Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My family just adopted a (we think) female corn snake, and she is very obviously obese, but in otherwise good health... I'm not sure if her condition is due to overfeeding, lack of space, or both. She is only about 3 feet long, but was kept in a 10 gallon... We are planning to bump her up to a 40 breeder in the next few days, and she's definitely going on a diet (not a starvation diet!). Any tips for weight loss or common associated health problems to look for?
Also, I'd like to monitor her weight... what would be a good ~target weight for a 3 foot corn? (in grams)
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1.0 RES, Spunky
1.0 African mud turtle (P. castaneus), "Francois the Tortois"
1.0.1 Mali Uromastyx, Ajani, Guban(Goober)
1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa, Nico
0.0.1 Northern Blue Tongue Skink, Owajabi(Jabi)
0.0.1 African bullfrog, Ushi
3.0 Cats
1/2.0 rabbit (friend and I went 50/50)

Well, there really is no 'expected weight for length' table, but my guess is somewhere vaguely around 300g would be good, considering 3' and 300g is generally acceptable breeding condition. Don't set that as a hard and fast target though. The best thing to do is to watch her shape. If she starts looking like a bread loaf in cross section, she's down to a good weight.

My advice to you is to put some stuff in her cage for her to climb on, and to handle her often to exercise her. Between a mild diet and some exercise, she ought to slim down to a rather nice happy size.

-Kat
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This Space For Rent

I don't own corn snakes or obese anything, but I know some guys who've adopted a corn snake who was about 4x the size she should've been. They're just feeding her once every 3 weeks and handling often. Its not starving her, just making her use her body fat to get her energy.

If its a female she could be gravid. Find out from the previous owner if she may have been bred. She could be double clutching.