Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My daughter's Okeetee is growing fast and I figured she was ready for two pinks, so I thawed 4 (2 for her, 1 for my son's king, and 1 for my milk).

I fed my son's Grey-banded King first, and she struck quick at the first one (these pinks are a little smaller than usual) and swallowed it no problem. So, I decided to try a second pink on the king snake and bam!, she wolfed that one too. I think these were smaller than the larger pinks I got from a local pet store, because she about ripped herself on that one pink a feeding or two ago...

Then, I put two in with Tia (the corn) and of course she wolfed them both down as I suspected she would. It looked like she didn't even have to stretch her mouth too far...

So, I had to warm up two more to give my milk a try, and he refused them both (but he's in the middle of shed again), so I had to toss them this morning.

I figure after this batch of 50 pinks is gone, I'm gonna have to buy some fuzzies. How much bigger are they than small or large pinks?

Walt

Fuzzies are usually about twice the size of a pinkie, but then again it depends on where you get them. Some places sell pinkies that are a day or two old, others sell them at a week. I was trying to take a picture of some of my live babies compared so you could see but the flash was too bright. I will try again later. The best thing to do is go to a pet store and ask them if you can see the size difference between the two frozen. I will have to buy frozen pinkies when I get my new snake because I can not feed live pinkies. Only full grown mice can be used as food in my house. I know it sounds stupid to most people out there with reptiles, they are only food but then again you have to remember I am a woman. How old is your daughter? I am just wondering because I have a three year old nephew and I was told that they are the “safest” for children. I don’t know if I will let him hold it yet or not, I will cross that bridge when it gets here.

Christina

She's nine. It's more a concern to the snake, not the human. I wouldn't trust a snake with a toddler. They would probably kill it. If you wouldn't give them your sunglasses, don't give them a snake... lol. It's more your judgement about the person's level of responsibility. A full grown corn snake isn't a threat to children. Most of the horror stories you hear involve large pythons rather than small rodent eaters.

Walt

Just purchased 100 peach fuzzies from Rodent Pro. Excellent quality but much larger than what I can use. These are nearly as big as 'hoppers' I am used to from the pet shops. They are about 1.25 inches long and very large around the middle.

I'd vacuum pack them. Go get a Foodsaver vacuum appliance. You can get them clearance from foodsaver.com. You really only need the cheapest one you can get. You can get the bags from them or from Wal-Mart. Separate the FROZEN fuzzies into groups of 10 to a bag and suck the air out of the bags. The machine will then heat-seal the bag when you press the "seal button". Then freeze them until your snake is big enough to take them. They should last indefinitely this way. Then you just open a bag at a time as you need them. I do this with my pinkies.

Walt

Already Done...as a hunter, the foodsaver is a must and was the first thing I did when the mice arrived. (Poor snake though...she's gotta eat heads, legs and toes for a while). Dinner last night was a pinky (last one I had)and a fuzzy head. Sorry for the 'grossness factor'. The head of the fuzzy was about twice the size of a pinky in thickness. These things are giant. Not sure I'd wanna see the adults, they have to be the size of groundhogs. (I'm very impressed with the quality of their mice).