rate, etc.).

Here's another shot of him in my hand for . . . comparison?

 

[Nanci]

He sure is pretty!!

 

[chad27]

beautiful corn

 

[mdrews]

Congrats on your new 'Baby'. Looks like a stunning little fella.

 

[Emily1188]

I picked up a baby in August (hatched in July) and she's now ~50g and about 20 inches long, so your boy's age is totally feasible.

 

[K. Rene]

Defiantly a handsome boy My new babies are 6 month old and about 15in. Though they don't look as this as yours does. The first owners may have fed him more than every 10 days I read that can cause them to grow more. Also great that your thinking about naming him something astrological, that's really neat.

 

[bkastel]

The first owners may have fed him more than every 10 days I read that can cause them to grow more.

This is what I was thinking, too. He's definitely over 13 inches, but less than 16 . . . somewhere in there -- like 14 or so. Using a ruler feels so rudimentary when it comes to measuring a snake. But I plan to get a scale and start weighing him since length doesn't say much.

And thank you everyone!