Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello!
Would you guys mind looking at the image I posted below in my post about the digestion period and tell me how old you think my snake might be?
I would just like an educated guess
He is about 16 inches long.
Thanks for your help!

Despite the responses you got, he may very well be a yearling and most likely is. He's not a BIG yearling, but your original info is probably correct.

Snakes vary quite a bit in terms of growth. Part of the reason he is on the small size is that he hasn't graduated to larger meals yet (or multiple pinks, which would be larger meals).

How big around is he? If one pink does not make a "lump" feed him another or larger prey if it is not bigger than 1.5 times his girth at his "fattest" area.

He's not an '03 most likely. And he's actually a bit big for a brand new '05 hatchling. So I'd say he's a small '04. Anyone care to disagree??? Duffy

Hello,
I didn't see a lump when I fed him so I think I will start feeding two pinkies ( at least to finish what I have) and see how that goes. Then maybe move up a size.( a fuzzy?).
Thanks for the input. I am new to all this but I love it!

could her snake also be kind of small because it could have been a late clutch? does that happen?

I still find that a little hard to believe... I just don't see HOW it could be a yearling....unless it was severely undernourished. Raisnok made me think though.. it is VERY possible that it's an extremely early/late clutch (late or early whichever way you look at it) On another note, Hope is getting big... I have always fed her 2x a week (monday and friday) I am thinking about moving her up to a fuzzy on Monday and a pinkie on Friday. any objections to this?
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0.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
1.0 Redtail "Kilo"
1.0 Ball Python "Road Hog"

naaza is eating pinkie rats which are a tad bit bigger than hoppers........
degei is eating hoppers im going to convert him to rat pinks after he sheds.

All KINDS of possibilities: I have several ratsnakes in my collection that were given to me by a breeder friend of mine...Given to me as "problem eaters" and in a couple of cases, non-eaters destined for the freezer. The deal was: If I could get them eating they were mine.

I got all but one to eat. My records show them just barely graduating to fuzzies as yearlings. They are in great shape now, just a bit small for their ages (with the exception of one of the corns which has become a garbage disposal!).

Look at all the "My snake won't eat" posts. Then figure that many petshops don't feed for growth, they feed for maintenance. I am sure that there are many yearling ratsnakes, in petshops especially, that are as small or smaller than the ones we are talking about.

Fact is: MOST of "us" hobbyists feed our snakes a bit more than they really need. Therefore, our "average" snakes are actually large for their ages. I personally feed mine a little more sparingly than lots of folks do. I have heard that in many cases the animal will live longer. Time will tell, but I will tell you that even my "problem eaters" have become very healthy, robust animals. Duffy

>>Despite the responses you got, he may very well be a yearling and most likely is. He's not a BIG yearling, but your original info is probably correct.
>>
>>Snakes vary quite a bit in terms of growth. Part of the reason he is on the small size is that he hasn't graduated to larger meals yet (or multiple pinks, which would be larger meals).
>>
>>How big around is he? If one pink does not make a "lump" feed him another or larger prey if it is not bigger than 1.5 times his girth at his "fattest" area.
>>
>>He's not an '03 most likely. And he's actually a bit big for a brand new '05 hatchling. So I'd say he's a small '04. Anyone care to disagree??? Duffy
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RATS
1.0 Corn snake "Warpath" (KY locale)
0.0.1 Corn snake (KY locale)
1.0 Black rat snake "Havok" (KY locale)
1.1 Black rat snakes "Reaper and Mystique" (MO locale)
1.0 Albino Black rat snake "Malakai" (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Everglades rat snake "Deadpool" (Dwight Good stock)
0.1 Greenish rat snake "Rogue" (Dwight Good stock)
0.0.1 Great plains rat snake (TX locale)
1.0 Grey rat snake "Punisher" (White oak phase)(Dwight Good stock)

Good luck and Happy Herping
Brian

duffy sounds right on. i bought a baby corn last december and the dealer told me it was hatched in july/aug of 04. i didn't realize mine looks about the same size as yours. so your could be a small yearling.

i'm just a pet owner so i just get info hear and there.

mine is eating 2-3 pinkies a week. i'm out of pinkies so i'm going to give her a really big pinkie or a small fuzzie. she eats like crazy the moment i drop the f/t meal in her cage.
they do zoom in size once they take to bigger meals. this is my baby when i first got her so she is a bit bigger now.

Hope was smaller than that (looks) when I got her about 3 months ago. now she is probably twice that size!
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0.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
1.0 Redtail "Kilo"
1.0 Ball Python "Road Hog"

Thanks for all the repsonses. It helps. My snake is starting to shed now. He took a pinkie on Tuesday no problem, when he has finished shedding, I will offer 2 and see how he does. I don't think I'll have a problem, he seems to be a good eater.
While I'm here, can I ask approximately how long it takes to shed? I have a corn snake book the by Loves, but it does not specify. I am figuring 6-7 days?

well it depends on the snake i guess, naazas first shed with me, he ate march 28, then refused til he shed which was april 28, he finally ate on may 3.............
now he goes blue it clears, and he sheds, it happenes with in like 6 to 10 days.

usually 7-10 days. you will see him/her get cloudy, then clear, then shed. takes anywhere from 7-10 days. my python will go a good 2 weeks from cloudy to shed.
they need more humidity at this time and esp when they clear. my baby had a bad shed the first time i got her. what i do is mist down their enclosure a couple times week then when i see them clear up i will even take out the snake and mist them down as well. they always have a perfect shed.
i have a ghost corn that will shed and i never see him get cloudy at all. so they are all different.
it's a good idea to have something rough in their cage so they can rub on it to start their shed. it just so happens my baby corn is going to shed also.

Hope is a snow corn so it is d*mn near impossible to tell when she starts going blue, from what I can guess she spends 3-4 days blue, then clear 2-3 days and then she sheds. so 6-7 days. If you wanna know how long it actually takes her to shed, about 45 seconds start to finish she is not a shy girl and I see her 2/3 of the time!
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0.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
1.0 Redtail "Kilo"
1.0 Ball Python "Road Hog"
1. Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Chunk" (Goonies)
.1 Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Peaches" (Didn't name her!)

Well, lots of news! First, she shed on Saturday, so it was about 6 days total. There were no problems, only that I missed it! Secondly, I went back to the pet store and had her probed, now I know for sure it's a she. Also she is only about 4 months old, not a year like they first said. I fed her 2 pinkies yesterday and she took them readily. Thirdly, we got a second snake while we were there. A beautiful snow corn about 8-9 months old. Another female, she is about 3 times the size of my first. She is eating fuzzies. In for a penny, in for a pound I guess! They are both super snakes! Thanks for reading!