Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just acquired an adult corn snake ,it was given to me. He is 6yr old and 4ft long. The previous owner feed him an large mouse once ever two weeks.Is this enough or should I feed him more often. He seems to be in good condition. I am a first time snake owner so I was just wondering. I moved him from the 20 gal he was in to a 55 gal so he is getting more exercise he seems to like the extra space.

I would feed him at least 2 or 3 mice every week or even 4 or 5. A 6yr old snake should be bigger than that.

My adult corns are 60in .

After he gets to full size then you can go back to 2 or 3 a week.

Good luck with your new pet.

A
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1.0 BP Nicodemus
0.4 Cal Kings 3 alb 1 het Dora Queen Ace Pearl
2.0 Alb Corn Bizaar Elixir
0.0.1 Rev Alb Nelsons Oden?
0.0.1 toad Jabba

"I would feed him at least 2 or 3 mice every week or even 4 or 5"

Possibly a couple good sized mice a week until it's body weight is very ideal, but at 3, 4 or 5 mice per week, that is then asking for the opposite problem,......an obese snake in fairly short order.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

>>"I would feed him at least 2 or 3 mice every week or even 4 or 5"
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>> Possibly a couple good sized mice a week until it's body weight is very ideal, but at 3, 4 or 5 mice per week, that is then asking for the opposite problem,......an obese snake in fairly short order.
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>> ~Doug
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>>"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"
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I'm with Doug on this one. An adult snake does not need 3, 4 or 5 mice a week. At least not adult mice. This is asking for problems. Not to mention the expense if you have a large collection...whew!
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Corn snakes and rat snakes...No one can have just one.
"Resistance is futile"
Jimmy Johnson
(Draybar)

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If the snake's weight seems fine, with the previous regime, maybe just keep the regime the same. Adult corns, once maturity with size is reached, do very well with feeding one good sized adult mouse every 10-14 days. No need to feed more.
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Genesis 1:1

Have any pictures of the new corn snake? That will be one sure way to get an idea if its weight/length is good. ALso, what is its weight?

Since normal corn snakes can range in length naturally between about 3' to 5', depending on where they are found, 4' sounds like a good average size. I had two normal corn snakes that were around the 5' mark, maybe a bit more. The male weighted about 1000g and the female was around 900g if I Recall correctly. Both were a little on the plump side when I weighed them so I reduced feeding to let them loose a bit of weight. I also had a 3-3 1/2 food snow corn who weighed around 600g but looked rather plump...she looked much more healthy when I had her drop about 75g or so.

Typically I fed my corns once every 10-14 days, usually a rat pup or fuzzy (the bigger for the bigger corns).
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PHLdyPayne

Forum Princess

Personally, for a 6 year old snake..I would feed it one prey item just big enough to leave a noticeable hump in the snake (not huge lump, but enough of one that you know it just ate something...girth of prey item should be between 1 to 1.5 times the widest 'empty' part of the snake. For adult corn snakes this can be a large adult mouse or even a weaned rat (rat pup). I would feed this once every 10-14 days. For breeding females, no more than once a week..

It is also good to have keep track of weight..and current pictures will be helpful to see if its over or under weight at this moment.
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PHLdyPayne

Forum Princess