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 #1835447


Thorn1000
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 How do you tell how old a snake is?

I bought my tangerine honduran from a pet store. It isn’t very big, but it sounds like it’s around two years old. It refused fuzzies, but wolfed down pinkies like mad. The head isn’t much bigger than my pinkie and I’d say it’s around a foot long. What is considered an adult? And how big should said adult be? When do they stop growing?
thanks
08/18/08  07:23pm

 #1835468


Concolor1
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   Message To: Thorn1000   In reference to Message Id: 1835447


 Yours Likely Hatched This Year . . .

You can look to it growing in excess of four feet (six is the maximum), so yours is definitely a young’un. . .

My smaller Nelson’s is about 18 inches and was a hatchling I bought at a show last year, and my other is three years old (also a hatchling) and right about three feet . . .

The smaller one prefers fuzzies and jumpers, occasionally eating a second one; the larger does one or two F/T adult mice every two weeks or so . . .
08/18/08  07:39pm

 #1835620


Thorn1000
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   Message To: Concolor1   In reference to Message Id: 1835468


 Yours Likely Hatched This Year . . .

The pet store claims to have kept it for 18 months. Shouldn’t he be bigger? I’ve read where stores stunt the growth on purpose, I’m kind of worried about that. One clerk even stated that ’in the two years he’d been there, he had never missed a feeding’, the he being the snake. And it did take him two months to start eating for me. Is it possible that they did this? And how do I know when to up the feeding? Get bigger prey?
Thanks
08/18/08  09:46pm

 #1835819


Concolor1
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   Message To: Thorn1000   In reference to Message Id: 1835620


 Try Upping The Number of Mice . . .

I just watched my yearling corn wolf down a half-grown mouse, while my Nelson’s that’s obviously the same age would take considerably longer for the same size meal.

The lesson in that one is that one is that corn snakes can easily handle larger prey than milk snakes, so I feed them accordingly. I’ll probably feed the milk snake two large fuzzies in the next day or two . . .

Yes, it’s likely your pet shop fed your snake a minimal amount (mice are an expense, afterall), which wouldn’t promote optimum growth, but they may also have been feeding you a line about how long they had the snake (offering that up as a pseudo-guarantee of the snake’s health). My guess is the latter; they are in the business of selling snakes . . .

I wouldn’t sweat it, particularly if you got a good price on it and it’s eating well (that’s 90% of the battle in keeping snakes healthy). Try to give it as stress-free but secure living quarters as possible (mine have a deep substrate of either aspen or bark to hide in, and since I live alone, they aren’t hassled much even when I have my kids for the weekend).

Tangerine Hondurans are a particularly attractive variety . . .
08/19/08  02:01am

 #1835902


Thorn1000
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   Message To: Concolor1   In reference to Message Id: 1835819


 Try Upping The Number of Mice . . .

Well, so far he’s had two pinkies since early June when i brought him home. After the last pinkie his personality sort of exploded. He dances around his cage, not always darting under the aspen when people walk by. I put an old plastic coffee can in there, and feed him in it, and he seems to be looking in it a lot, as if he’s still hungry.
I have never seen him so active. Is he hunting? Should i grab an extra mouse before his Sunday feed date?
From the posts I’ve seen I was surprised he was even visible.
Thanks.
08/19/08  08:00am

 #1836278


Concolor1
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   Message To: Thorn1000   In reference to Message Id: 1835902


 You Can Feed Him More Than You Have . . .

Yeah, your snake is sending you a message by looking around your coffee can feeder...

I’d try two pinkies this time and see if he’ll take some more in a week or so . . .

Best wishes
08/19/08  04:45pm

 #1836903


Thorn1000
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   Message To: Concolor1   In reference to Message Id: 1836278


 You Can Feed Him More Than You Have . . .

I fed him pinkies as a last resort before live. He wasn’t eating, but he may have needed time to adjust. When should I try the fuzzies the pet store claims he eats?
Thanks
08/20/08  03:16am

 #1837303


Peter54
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   Message To: Thorn1000   In reference to Message Id: 1836903


 You Can Feed Him More Than You Have . . .

A two year old Honduran milksnake should be around 4 feet long or at least 3.5 ft. Hondurans usually are among the most aggressive feeders you can find and if the petstore’s story checks out, this little snake has been starved almost to death.

New snakes need a week left alone to adjust. I think you should try the fuzzie or even a hopper size every time you feed. A pinkie for a 2 y o milksnake is like feeding a horse an apple.

I have no Hondos right now, but this here 1 y o Pueblan feeds on hopper mice.
08/20/08  03:54pm


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