Undersized Elaphe? Size of yearling black rats and corns?

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Posted by Amanda Gannon on September 29, 2001 at 23:16:11:

Okay, this one has me stumped.

Got 3 captive hatched baby black rats from friend's science teacher last september, darling little guys. Some initial feeding trouble, but it's cleared up now. For a year I've been feeding them every 5-7 days, sometimes every 3-5 depending on availability of mice. At first, one pinky, now up to two fuzzies. This makes a long lump -- they're full.

Here's the clench. The snakes are tiny. Only about 20 inches long, and a little thicker than a pencil.

My other rat snakes were acquired as adults, or they have been growing like weeds(a blue beauty, a ridleyi, and my carinata have doubled in size in the last six months on the same feed regimen). My 3 corn snakes are not growing very fast, either. They're two years old, but only as big around as my finger.

I can't be underfeeding these guys, can I? Two to three appropriate food items for a snake that size every 3-5 or 5-7 days seems perfectly reasonable to me.

Am I just jaded from the huge "power fed" animals I see at shows? How big is a yearling in the wild? Does anyone even know? Why is this only showing in my American rats? I thought it might be inbreeding with the corns, but the obsoleta are captive hatched, the eggs were found under a log.

BTW, all vet checked parasite free, fed on carefully monitored food.

Thanks a lot for any help or input, guys.

Follow Ups:

Re: Undersized Elaphe? Size of yearling black rats and corns? Chris H. 09/30/01 (2)
- Re: Undersized Elaphe? Size of yearling black rats and corns? Amanda Gannon 10/03/01 (1)
  - You may be interested in the chart I've posted ...more... patricia sherman 10/15/01 (0)
Sounds a bit strange Dirk 09/29/01 (1)
- Re: Sounds a bit strange Kenyanboa 10/01/01 (0)

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: Okay, this one has me stumped. : Got 3 captive hatched baby black rats from friend's science teacher last september, darling little guys. Some initial feeding trouble, but it's cleared up now. For a year I've been feeding them every 5-7 days, sometimes every 3-5 depending on availability of mice. At first, one pinky, now up to two fuzzies. This makes a long lump -- they're full. : Here's the clench. The snakes are tiny. Only about 20 inches long, and a little thicker than a pencil. : My other rat snakes were acquired as adults, or they have been growing like weeds(a blue beauty, a ridleyi, and my carinata have doubled in size in the last six months on the same feed regimen). My 3 corn snakes are not growing very fast, either. They're two years old, but only as big around as my finger. : I can't be underfeeding these guys, can I? Two to three appropriate food items for a snake that size every 3-5 or 5-7 days seems perfectly reasonable to me. : Am I just jaded from the huge "power fed" animals I see at shows? How big is a yearling in the wild? Does anyone even know? Why is this only showing in my American rats? I thought it might be inbreeding with the corns, but the obsoleta are captive hatched, the eggs were found under a log. : BTW, all vet checked parasite free, fed on carefully monitored food. : Thanks a lot for any help or input, guys.

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