Is this good?

[ashnruss]

I'm pretty new to snakes, and I want to make sure that Russ is gaining weight and growing well. I'm not sure how old he is, the woman at the petstore didn't know. He's a baby though, he's about 14 inches long and roughly 10 grams. Is he too small? I'm feeding him one pinkie every five days.

 

[cobained]

I'm no expert but I'll chime in. Like everything else, snakes don't all start out the same size and don't end up the same size. I bought quite a few 09 hatchlings, some of which were very young and 14+ grams, others were several months old and only 6-8 grams. Some adults will reach 1000 grams, others only 300. So is he small, well yes, but not unusually (o: Is he thin? Can't really say without a picture. If he's eating a pinky every 5 days, and his environment is within the recommended limits, he'll grow so fast you won't believe it! Have you posted pics for us to see yet? Everyone here loves pics!

 

[Asbit]

Sounds like your doing fine with him, seeing as you obviously have a weigh scale to know what he weighs, here is a great feeding guide you can use for him. This was created by a fellow member here Roy Munson.

The Munson Plan (Sample Feeding Chart): Revised 06/08/08
-When they're on single pinks (2-3g), I feed every 5-6 days. (Snake = 4-15g)
-Double pinks (3g x 2) every 5-6 days. (Snake = 16-23g)
-Small fuzzies (5-7g) every 6-7 days. (Snake = 24-30g)
-Regular fuzzies (7-9g) every 6-7 days (Snake = 30-50g)
-Hoppers (9-12g) every 6-7 days (Snake = 51-90g)
-Weaned (14-20g) every 7 days (Snake = 91-170g)
-Adult (20-30g) every 7-x days (Snake = 170+) See below.
Note: Adult females are fed more frequently than adult males (especially following brumation). Adult females are fed every 7-12 days; adult males are fed every 11-14 days.

Hope that helps you out and I would love to see pics of your little wormy.

 

[ashnruss]

Thanks for the replies! I read about the Munson plan before I got him and decided to follow it. I posted a few pics already, but here are a few more.

During feeding...

I just want to make sure my little man grows like he's supposed to.

 

[haydnrobinson]

He's a cutie! I agree with everyone else, you're doing a good job. It's nice to hear that you found out how to look after him before you got him too, too many people have snakes and don't know what on earth to do with them once they've got them!

 

[Asbit]

He's adorable, I run a daycare and right now I have a 2 yr old and a 4 yr old here and I said out loud he's adorable and the two said for the first time "aboarddable". Just thought I would let you know he is a winner with the kids too! I really love his zigzags!

 

[LouisianaLure]

He is a cutie. Lebowski is about that size, and i've been feeding him 1 pink a week (he won't eat any more than that). Kud and Izzy are both bigger than he is, but they all seem to eat well, and none have regurged. I figure them to be ok.

 

[wstphal]

He looks OK to me. Not too long ago Attitude was 10 gms, but too wiggly to get a length. S/he is now 17 gms & isn't fat & squishie, so I assume s/he is longer than s/he was. Russ looks to have similar proportions to Attitude so I suspect you're doing fine as a snake parent.

 

[ShenziSixaxis]

He looks fine; he's just small/young. However, I do not think he should be around 14 inches. My female, of the same morph, is around 15-17 inches I think (won't sit still enough for a good measure), and she's on big peach fuzzies/small normal fuzzies.

 

[Candachan]

He's adorable, I love his pattern! He looks healthy to me.

 

[bkelm18]

He looks fine; he's just small/young. However, I do not think he should be around 14 inches. My female, of the same morph, is around 15-17 inches I think (won't sit still enough for a good measure), and she's on big peach fuzzies/small normal fuzzies.

Snakes grow at different rates, just like people, and well, every other living thing. 14 inches sounds about right for 10 grams.