Corn Snake Queries....

[-germ-]

Few questions concerning corn snakes, my family kept a king snake for 9 years who died last year.
He has recently had his place filled by two young corn snakes and my mum needs a little advice if possible.....

They are fairly small, approx 12-15" they are being fed 3 pinkies each, once a week. What are your opinions on this feeding, is it suitable.... too much, too little? Are there more suitable foods or introductions that can be made to the diets for their prosperity?
She was informed by the LPS that they were a couple of weeks old (but as a fish keeper i wouldn't trust an LPS ) at the end of April (the time of purchase) they were approx 5" when bought.
Next....

My mother was told to feed them seperately, she is doing so using 2 plastic tubs putting them in separately. Are they fairly easily fed together? Is there a way to be sure their nutritional requirements are fulfilled, one feeds alot faster than the other and the worry is, if fed together the more greedy of the two would 'snaffle' all the food. Besides observation can this be worked out.....

Wouldn't mind any tips you may have on sexing, although as far as i can tell from google its not something that can be done by sight.....

Thanks in advance for any replies......

 

[grahamsokel]

if your corns are taking 3 pinkies a feed i would start to get them onto fuzzies the next feed try them on a fuzzie each.
I always feed my snakes seperate because if they both grab the same food item one could possibly try to eat the pinkie and when it reaches the other snake it could eat the other snake.
Do you know what sex they are?

 

[-germ-]

They aren't mine, they are my parents, or to be specific my mums....

Have little info on them, apparently the LPS reccommended my family give them 3 pinkies a feed, while they do take 3 a piece most times, one in particular doesn't always go for it, Particularly when shedding, although i'd guess this is self explanatory?

Don't know the sex;

Wouldn't mind any tips you may have on sexing, although as far as i can tell from google its not something that can be done by sight.....

Is there an easier method to feed them seperately rather than the plastic tub method, a tank divider maybe?

Thanks very much for the reply, Graham.

Got a tortoise question coming soon (for my GFs parents) if any Tortoise lovers feel like PM'ing me please do,its dietary related.If not, i'll get this one sorted first.

 

[cheesy feet]

You can get a vet to probe them to determine their sex, if it's two males you are !@#%^&() basically.When I started out with 2 corns all went well for a couple of months until the bigger one (4 inches bigger) decided to eat the little one (went misteriously missing and never found it) .As grahamsokel said feed separetely and feed fuzzies.3 pinkies is probably more than a fuzzy!Then as the snakes become bigger you can move onto small mice etc etc.O yeh you can also sex by the number of scales on the snake form the vent, however tihs is not accurate.

 

[-germ-]

!@#%^&()
Is two corn snake males eating each other a common occurence?
They are in a huge tank (relative to their current size) so have plenty of room....
Have you got a link to a decent description of the scale-sexing method you mentioned?

 

[Morquinn]

Ok here is the general rule of thumb when feeding corn snakes... expecially young ones..

If the lump in the stomach does not go away in 24 hours, the prey item is too large, if it goes away very quickly, you can move up in prey size. Now young ones should only be fed 2 pinkies per week.... the way I did it was one pinkie twice a week. They should always be fed in a seperate place other then the living quarters, this prevents getting any type of substrate in the mouth while feeding, and also keeps the corns from being too snippy towards the handler when just reaching in to clean/grab so on so forth. Its also been said never to touch the actual pinkie/mouse, and to use tweezers as to not get any of our hand bacteria on the mouse, and sometimes they wont eat it if they smell human.

 

[MaddieJ]

I am no pro as I only got my first (a hatchling) at the beginning of last month. 3 pinkies a week seems loads to me. My little guy is about 14.5 inches long and has one medium-large pinkie every 5ish days. He is growing fast and has shed twice since he has been with me. It is recommended by most breeders not to keep corns together until a few years old, once they are sexed and once you know their personalities well. Of course, sometimes it varies as each snake is different. Though if you have two males, at some point, you will have fights and probably deaths on your hands. A male and female will, in the long run, have babies. It's said only females should be kept together, after they turn adults. As said above, feeding separately is a must. If both snakes went for the same pinkie, one will in the end eat the other, causing probable death to both.

I'd suggest separating them, get them sexed, up to a larger feed with a longer period between each feed, though carry on feeding in tubs, if they digest the substrate they could damage their insides. Another thing, don't handle for a day or two after they have fed. They need to digest their food properly without pressure being put on their tummies as this could cause them to regurgitate their food, something with is life threatening for any snake.

 

[fish_master]

Yea as said use tongs because the mouse being dead (sould be otherwise can cause injuries to snake) it cold and if u touch it u get its smell and ur warm and the snakes see heat so yea will more than likely get a bite

 

[-germ-]

Cheers for the advice so far guys, keep it coming....
Has anyone heard of the scale sexing method? I'd love to research this a little further....
Thanks again

 

[clinton ><>]

i have a corn snake i would only feed young ones 2 pinkys a week and when the grow move up in size of mice like when there about 2-3ft then when they are about 4ft give them 1 or 2 fully grown mice

 

[MaddieJ]

Here is something I found about the scale counting. Though to be honest I would just contact your local vet, reputable reptile shop or a local breeder about having them sexed properly. Hope this following info helps.

"A far safer way of assessing the sex of your corn snake is to perform a scale count. To use this method requires three things, patience, good eyesight and a complete slough from your snake. The idea is simple, you just count the two rows of scales on the underside of the snake, from the vent to the end of the tail. Males have longer tails and therefore more scales. If the total of the two rows is 130 or less then it’s probably a girl, 140 or more its a boy. Counts between 130 and 140 could be either, I never said ‘the method was foolproof’. Trying to perform a scale count on the live snake would prove entertaining, but probably impossible, so count the scales on the shed skin. If your eyesight is as bad as mine, you can improve on the technique by scanning the slough, enlarging the image on your computer and counting the scales on screen! It would seem prudent at this stage to repeat, this is only a guide, if you intend to breed from the snake it is wise to get an experienced herpetologist to probe it for you, when it’s about breeding size."

 

[grahamsokel]

it doesnt happen that often but it can happen.they each grab an end of the mouse each and the biggerone eats faster so when it reaches the other snake it just keeps eating.
I always feed snakes in tubs never in the vivs

i have a corn snake i would only feed young ones 2 pinkys a week and when the grow move up in size of mice like when there about 2-3ft then when they are about 4ft give them 1 or 2 fully grown mice

They definatly need to go onto Fuzzies before they are 2-3ft my 3ft take medium mice at that stage.

 

[-germ-]

Cheers Graham, Maddie and all other posters.
The possible aggression, if they are 2 males....
Is this commonly shown as juveniles or is it unlikely until maturity?
My family have gone away so i'm in charge of feeding the snakes, i'll certainly advise them to get the snakes sexed when they return.
Also wondering how common aggression between 2 males is, is it a rarity thats simply best avoided or is it commonplace and practically guaranteed?

 

[Tom4Fish]

Yes thats fine 3 pinkies a week each then just keep going up a stage in food wen the gobblethem up when they are about 4-5 ft they need fullygrown mice.

But.. i am abit concerned about 2 corn snakes in 1 tank,

my cornsnakes amol and snowey i got about 4 years ago 1 week later snowey died amol crushed her,

so i would recoment seperate tanks

 

[Esfa]

Cheers Graham, Maddie and all other posters.
The possible aggression, if they are 2 males....
Is this commonly shown as juveniles or is it unlikely until maturity?
My family have gone away so i'm in charge of feeding the snakes, i'll certainly advise them to get the snakes sexed when they return.
Also wondering how common aggression between 2 males is, is it a rarity thats simply best avoided or is it commonplace and practically guaranteed?

Its not really agression thats the problem, its the fact that one can, and probably will, eat the other. I would suggest a perminant divider or two seperate vivs.