First feed went awesome!!!

[Forcedexile]

well this is about the best place to put this thread. it can offer some experience (minimal i know) to anyone who's going to feed their snake for the first time. I was going to record it but stupid me forgot to get the camera ready beforehand lol.

So i got the plastic bin ready with some paper towel in the bottom and warmed it up next to the heater, put the pinkies to soak in some hot water for an hour. I then ate my dinner before feeding him but i guess that wasn't such a good idea cause i got a little queezy while feeding him lol. but anyway...

got him in the bin opened the packaged pinkies up, made sure they were thawed all the way, got it in front of his face. which once i did i could see the switch between exploring mode and hunting mode because he got his head cocked to strike as soon as he smelled the pinkie. then a few tongue flicks later....WHAM!!! :madeuce: :grabbit: he hit the pinkie with so much force he split it open and the blood started spilling everywhere lol. he swallowed it backwards but after seeing him strike i knew he would be fine. the second one he kind of just said, "ehh i guess i could eat more." and just took it from the feeding tongs lol. i fed him a third because thats what the guy at the pet store said he was doing every week and he looks like he could handle a fuzzy so say what you will but i think 3 pinks will be fine until i use them up. :eatpointe

after i put him back in his viv he started rubbing his face on everything like he was cleaning himself lol. then out of no where he turned around came, looked straight at me, yawned and snapped his jaw back into place. lol

alright i know this post is a little long just for a successful feed so i'm going to stop myself from typing anymore.

long story, short: he's a wonderful feeder. and i was so worried, pffff.

feel free to criticize/complement me now.

 

[schnebbles]

I know, first feedings are scary! I've now fed all of the current snakes in my house their first meal with no trouble. That includes a non-feeder I got and of course, I was more worried about her! I hope she continues to eat.

How big is your snake? Must be good size to eat 3 pinkies! My new adult 1 year old weighs 180 gms (just got her) and she ate an adult. I don't tend to stay in to see if they strike. I have to put them in my bathroom so my cats won't scare it into not eating.

I'm glad it went well, I know how good it feels to have that part over!

 

[Forcedexile]

i have pictures posted on my profile. he's about 16" i think. i dont know how much he weighs. but he seems fine with 3 pinkies and thats what the petco associate who claimed to be being the one who fed him said he was eating every week. so that's what i'll do for now.

 

[Nanci]

You really only need to thaw the pinks in hot water for five minutes or so. Any longer and they either get rubbery and cooked or they get easy to burst.

 

[Forcedexile]

You really only need to thaw the pinks in hot water for five minutes or so. Any longer and they either get rubbery and cooked or they get easy to burst.

i left them in the package while soaking so i dont think its a problem. they were more floating on top of the water than soaking because of the packaging. next time i'll only do like 20 min or so.

 

[schnebbles]

Someone else might chime in here, but he looks to be about the size of my babies who are only eating one pink every 5 -6 days. It sounds like you are over-feeding if your guy is about the same as mine. I've read of power feeding - could be that's what Petco does. I'm hoping someone else gives their opinion but if I remember right the power feeding isn't the best for the snake. Even when they get larger than mine are (my biggest one is 12 gms) they go to double pinkies. Have you seen the Munson food guide? It tells what prey to feed snakes of a certain weight.

You should get a scales as well, makes things so much easier than just guessing. I weigh my snakes at every feeding.

Is there a reason you dont' want to just put the pinkie in the water w/out the bag?

After reading what Nanci said, I think I've probably rubberized some pinkies by putting them in too hot of water. Will be careful not to do that again!

 

[AliCat37]

If the first two pinkies leave a lump in his belly then I would not feed the third.

 

[Forcedexile]

Someone else might chime in here, but he looks to be about the size of my babies who are only eating one pink every 5 -6 days. It sounds like you are over-feeding if your guy is about the same as mine. I've read of power feeding - could be that's what Petco does. I'm hoping someone else gives their opinion but if I remember right the power feeding isn't the best for the snake. Even when they get larger than mine are (my biggest one is 12 gms) they go to double pinkies. Have you seen the Munson food guide? It tells what prey to feed snakes of a certain weight.

You should get a scales as well, makes things so much easier than just guessing. I weigh my snakes at every feeding.

Is there a reason you dont' want to just put the pinkie in the water w/out the bag?

After reading what Nanci said, I think I've probably rubberized some pinkies by putting them in too hot of water. Will be careful not to do that again!

I doubt petco power feeds since they are just trying to keep the animal alive until its sold. and I know power feeding isnt whats best for the snake so if i find thats what i'm doing then i'll stop. Yes i've seen the munson plan, i have it bookmarked.

I dont have money to buy scales at the moment.

and the reason i left the pinkies in the package while soaking is because i've heard of people saying the pinkie looses it's scent from soaking directly in water thus making less appealing for the snake.

If the first two pinkies leave a lump in his belly then I would not feed the third.

like i said until i either have a set of scales to tell me otherwise, i'll stick with the feeding schedule petco claimed to have him on. not to mention his last feed was on the 16th (according to petco) and I didn't feed him until the 28th. so maybe the third pinkie isn't really a big deal.

 

[Fatman608]

Forcedexile - Do not sweat not having scales. I do not own a set of scales either and I have been keeping corns for over 5 years. All I do is look at the snake and feed a food item 1 to 1 1/2 times the size of the widest part of the corn snake. Feeding a snake is not rocket science, it is just common sense.

I really do not see how you can power feed a corn that small because all the snake will do is put that food into growth. If the snake was in the wild it would eat as much as it could. The only thing you want to watch out for is to not make it regurge.

I have fed some of my snakes 4 pinkies at a time to use the pinkies up. I even have fed my Cali. Kings more like 6 or 7 at once to use the pinkies up when they were younger. It all depends on the size of the snake.

I would not recommend feeding a corn snake more than 3 items at a time.

Just my 2 cents

 

[Nanci]

I love feeding pinks to adult corns. They get the strangest looks on their faces, like, "Am I on a diet???"

 

[Forcedexile]

Forcedexile - Do not sweat not having scales. I do not own a set of scales either and I have been keeping corns for over 5 years. All I do is look at the snake and feed a food item 1 to 1 1/2 times the size of the widest part of the corn snake. Feeding a snake is not rocket science, it is just common sense.

I really do not see how you can power feed a corn that small because all the snake will do is put that food into growth. If the snake was in the wild it would eat as much as it could. The only thing you want to watch out for is to not make it regurge.

I have fed some of my snakes 4 pinkies at a time to use the pinkies up. I even have fed my Cali. Kings more like 6 or 7 at once to use the pinkies up when they were younger. It all depends on the size of the snake.

I would not recommend feeding a corn snake more than 3 items at a time.

Just my 2 cents

Don't worry i dont sweat it lol. its more of a luxury for a snake owner than a necessity. Kind of like getting a humidifier for the room he is in. Something i would like to eventually get but isn't necessary at this point.

If he hadn't immediately taken the pinky from the tongs i wouldn't have fed him the third and its 24hours later and no regurge. If i didnt have the pinkies I'd be feeding him fuzzies and judging by the size of the pinkies it look like 3 of them equals 1 of my fuzzies, maybe its a bit more than 1 fuzzy but regardless the munson plan states i should be feeding him every 5-6 days but its easier to feed him on the same day every week so a little extra isn't going to kill him.

I love feeding pinks to adult corns. They get the strangest looks on their faces, like, "Am I on a diet???"

lol they are probably thinking that they prey item isnt worth their time...unless they actually look straight at you and cock their head to one side.

 

[Nanci]

(Lots of snakes will continue to eat as long as you continue to supply food. It's instinctive, but not necessarily healthy under the artificial conditions we keep them in. And a regurge is more likely to occur on day three or four than right away. The undigestible food has to rot before it comes back up).

 

[Forcedexile]

ah ok well i'll keep an eye on him but like i said for his size i think he should be eating fuzzies and the size of the pinks i have are about or just over the size of 3 pinks = 1 fuzzy so i dont think it'll be a problem

 

[Forcedexile]

update,

just got done handling him. he's alot more active now that he's got some food in his stomach. judging by the lump left in his stomach it look likes he's digested about half the meal. seems completely fine.

question,

i can now see where his vent is and i was wondering if there is there any difference in length of tail behind the vent between males and females?

 

[Fatman608]

question,
i can now see where his vent is and i was wondering if there is there any difference in length of tail behind the vent between males and females?

Lenth - no

Shape - yes

As adults

 

[Nanci]

If he has a lump in his stomach, you should not be handling him. He still has digesting to do, and you HIGHLY risk a regurge by handling him at this stage.

A regurge isn't just "oops, my snake puked up his mouse!" At best, it is a great inconvenience to you in aftercare and a huge set-back in the growth of the snake, and at worst it is the beginning of a downward spiral to death.

 

[v00kimba00v]

obviously i'm not a expert, but from what i know, half the lump shouldn't still be there over 48 hrs later. the meal should be completely digested within 24 - 48 hrs if it is appropriately sized. at least that's what everything i've read stated.

 

[Forcedexile]

If he has a lump in his stomach, you should not be handling him. He still has digesting to do, and you HIGHLY risk a regurge by handling him at this stage.

A regurge isn't just "oops, my snake puked up his mouse!" At best, it is a great inconvenience to you in aftercare and a huge set-back in the growth of the snake, and at worst it is the beginning of a downward spiral to death.

Ok Nanci, I waited the "mandatory" 48hours after feeding to handle him and he was a little flighty but i was careful while handling him and he calmed down after about 5 min of handling him that night, and then pooped on my clean jeans. I realize a regurge isn't just an oops moment. I may be an inexperienced snake keeper but i'm not an idiot. I know how important it is that they don't regurge and it's been exactly 122 hours after feeding, been handling him every night since sunday night, and no regurge.

obviously i'm not a expert, but from what i know, half the lump shouldn't still be there over 48 hrs later. the meal should be completely digested within 24 - 48 hrs if it is appropriately sized. at least that's what everything i've read stated.

i'll take that into consideration but like i've said in other posts, i'm going to keep him on the same feeding schedule petco had him on until I use up the pinkies, and then i'm switching him to fuzzies. Once an "expert" comments about the amount that i'm feeding him i'll take their thoughts into consideration too. maybe i'll switch him to double pinks until i use them up if i feel that's what i need to do. i'll decide that on friday when I feed him.

 

[schnebbles]

I would consider Nanci an expert! And what she was saying about handling was because you said you were handling him and considering the lump in his tummy...She was simply saying don't handle if you see that lump.

You seem to ask for advice but don't want to take what is given.

 

[Forcedexile]

i saw the lump but like i said i waited the 48hours like everyone says to wait and now after i just got done handling him tonight he no longer has anything resembling a lump so, as i wasn't paying much attention last night, he must have gotten done digesting between monday and tonight. i think its a bit unnecessary to wait 4 days to handle him after a feed.

I agree, I would consider Nanci an expert but the only comment she made about the amount I'm feeding him wasn't specific and just said to watch out for a regurge which didn't happen.

As I stated in the original post, this thread's purpose is to offer a bit of experience for those people looking for stories of first time feeding their new corn snake. This was not a post in which I wanted to ask for advice. The only question I asked was answered by fatman about the differences between males and females in relationship to the size of their tail behind their vent.

Trust me, when I want advice I'll make it explicitly known to everyone reading the post. I said everyone can feel free to comment and criticize me if they felt the need to but no where in this thread did I ask for advice.

However on the other hand if given advice I will not turn it down completely. Nanci said to watch out for a regurge which if she had not said so I wouldn't have even thought about it.

Thank you Nanci. Your comments were read and I acted accordingly and about rubberizing the pinkies, I will do well to not let them thaw longer than they need to.

schnebbles, I read your advice about getting some scales and following the munson plan. and I said I think scales are an unnecessary luxury at this point, but once I do get some scales, if I find I'm feeding him too much I'll act accordingly. I told you why I leave the pinkies in the bag while I soak.

Every post on this thread has made me think about what I should do to make my snake the healthiest it can be. I thank you all for your advice and I don't want anyone thinking I don't want it just because I don't follow it exactly.