I have a female corn I bought early summer this year that is around 3ft and will reach her third year this spring. I was hoping to breed her BUT I’ve been told a female corn needs to ideally be at or above 300 grams before attempting to breed. As of today this girl is at 151g. When I last weighed her in July she was 115. So she is gaining but not overly fast. Right now she gets one fuzzy rat a week (and sometimes pinky rats if one of my other snakes doesn’t want to eat).
I’m just wondering if by early to mid spring will she meet the weight requirement of 300 grams? If it doesn’t seem likely then should I up her food intake to two fuzzy rats a week (fed at two seperate days) or just give her another year to grow?
Although I wasn’t as heavy with corns like I was ball pythons I usually had my animals breed or near breeding weight in about 2 years to sometimes 2.5 years. I know all snakes grow differently but if your girl is willing to accept a bump to her feed then I say go for it but just pay more attention to her weight since you know that they can get fat. I also had one girl that was from someone who didn’t take great care of her and she was the size of a juvenile even though she was slightly over 4 years old but when I bumped up her food intake by a good amount she sky rocketed with her growth.
Oh yeah i know. And she’s 3 ft and 3 years but only pushing 151grams. Was hoping to get her up to 300 saftely by this coming spring. Or late spring. Again I don’t wanna power feed or do things that would be long term unsafe but I would be disappointed if we had to wait another year.
I think you can be ready by late spring. She might not get to 300 grams, but as long as she’s a healthy looking snake and closer to 250 grams or so, you’d be fine. People have bred them smaller than that and not had any issues.
But she’s the right age and length so it should work out for you next year.
Thanks for that. I’ll probably end up posting pics of her and weight once winter is over (not burmating) and see what everyone thinks again. If she weren’t such a flighty bitey thing I would probably have more regular updates. As it is I try to only handle as needed for occasional weight ect.
Personally I think there is no way to get her to size in such a short time with a healthy feeding schedule. You probably could get her to 300 grams with power feeding, but I think that’s not a good idea for the health of the snake. I know it’s hard to have to wait an extra year, but it would really suck to lose her if she wasn’t healthy enough to successfully pass eggs.
My plan is to feed her on a staggered schedule. Meaning one week she will get two fuzzy rats (seperate feedings different days spaced out by several days) and then the next week only give her one. She is also in a taller tank with plenty of climbing options, which I have seen her use, to help keep up muscle tone as well. I think as long as she stays active and with this new staggered feeding schedule she might get there.
You can bet though that when it comes time and she isn’t up to snuff I will wait for sure. I’m all about safe and ethical breeding. And that means making sure my females are safe and ready.
Thanks I appreciate that a lot. I take pride in my animals and want that to show in the future if this breeding venture pans out. Grow 'em slow and responsibly. It’ll pan out better in the long term. While the extra income would be nice it’s not worth the risk with all the money already invested in this.
Corn snakes often lose quite a bit of body weight after laying a clutch. Especially if it is a large clutch. Keep in mind many will often double clutch and lay even more eggs. If she is under weight and you breed her you may end up with slugs, or worse, risk her health. I would certainly hold off for now and get her to where she needs to be before breeding her. Maybe can pick up an adult female in the meantime that is mature and able to produce for you.
Like I said before… If she’s not up to snuff I’m gonna wait another year, a solid year, before breeding her. I’m not about to risk any of my animals for a “quick buck”
