Corn snakes are a loveable pet for reptile lovers and they are often found in the home of pet owners who have a hectic life schedule. Corn snakes are bright to look at and easy to tame, as they are mostly docile creatures, without slight aggression in the temperament.
But for pet owners, it is necessary to know the age of their pet when they are adopting one. In case you try to adopt a wild-caught one, you need to be sure about the age of the snake, which will decide how much food and what kind of food will be given to it, what kind of medication it needs in case of any ailment and many such things.
Contents
- 1 Why is it important to know the age of the corn snake?
- 2 Determining corn snake’s age by length:
- 3 How can you measure the age of the corn snake from its length?
- 4 When the corn snake is aged enough to be ready for mating?
- 5 How long can a 2-year-old corn snake be?
- 6 Can you judge the food intake by the length of the corn snake?
- 7 Is the length of the corn snake determined by the food they are fed with?
- 8 Does the length difference in the case of male or female corn snakes?
Why is it important to know the age of the corn snake?
Various details regarding the pet corn snake are related to the age issue, and thus deciding the age yourself without any further knowledge is not possible. Food is a primary concern about the corn snake, as you can provide the right sized mouse to the corn snake once you know the right age only.
A corn snake looks mature once it reaches the age of one year. After that, it is always of the same size. If you get to catch any wild one, you do not know if it is aging or at the peak of its youth. So you cannot take proper care of the snake as is required for the snake.
Determining corn snake’s age by length:
The corn snake of the US usually grows up to 5 ft. tall, but there are seen snakes that are 3-4 ft. tall. You need to measure your corn snake in case you are unsure of the age it. There is the process of doing the same.
Lift the snake and take it out of the cage. As corn snakes are docile and nonvenomous, you should not worry about the attack that they may plant at you. This should not be done within the first two weeks of its coming to your house. You should give it some time to get adjusted to the new shelter before approaching it to take outside.
When you will take the snake out of the cage and lie it down on a wide table, you can see if it is stretched to full length or trying to coil up. If you see it coiling up, then you can guess that it is getting afraid due to the sudden touch or change of place. Also, the feel of the different surfaces may seem disturbing to it. So let it be easy by stretching itself on the surface, which may take a few seconds.
Now place a ruler along with the body of the snake and measure it from the snout part to the tip of its body. If you are unable to hold the ruler and the snake still at the same time, ask someone to help you. This way you will be able to measure the length of the snake correctly.
How can you measure the age of the corn snake from its length?
A study about corn snakes shows that there are three respective lengths that the corn snake can have in three different phases of life. When it just hatches from the egg, the corn snake weighs 12.8 inches long. It grows up to 22.7 inches when it becomes six months old. A one-year-old corn snake becomes 35.1 inches long approximately. The length of the corn snake does not increase much after it reaches a full year of age.
When the corn snake is aged enough to be ready for mating?
Sexual maturity comes to the corn snake when they reach 31 months of age. So when you see your snake is fully grown and at its longest size, you can allow it for mating.
How long can a 2-year-old corn snake be?
As we have already mentioned, the one year aged corn snake attains its full length, so the same length will remain when the corn snake will be of two years old.
Can you judge the food intake by the length of the corn snake?
For the owners who have adopted a mature corn snake or do not know the age of the corn snake that has been caught wildly, the amount of food necessary for the corn snake is also difficult to measure or guess.
So while offering food, the owner needs to be sure that the food is of the size of the girth or the middle part of the body of the corn snake, or it should be the size of the head of the snake or smaller. In any case, the food, which should be a live one, should not be bigger than the head as that can choke the snake.
Is the length of the corn snake determined by the food they are fed with?
When the researchers checked the length of the wild corn snakes and compared it with the length of the tamed and caged corn snakes, they found that the rate of growth is higher among the tamed ones than the wild ones. The reason is pretty simple.
Corn snakes, those are wild do not get ample food, and that too, not regularly. So their growth rate obviously slows down and they do not match the parameter that we have given above in this article. The parameters are based on the information about the corn snakes that are bred and taken care of from the moment they were born. They are always healthy and get to eat good food at a regular interval.
Does the length difference in the case of male or female corn snakes?
There is a difference in the length of adult male and female corn snakes. Male snakes are larger than females. Also, the males come with larger anal spurs which distinguish them from the female adult corn snakes. The difference among the corn snakes can be seen from the age of six months.
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