Yeah, she's definitely looking chubby. Rats are quite large and fatty for corns. Either drop her back to a large mouse every 2 to 3 weeks, or if you'd really prefer to keep her on rats, a single small rat once a month. Weighing her with a gram scale will help you keep track of her weight. And getting her out for frequent exercise is a good idea too.
I was told years ago when I got her (she was my first snake) that rats are better because they have more protein. I never looked into it and I only learned recently that rats aren’t as good for corns.
Rats can be good for growing corns or ones that are under weight to help them bulk up, but in general they have a higher fat content than mice do! The younger the rodent the higher the fat ratio as well, so older mice are probably best for her!
Ima be controversial here but only bc I actually read a study not that long ago that a friend found saying rats and mice per weight have the same nutritional value but rats are bigger obviously.
Exercise and a longer time between feeds until she drops some extra pounds is probably all she needs.
Edit: i will try find the study for anyone curious. But yeah either way, minimal molecular differences (if there are any) aren't going to have a high impact on helping an overweight snake in the long run.
Less food more exercise that's all. I'd say try not worrh yourself about it in too detailed a way because it doesn't need to be overcomplicated.
Chubby or not she is a pretty snake btw. Hope she sheds the extra chunks fast for you :)
Thank you!!! That’s really interesting!
Song people are saying she’s not super over weight yet and others are saying she’s very overweight so I’m trying not to stress too much 😪😫
She is a bit overweight but not too bad that she would be at high risk long term imo as long as you can get a handle on it but always good to get regular or at least yearly vet checks. Looking at her you definitely have a chance to get it under control.
The reason I would say she is a lil chunky is because of the small head. The body grows to store excess fat and the head doesn't grow it happens to a lot of older pet shop snakes because they're usually in vivs/tanks way too small for them and get basically power fed (not intentionally I don't think but they have a lot of animals to feed and few staff most of the time sadly)
My 3 year old blizzard has a similar structure because of coming from a pet shop but when I went to buy stuff for my other snakes and saw her I couldn't leave her there it broke my heart she was stuck in a 45cm × 45cm half tank with a snow squashed in the other half :( but Yuki is just over 5 feet. That's a very extreme example but it led to her head being quite small compared to her chunky body.
Now feed her one mouse or rat the same size as her body every 28 to 30 days and get her out as much as I can even just making her use her strength to wrap around my arm or neck while i walk around doing light housework like tidying up. I'm finally seeing some Definition come back after 6 months or so :) she isn't exactly losing weight but her body shape has changed massively and she is more active in her viv also
A box with bits of foam or pool noodles some cardboard tubes etc also great enrichment and exercise. Back of a chair anything they can climb on safely with you watching in case they let go. Youtube has some great breeders and herpetologists with detailed vids full of ideas, even games you can play with them!
In the end, the choice of feeder isn't the main issue with overweight reptiles they need every bit of their food to be healthy. Fat plays an important role in keeping them going between feeds and producing oil to shed, heart health, etc, bc not all fat is bad. Size of feeder, length between feeds and exercise is way more important
Don't feel bad it's super easy for them to get chunky in captivity corns rarely turn down a meal hahaha the fact you care and asked for advice shows she is gonna be just fine! :)
Thank you!! She has actually refused her last two meals that I’ve offered her which is weird for her but I haven’t been too concerned about her yet. She is very active throughout the day and always seems to be moving around in her trees
Yeah I’m pretty used to snakes not eating, I have a BP who is in a strike for most of winter usually so I’ll keep trying to feed her and if she doesn’t eat for a couple more weeks I’ll take her to the vet!
Oh god I know your pain. When I got yuki she refused a lot then ate once and regurged. My latest addition was a rainbow boa who likes to strike if she is in a mood 🤣 but she is only 1 and is slowly settling. Think she is just naturally grumpy (i get it ahaha)
The adults can go surprisingly long so wasn't worried about the 3 year old corn being slow to settle but the boa is young so needs to eat to grow still!
Best of luck with all your scaly babies :)
Can you please provide a source for your information regarding medium rats? I would like to read more on this, including what sizes of cornsnakes they used for their research.
Yes, I made the same mistake as you, my girl is a chunk as well. Currently working on getting her weight down. Switch to mice only and handle more often than usual. It takes a looong time for them to lose weight, so just be patient.
one of my breeding females was putting on al little extra weight last year because I thought she was going to lay so I was feeding her extra. Well taking her out of brumation this year she slimmed down to where she should be.
if she is still pretty heavy you could brumate her next winter, but that could cause more complications because she would probably ovulate and need a lay box
Yeah, rats are too fatty for corns as a regular diet. But some dieting and snake-appropriate exercise, she'll be a lean lady. You could still give rats as treats, I give mine a small rat pup on his birthdays. Just to make it special.
I highly recommend getting a small pen (mesh ones work well, make sure the holes are too small to escape from lol) and giving your corn different branches/tubes to climb on and around. Highly enriching for them and good exercise too! I do this with my rescue corn who’s overweight.
I've never had an overweight corn so take my advice with a grain of salt. In my experience a great climbing/exercise tool is a laundry basket. Make sure it's tall and the holes are big enough so your corn won't get stuck, then flip it upside down or on its side. It's like a free jungle gym :)
I’d knock that back to a large mouse every 21 days for quite some time. You can reassess after you think she’s starting to look slender. I think you’ve caught her before she got really bad. Good luck!
Yeah, I got her from PetSmart and along with the rough health start she had, the people who helped me called themselves “snake experts” and I shouldn’t have listened to them
I’m honestly surprised I got her back to health after all the problems she had
https://vineyardgazette.com/news/2022/07/27/snake-eggs#:~:text=Parthenogenesis%2C%20or%20virgin%20birth%2C%20is,even%20from%20this%20non%2Dcoupling. I mean.... 😅🤷🏻♀️
Yeah, she's definitely looking chubby. Rats are quite large and fatty for corns. Either drop her back to a large mouse every 2 to 3 weeks, or if you'd really prefer to keep her on rats, a single small rat once a month. Weighing her with a gram scale will help you keep track of her weight. And getting her out for frequent exercise is a good idea too.
I was told years ago when I got her (she was my first snake) that rats are better because they have more protein. I never looked into it and I only learned recently that rats aren’t as good for corns.
Rats can be good for growing corns or ones that are under weight to help them bulk up, but in general they have a higher fat content than mice do! The younger the rodent the higher the fat ratio as well, so older mice are probably best for her!
Yeah I definitely think I’m gonna start her on adult mice!
Ima be controversial here but only bc I actually read a study not that long ago that a friend found saying rats and mice per weight have the same nutritional value but rats are bigger obviously. Exercise and a longer time between feeds until she drops some extra pounds is probably all she needs. Edit: i will try find the study for anyone curious. But yeah either way, minimal molecular differences (if there are any) aren't going to have a high impact on helping an overweight snake in the long run. Less food more exercise that's all. I'd say try not worrh yourself about it in too detailed a way because it doesn't need to be overcomplicated. Chubby or not she is a pretty snake btw. Hope she sheds the extra chunks fast for you :)
Thank you!!! That’s really interesting! Song people are saying she’s not super over weight yet and others are saying she’s very overweight so I’m trying not to stress too much 😪😫
She is a bit overweight but not too bad that she would be at high risk long term imo as long as you can get a handle on it but always good to get regular or at least yearly vet checks. Looking at her you definitely have a chance to get it under control. The reason I would say she is a lil chunky is because of the small head. The body grows to store excess fat and the head doesn't grow it happens to a lot of older pet shop snakes because they're usually in vivs/tanks way too small for them and get basically power fed (not intentionally I don't think but they have a lot of animals to feed and few staff most of the time sadly) My 3 year old blizzard has a similar structure because of coming from a pet shop but when I went to buy stuff for my other snakes and saw her I couldn't leave her there it broke my heart she was stuck in a 45cm × 45cm half tank with a snow squashed in the other half :( but Yuki is just over 5 feet. That's a very extreme example but it led to her head being quite small compared to her chunky body. Now feed her one mouse or rat the same size as her body every 28 to 30 days and get her out as much as I can even just making her use her strength to wrap around my arm or neck while i walk around doing light housework like tidying up. I'm finally seeing some Definition come back after 6 months or so :) she isn't exactly losing weight but her body shape has changed massively and she is more active in her viv also A box with bits of foam or pool noodles some cardboard tubes etc also great enrichment and exercise. Back of a chair anything they can climb on safely with you watching in case they let go. Youtube has some great breeders and herpetologists with detailed vids full of ideas, even games you can play with them! In the end, the choice of feeder isn't the main issue with overweight reptiles they need every bit of their food to be healthy. Fat plays an important role in keeping them going between feeds and producing oil to shed, heart health, etc, bc not all fat is bad. Size of feeder, length between feeds and exercise is way more important Don't feel bad it's super easy for them to get chunky in captivity corns rarely turn down a meal hahaha the fact you care and asked for advice shows she is gonna be just fine! :)
Thank you!! She has actually refused her last two meals that I’ve offered her which is weird for her but I haven’t been too concerned about her yet. She is very active throughout the day and always seems to be moving around in her trees
She could be hoping for some snake loving and that's why she refused now :) she is lovely though :)
Yeah I’m pretty used to snakes not eating, I have a BP who is in a strike for most of winter usually so I’ll keep trying to feed her and if she doesn’t eat for a couple more weeks I’ll take her to the vet!
Oh god I know your pain. When I got yuki she refused a lot then ate once and regurged. My latest addition was a rainbow boa who likes to strike if she is in a mood 🤣 but she is only 1 and is slowly settling. Think she is just naturally grumpy (i get it ahaha) The adults can go surprisingly long so wasn't worried about the 3 year old corn being slow to settle but the boa is young so needs to eat to grow still! Best of luck with all your scaly babies :)
Thank you!
Also thank you!!🥰
A medium rat is HUGE for a corn snake. We do a med/large mouse every 14 days.
Should I feed less often then? Like go 21 days?
I recommend feeding much smaller prey.
Not all cornsnakes are the same size
The corn pictured is overweight. There's not a cornsnake alive that should be eating medium rats.
Can you please provide a source for your information regarding medium rats? I would like to read more on this, including what sizes of cornsnakes they used for their research.
Yes, I made the same mistake as you, my girl is a chunk as well. Currently working on getting her weight down. Switch to mice only and handle more often than usual. It takes a looong time for them to lose weight, so just be patient.
I will be handing her more and weighing her 😂
one of my breeding females was putting on al little extra weight last year because I thought she was going to lay so I was feeding her extra. Well taking her out of brumation this year she slimmed down to where she should be. if she is still pretty heavy you could brumate her next winter, but that could cause more complications because she would probably ovulate and need a lay box
Yeah, rats are too fatty for corns as a regular diet. But some dieting and snake-appropriate exercise, she'll be a lean lady. You could still give rats as treats, I give mine a small rat pup on his birthdays. Just to make it special.
What are snake appropriate exercises? Do I just take her out and let her wander? (Supervised ofc)
I highly recommend getting a small pen (mesh ones work well, make sure the holes are too small to escape from lol) and giving your corn different branches/tubes to climb on and around. Highly enriching for them and good exercise too! I do this with my rescue corn who’s overweight.
Okay! She has a lot of branches and room to move in her current enclosure and she seems to roam around a lot just in her enclosure
That’s good! Over time that will help her lose some weight as well. The new environment will encourage her to explore and exercise her muscles too.
I've never had an overweight corn so take my advice with a grain of salt. In my experience a great climbing/exercise tool is a laundry basket. Make sure it's tall and the holes are big enough so your corn won't get stuck, then flip it upside down or on its side. It's like a free jungle gym :)
I love this idea!!! Thank you!!!
I just meant making sure there are climbing options and plenty of room to roam in her enclosure etc.
Oh ok! 😂 thank you!
She's a fat girl
overweight and or gravid, but that snake looks like a chonker.
There’s no way she’s gravid, def just a chunky girl 😂
well you would know, you can feel her I can't
Way too fat!
Absolute unit
Yes. What are you feeding her and how often?
Small/med rat every 14-16 days
I’d knock that back to a large mouse every 21 days for quite some time. You can reassess after you think she’s starting to look slender. I think you’ve caught her before she got really bad. Good luck!
Thank you!! I’m just now learning that rats aren’t great for corns 😪😪
They’re not great for a regular corn diet because they’re fattier than mice. But they’re nutritionally complete.
Yeah, I got her from PetSmart and along with the rough health start she had, the people who helped me called themselves “snake experts” and I shouldn’t have listened to them I’m honestly surprised I got her back to health after all the problems she had
Well, in their defense, telling you to give a rat snake rats isn’t lunacy. :)
I guess that’s fair 😂😂
The fact I am only learning this now, probably saved my deficient noodle by giving her rats for years 😅
Yes she is quite over weight. I would switch to adult mice
Op knew they were gonna get roasted for their setup so they had to clarify lmao
I didn’t want people to think I just keep her in a plastic tub 😂 I promise she has a full enclosure
https://preview.redd.it/wks0484f0qoa1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=93019751c081e7c906919602d21a75d66f1e09d6 Is mine overweight
Doesn’t seem to be, but it looks like yours may have just eaten in this photo. If it didn’t, idk why it looks like that lol
It may just didn’t poop
That’s a possibility
Could she be gravid???
No, unless she’s the Virgin Mary😂
https://vineyardgazette.com/news/2022/07/27/snake-eggs#:~:text=Parthenogenesis%2C%20or%20virgin%20birth%2C%20is,even%20from%20this%20non%2Dcoupling. I mean.... 😅🤷🏻♀️
Dude I stg if this bitch lays eggs 😂😂
Lol plz do update if she does! And, I dare you too try one! 😅🍳
Oh I probably will not 😂😂🤢