Tail shed

[Will0W783]

As far as I know, breeding snakes does not shorten their lifespan as long as you make sure they are old enough and large enough. Corn females need to be at least 500-700g and the longer you wait the better. I have a few adult corns that are proven breeders and they are all around 600g and 4 feet. Males can breed when they are about 2 years old, thus they can be smaller. It takes far less of a toll on the male as he can be fed as often as he'll eat during the season although most will go off food for a while. Females, on the other hand, usually wont' be able to eat when they are gravid, as there just isn't room in that long thin body for eggs and a meal. So you will want to feed your female corn time and a half to twice her normal amount of food for a few months before breeding, right up until she ovulates and stops accepting food, so she has enough meat on her bones to carry her through the gestation.

[BP_okay]

Thanks for the info Kimberly! You know, they weighed him(Fluffy) at the vet and he was 103g. He's about 31-32 inches long. The reason I am telling you this is b/c my source told me he was an 08' and I got him in April(20 inches), so I assumed he was around a yr. at the time. Now at prob a year and half, does that seem small?

[Will0W783]

Not really. I have an '08 corn that is maybe 2 feet and 120g. He looks fine in the pictures. If you can see a ridge on his back from his spine or any of his ribs, bump up his feeding a bit. Other than that, he should be fine.

[BP_okay]

Good to know...the vet showed me how to make sure he wasn't getting to fat/skinny, and that he was doing okay in that dept. I guess he's just a long and lean corn. He eats a sm adult mouse every 5-7 days. What schedule is your 08 on?

[Will0W783]

Corns are not particularly heavy- bodied snakes anyway. My snakes are all on an every other week schedule, except for my hatchling BPs and the two adult corns that are underweight from having been bred this past year. Those get fed every week.