Sheila - Caramel Corn Snake

Here are the first few pics of Sheila, our new caramel corn snake. Thanks again to everyone who assisted with my questions in other posts.

Pic 1 - Teaching my son how to hold her.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/rVJIus4.jpg


Pic 2 - Showing a little yellow after shed.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/STyGWs8.jpg


Pic 3 - Her 1st shed with us, perfect!
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/W6cAQzV.jpg

What a sweet new snake. Fun watching their yellow increase, you really have to be patient for colors to come in on corn snakes but they're worth it- great pets! :gj:

Corns are great pet snakes.

Sheila looks good and ask away if you have questions. We want to help.

Very cute!

Question on feeding...

She's getting 1 pinkie every 6 days now with the intent of going to every 7 days once I get her to Sunday's. I haven't weighed her, but is 1 pinkie per week enough? I'm asking b/c some of the feeding guides/care sheets appear more aggressive. Take the one below for instance, it would have me feeding her every 4-5 days, then 2 pinkies every 5-6 days. That feels like too much, but I'll defer to the experts. Am I good with 1 pinkie every 7 days now or should she get more? When should I step it up to 2 pinkies per feeding? The every 7 days thing is more of a convenience for us to consistently feed on Sunday's, but it's no problem if that needs to be variable as well. Thanks!

Snake (4 – 15g) = 1 Pinkie (0.5 – 3g) - feed every 4 to 5 days

Snake (16 – 23g) = 2 pinkies (3 – 4g) - feed every 5 to 6 days

Snake (24 – 30g) = small fuzzy (3 – 6g) - feed every 6 to 7 days

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nick_MD

Question on feeding...

She's getting 1 pinkie every 6 days now with the intent of going to every 7 days once I get her to Sunday's. I haven't weighed her, but is 1 pinkie per week enough? I'm asking b/c some of the feeding guides/care sheets appear more aggressive. Take the one below for instance, it would have me feeding her every 4-5 days, then 2 pinkies every 5-6 days. That feels like too much, but I'll defer to the experts. Am I good with 1 pinkie every 7 days now or should she get more? When should I step it up to 2 pinkies per feeding? The every 7 days thing is more of a convenience for us to consistently feed on Sunday's, but it's no problem if that needs to be variable as well. Thanks!

Snake (4 – 15g) = 1 Pinkie (0.5 – 3g) - feed every 4 to 5 days

Snake (16 – 23g) = 2 pinkies (3 – 4g) - feed every 5 to 6 days

Snake (24 – 30g) = small fuzzy (3 – 6g) - feed every 6 to 7 days

---

A weight would be helpful, but how much of a bulge does one pinkie make?

If you are feeding one pinkie weekly right now, and the bulge is gone in 24-48 hours, but noticeable after she eats, you are probably fine.

It's hard to starve a small corn, even if the pinkies are a little small, feeding weekly.

Weighing isn't a bad idea anyway as it will give you an idea of growth rate as well.

I've raised lots of corn & rat snakes & I don't routinely weigh any of them. I go by looks...hatchling corns are pretty small, about 10" long & as skinny as a #2 pencil.
It takes a while before they can handle either a larger pinkie or 2 at a time, and feeding about every 6-7 days is just fine, but that's for a hatchling corn snake & yours
appears older than that, by some months???

What is the age of your snake? When did she hatch?

Or what is her length (in inches)?

I think she was an Oct '19 hatch. So roughly 5-6 months.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nick_MD

I think she was an Oct '19 hatch. So roughly 5-6 months.

---

That's about what I figured. So depending on the width of her midsection (before being fed), I'd expect her to be eating 2 (mouse-) pinkies or 2 (mouse) fuzzies at a time-I'm not seeing her compared to the prey you have, but normal mouse pinks are pretty small & unlikely to be an adequate meal for her at this time. If that's all you have at this time, you can feed them off before sizing up. You want the prey to be roughly equal to (& not wider) than her un-fed mid-body. If you are feeding small pinks, you could feed 2 every 5-6 days, or (later) 3 once every 7 days. Just go by how she looks & digests...don't upsize too quickly but yeah, she's needing more food. :gj: