what do you feed your 1000 gram corns?

[TandJ]

Wowwie, you guys are posting up some big corns.. 5 1/2ft is enormous, at least what I think I was seeing is a lot of male corns..

well Tim, I see your dollar and raise you 20. I had an american bill laying around, so for the sake of consistency I used that. Canadian is a little larger, I think.

Yes your right, the Canadian Bills are a bit larger.. But if you want, you can send me that $20... *LOL*

 

[kpkp123]

I also would love to see those pics of a 1500 gram corn. I need to go get a scale and check Sakoshio. He is pretty big, though maybe not 1000g big.

 

[Cat_Eyed_Lady]

To Cat Eyed Lady
Can you post a pic of your 1500 g snake?

I sure can Next feeding day I will snap off a couple. If she is feeling cooperative, I will try to get one with the weight scale as well

 

[Lexcorn]

Interesting subject & one that is discussed on an occasional basis.

I include 2 photographs for my response to this thread.

The 1st is of a female Snow corn age approx. 15 years who has, over the years, provided excellent progeny & continually double-clutches which has it's effect on her weight.

She is 760grams at this time having regained some body weight since last Season.
Do remember that this female is not consistently bred each year but she will still provide a double-clutch of infertile eggs which alters her overall weight during the year.



As you may observe she is in excellent health & I consider her body fat to be just about right, a little extra weight would not go wrong either!

The next photograph is of our 1st corn, the infamous Mulder who is a typical male during the Breeding Season with reference to a reluctance to feed.

He is 918grams to date & to be honest I would prefer a little more weight on him.



He too is in excellent health & at approx. 17 years of age still 'sports' that attractive appearance that appealed to us in his younger days.

The female is fed weekly / fortnightly depending on the size of the food item, which is usually our own Breeder Mice.

The male is fed when he will accept food & he too enjoys Breeder Mice.

My concern here is that your male is at best 5 - 6 years old & is already quite a sizeable animal.

As very few folks retain their animals for their entire life-time there's not much iformation out there on the ideal mature size / weight for a corn snake.

Regards. Lex

 

[Tula_Montage]

Here is Panther who currently weighs 957 grams. He was almost 1100 two years ago and looked slightly pudgy as he is a lazy old man, but through regular exercise by giving him a larger vivarium with lots of room to climb and feeding him only twice a month alternating between a chick (no fat, all protein) and an extra large mouse he has lost a good big of weight and toned up nicely.

Heavier panther

Panther recently, although he has a feeding bluge therefore looks slightly pudgy coiled up.

 

[Drizzt80]

I notice that every one of those 1000+ gram snakes is inverted in the spinal area. Would love to hear from the vet specialists if that's normal or not?

D80

 

[Tula_Montage]

I would think it was the build up of fatty tissue underneath the muscle, pushing the muscle upwards to surround the spine? But thats just a hunch lol.

 

[v_various]

I notice that every one of those 1000+ gram snakes is inverted in the spinal area. Would love to hear from the vet specialists if that's normal or not?

D80

I would too. I've been under the impression that the first place a snake shows fat is the "hips", the snakes I've come across with squishy love handles don't have the non-inverted spine, but do have a rounder body shape. I've seen a few fatties, I'm part of the local snake club and the corns the rescues get are usually either under or over weight. But I guess that could mean they were all fat no muscle, where as Amel Boy could have both?

I do wish we had more biology background people here, I wouldn't even know who to ask such a question. Either way, I'm cutting back his food.

Elle, don't chicks make for messier poops? I've heard bad things.

 

[Lexcorn]

I notice that every one of those 1000+ gram snakes is inverted in the spinal area. Would love to hear from the vet specialists if that's normal or not?

D80

All species experience changes to the body through the aging process.

Show me a 70 year old human that has the body of a 20 year old & congratulations you have found the secret to eternal youth

Lex

 

[diamondlil]

I try to keep my corns on the lean side, because the very thing I love about them is their sleek 'snakey' shape. To me the fat ones resemble royal pythons, the just look 'wrong'.

 

[Drizzt80]

I would think it was the build up of fatty tissue underneath the muscle, pushing the muscle upwards to surround the spine? But thats just a hunch lol.

I would agree, completely, but wanted to avoid getting flamed after calling the 1000+ grams snakes fat until we heard from a professional. I think that's the case. I think they are overweight. I think 1000+ grams is not a normal healthy cornsnake, even for a breeding female.

I would love to hear from some veterinary or biological professionals to support my opinion. Even naturalistic data would be welcome. I highly doubt anyone would find a 1000+ gram cornsnake in the wild. :shrugs:

D80

 

[v_various]

no, if my snake was fat I'd rather know it than not. As for not finding 1000+ in the wild, I would also like to point out in the wild corns don't go breeding to creamsicle "corn" snakes (my friend was going to, didn't even know it was hybrid).

Have you ever seen an overweight corn though? Round bodies, and obviously squishy love handles. That has always been my "idea" of a fatty, I think I'm going to try and hunt down answers to this. I want to know, and you do bring up a valid question.

 

[Tula_Montage]

Elle, don't chicks make for messier poops? I've heard bad things.

They smell absoulety foul! To say the least. But most of my snakes love them, and it's nice to add a bit of variety to their diet. Just be prepared for the snake version of diarrhoea.

I would agree, completely, but wanted to avoid getting flamed after calling the 1000+ grams snakes fat until we heard from a professional. I think that's the case. I think they are overweight. I think 1000+ grams is not a normal healthy cornsnake, even for a breeding female.

I would love to hear from some veterinary or biological professionals to support my opinion. Even naturalistic data would be welcome. I highly doubt anyone would find a 1000+ gram cornsnake in the wild. :shrugs:

D80

I absolutely agree with you Brent. You would probably not find such girthy corns in the wild. I have however seen some long wild corn snakes, that if given the optimum amount of food, I am sure could be up in the 800's/900's.

Panther is not a long corn snake. He is around 5ft. I think he is overweight, but I have been able to keep his weight down and pretty much stable over the last year by feeding very sparingly. I have seen himself feeding him only once monthly, which also encourages him to roam ie exercise. Also, I keep him slightly warmer than my other corns which also encourages him to thermoregulate more often (again moving around more than usual as he is a lazy lazy snake).

In my experience of owning a very large corn snake, I can say this was due to being over fed in the first 3 years of his life (which is when I got him, he is now 7 years old). And since then, it has been a struggle to get him to lose weight slowly and improve his muscle tone. I am convinced he is genetically quite large, as he is pretty much in proportion now with his large head and stocky appearance despite all my best efforts to get him to slim down.

I have also noticed that some corns, no matter how much you feed them, just will not become fat. Riviere is 3 years old and is long and lean (approaching 5ft) yet only weighs 459 grams. His parents were very long and lean as well though (both being near 6ft and no more than 500 grams, perhaps on the skinny side). He always grew like a bean sprout and always stayed lean. I am sure genetics play a part in large corn snakes, but I am MORE sure than fat corn snakes are a direct result of over feeding in captivity.

 

[TandJ]

As for not finding 1000+ in the wild, I would also like to point out in the wild corns don't go breeding to creamsicle "corn" snakes (my friend was going to, didn't even know it was hybrid).

Thats kind of apples to oranges.. Although intergrades happen, not very likely in the case of emoryi and corn.. But I understand the point your making..

 

[Tracee]

I notice that every one of those 1000+ gram snakes is inverted in the spinal area. Would love to hear from the vet specialists if that's normal or not?

D80

Is that not the muscle tone on either side? That was the opinion of cs.com people when I last showed off the monster... Someone thought the spine was sticking out, as I recall, but they were corrected in that it was muscle tone.. Sorry if I've misunderstood what you've asked.

 

[D02297227]

It's a little off subject from the backbone topic. But i've been feeding all three of my '08's 25g Adult Mice once a week. Because they have the size for it, but i wouldn't call them fat. But from what i see no one else is feeding theirs that big. Should I be feeding less often or smaller food, or am i on track with just some really good feeders.

 

[oldsnow]

Thumper was putting away 2 large adult mice ~30g each once a week when he was at the store where I got him, but since then I do 1 adult or else a rat pup every 2 weeks.... Since he is getting close to 1000g I don't want him getting fat, even though he wasn't showing any large fat deposits when I got him. He has slimmed up a small amount since being cut back, as well as cruises his tank quite a bit hunting ever since then (and its kinda fun having one that doesn't hide ALL the time). If I were you I would cut back to every 14 days if not 21 depending on their weight now.

 

[wstphal]

Is that not the muscle tone on either side? That was the opinion of cs.com people when I last showed off the monster... Someone thought the spine was sticking out, as I recall, but they were corrected in that it was muscle tone.. Sorry if I've misunderstood what you've asked.

Well, in humans that have a lot of muscle in the back, they have a distinct trough running over the spine, or else you could say 2 ridges of muscle on either side of the spine. I don't know if snakes would show the same thing or not.

On the original topic of what do you feed a 1000+ gm cornsnake, I'd like to suggest my downstairs neighbor's little yappy mutt as a nice meal!:devil01:

 

[Green Oasis Reptiles]

The first two pics show (again) Jin, our huge '06 anery male. (The second one shows an empty toilet paper tube for comparison.) We weighed him the day this pic was taken, and he was 1044 grams. He's only two feedings out of brumation, and I typically give him a weanling rat every week during this time because I know he will stop eating once he smells the girls. He was thick & firm even right out of brumation...very muscular & strong.
The (also '06) amel female below, named Sun, is a perfect example of what you might call the "baby got back" syndrome. She is much lighter & "flabbier" than Jin, even though she is the more active of the two. She lays large clutches of eggs each year & last year she even double-clutched (which I wasn't expecting because I didn't even breed her a second time!) I don't overfeed her...she eats about the same as Jin, maybe slightly more since she's a female breeder (and will therefore eat when Jin won't!) She has just always been "softer" in her muscle tone.

Please don't comment that I have done something horribly wrong and need to take my amel girl to a vet, I already know that she is perfectly healthy...I am just presenting this photo for folks who might also wonder about their "odd-shaped" snakes or to those who want to know what people mean when they talk about "big butt" or "fatty deposits" on a corn snake. Thanks!

Also, you'll note that we put our logo on the pics...these pics were taken with our website in mind, but I chose to post them here in the sense of community. Please do not use or share our photos without keeping them intact. i.e. Don't crop out our logos. Thanks!

-C. Kurtz-

 

[Tracee]

Well, in humans that have a lot of muscle in the back, they have a distinct trough running over the spine, or else you could say 2 ridges of muscle on either side of the spine. I don't know if snakes would show the same thing or not.

I never thought of it like that but I guess you're right!
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=40&pictureid=252
Aaallll muscle baby.

I forgot to answer the original question when I replied before, too. He's way over 1000g, and he eats one 'jumbo' mouse every 2-4 weeks. Sometimes I offer him two and he refuses one of them. He's just really big. And already has a case of spring fever so will now fast for 2-3 months.. Gosh I've never thought about it like that before, he only has about 10-18 meals a year.