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Does Belle's weight look okay to you?

EddieF Oct 25, 2008 08:13 AM

Belle's appetite has been off from her usual for a couple of months. I feed weekly and she used to be waiting for it each week. Now she will skip one or two or even three feedings and then maybe eat one jumbo instead of her usual two. But then when I start to get worried she'll eat two so I get less concerned for a few weeks.

My Kisatchie cornsnake, Butchie, is freakin' HUGE. So that's part of it too, I hold him and I'm like, holy crap! And Belle seems smaller to me like she's lost weight. (we have a scale but it seems unreliable so I haven't used it in a while) So I'm just asking for an impression. Does this look like a healthy snake 'physique' to you?

She seems otherwise healthy. She went through blue and will probably shed in the next 3 days. I held her this morning and she holds on strong, it's not like she's weak and feeble. Is it possible she's just slowing down her food because she's full grown and just needs food to sustain rather than grow so much? I know they are always growing, but certainly not growing at the same rate.

Sorry for the long post.



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1.1 Florida Kingsnake
1.0 Kisatchie Cornsnake

Replies (5)

dave15run Oct 25, 2008 08:52 AM

She has good shine, looks stout, and you mentioned that she has a strong grip. She is probably going off feed because of cooler weather. This is especially true if you live up north where the days are cooler. I live in Texas and even my snakes are going off feed. Good luck! Make sure she has clean water.
Dave
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One man with faith equals the majority.
Thomas Jefferson

VICtort Oct 25, 2008 10:07 AM

She looks stout and well fed to me. I agree, may be slowing down for the season. Keep in mind most wild caught snakes are thinner on average than most captives. Many people think overweight is a problem with breeding...so as long as it is eating some during the appropriate season, you are probably OK.I too get upset when a good feeder changes it's habits, and it is reasonable to be concerned, but many captives are overweight.

joecop Oct 26, 2008 05:59 PM

That snake looks healthy as a horse to me. Your daughter must name your snakes too. I also have a belle but she is a eastern milk.

EddieF Oct 26, 2008 06:29 PM

I named her, she's Belle, short for Cabelas. Butchie the cornsnake is named for a character in HBO's John from Cincinatti, and Dexter the brooksi is named for Dexter the Showtime TV show.

Belle shed yesterday and looks good, I'll see if she eats tomorrow.

I don't think it's climate based, because I noticed it first when we were really in the heat of summer. I think she's just slowed down.
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1.1 Florida Kingsnake
1.0 Kisatchie Cornsnake

zach_whitman Oct 26, 2008 09:12 PM

And its getting to be winter. She should be slowing down. And with that body condition if she didn't eat again till April I wouldn't be worried.

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