#snake feeding

[omg-snakes]

A sincere thanks to those of you who are sharing your snake data. Here's a little taste of what @talesfromtreatment and I have been cooking up, and this isn't even the really interesting stuff! This is only one week's worth of data capture!! Imagine what we could do with even more!

If you haven't submitted your corn snake's age, weight, and a top-down photo of them with a ruler yet, it's not too late! It's probably never going to be too late! Take the anonymous survey via Google Forms, linked below:

https://forms.gle/QtAwmiFa6fpBewFs8

Please join our body of community scientists and help us be petty in the most productive way imaginable. Your data will be used to make a gift for all corn snake keepers and breeders, present and future.

A project of this size has never before been attempted, or at least never published, and this is a super awesome opportunity for all of us to learn together!

Edit: swapped out the graph because the title said, "Width" when it should've said "Weight." Sorry!

[theshitpostcalligrapher]

okay i can't seem to append videos to reblogs of posts but here we are! have some footage of my long baby having his post-shedding meal

[goddamn-grammar-blog]

Maize (f/t)

[reptileoddysey]

he really just looks like that, huh

[adolfusraptor1985]

Noodle

[hogteeth]

My clean boi has his appetite back :]

He scares me every winter by going 4-5 months without eating smh

[sandelion]

near perfect coil 9/10

[billionneuronscurious]

Shield-tail Snake Hunting Earthworm.

This was the third time that I witnessed a Shield-tail Snake Hunting Earthworm. 

First time I saw it at Kaas, Second time I saw it in the outskirts of Satara city, and this is the Third time that I saw this at Raireshwar.

I have come across Shield-tail Snakes several times, but the species may have been different ones. Me after watching shield-tail snake hunting earthworm so many times, it appears, that the earthworm is their common prey, and this must be a common scene.

During this third encounter, while the snake in the video can be seen hunting earthworm, the snake later abandoned its hunt. The snake was observed leaving the earthworm and the scene. But, after snake vanished in nearby grass, and when I left the site, it remains unknown whether snake again pursued the same earthworm it had attacked.

Also, the earthworm appeared to have a tear on its body at one end. Whether the fight with snake somehow must have caused it, or it was caused by some other reason couldn’t be understood. This was happening on a trail, through which tourists were regularly passing.

-  Dhairyasheel Dayal

[omg-snakes]

Hi! I have a question about feeding my 3yr old corn snake. Hes 340g and ive been trying feeding him every 14 days. But I cant seem to find mice that are big enough and he acts hungry all the time lately. Are rats ok once in a while or should I just give him more than one mouse all the time? Thanks!

Hey, friend!

Rats are okay and strongly encouraged. Corn snakes often do act hungry when they don't actually need more food, and they can beg themselves into obesity so be mindful of that. If his body condition is good or if he's a little lean, then he might be actually hungry.

A snake that size and age should be eating about 35-ish grams of food every 10-ish days, which is a large (but not jumbo) adult mouse or a large pup/small weaned rat. You can also offer two mice that add up to 35 grams, an extra-small chicken chick, or a small quail. Once or twice a year you can also offer ONE quail egg (they're very rich; just one is enough.)

Variety is the spice of life, so switch it up as often as you are comfortable doing!

Really, corn snakes probably shouldn't be eating only one species of prey their entire lives. We do this in captivity for our own convenience but, like, it's definitely not natural. We don't do this with any other animal we keep. Dogs and cats have different flavors of canned food and multiple types of meat and veggies/grains in their prepared dry foods. Insectivorous lizards (should) get different types of bugs on rotation. Even fish get more species variety in their food than snakes!

I should mention that corn snakes in captivity have become a little bit like "chicken nugget kids" where they are so used to eating one type of food that they might be hesitant to try new things at first, especially when it comes to rats. I suspect rats are less yummy-smelling than mice to the snake palate. You may need to poke a little hole with a pin in the head of a thawed rat to expose some brain. Brains are mostly fat and fat = flavor, so that's usually enough to convince a neophobic snake that what's been placed in front of them is, in fact, delicious food and not a weird warm fuzzy rock or a dangerous but strangely unmoving predator.

I hope that makes sourcing food a little easier going forward, and that your buddy is happy and well-nourished!

[sunfish-exotics]

A little sneak peek of some snakes I've been raising up

[goddamn-grammar-blog]

F/t

Jinsin got very upset with his meal. He wasn't used to eating from a ledge and kept missing. By the time he actually struck it, you could tell his frustration was boiling over 🤣

(also, I contacted Yuzu's breeder in regards to him not eating. They were very responsive and quick to offer advice. As if to prove me wrong, he actually ate a frog scented hopper last night!)

[slinkies-and-dragons]

I have never seen a man contemplate his food for so long after putting on a show like he was starving as I have with Lazarus.

Feeding video under the cut, tw: dead rat. The sped up section is 4x.

Why? Why did you strike it so fast and contemplate it for an hour? Please buddy. Eat the food.

[hogteeth]

Pumpkin chomped the succulent trying to get his lunch smh. I'm glad it was him though, Cinnamon would have tried to eat the entire thing and not given up. He gave it a couple crunches and went bleh.

Luckily he still wanted his second one. He gets two because he's a lil slim after fasting. It's hard not to accidentally power-feed Cinnamon due to how food-eager she is, at least she doesn't eat them sideways and get a giant lump like this man tho

[fellowshipofthenoodles]

✨🤌🏻MMM BAWS🤌🏻✨

[ID: Banoffee the yellow and white ball python with black speckles eating a frozen-thawed African soft fur mouse backwards]

[thesassysneks]

The most gentle strike! Crawley’s first meal after his first brumation. He’s such a sweetheart!

[sandelion]

look at that gorgeous reduced pattern booty!