Nutritional Needs of Corn Snakes

While feeding your Corn Snake might seem strange and difficult, it is actually fairly simple. You have to take in mind that snakes are predators and meat-eaters, so you have to see how comfortable you are with feeding animals to your snake before actually getting one as a pet. Corn Snake covers a broad spectrum of dietary requirements and it is very important to note that they maintain some degree of carnivore throughout their lifecycle. They should be consuming appropriate-sized prey for proper nutrition – that is the basic fact that you need to know in owning a …Corn Snake. If you want a healthy snake, you should strive hard to give its proper nutrition and keep it that way. This section will illustrate and explain how to properly feed your …Corn Snake and their nutritional needs that they need to meet in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Feeding Guidelines Your Corn Snake

In the wild, Corn Snakes will eat any bird or animal small enough to be swallowed whole. These include rats, rodents etc. While in captivity, they should be fed rodents, usually mice which are easy to get because of its availability. You can offer live or well-thawed frozen mice to them but you should think twice of feeding them live adult mice because they can inflict wounds to your Corn Snakes. Fresh killed mice are the best choice.

Although Corn Snakes prefer to eat rodents such as mice, especially in captivity, there are also a wide variety of choices which you can feed them. These are the following food choices, including those that they eat in the wild and some guidelines on how to feed them:

As mentioned earlier, wild corn snakes feed on rodents. However, since rodents may be too big for baby corn snakes, they eat lizards and frogs before growing big enough to eat rats. Adult corn snakes also eat birds and their eggs.

Rodents, Rats and Mice

For your pet corn snake, you may buy frozen mice to thaw and feed your snake. Adult corn snakes learn to eat previously frozen and thawed out mice but baby corn snakes have to get used to it. Be prepared to feed baby corn snakes live newborn mice before they get used to eating thawed out mice.

To get your corn snake to focus on its food, you can place it next to a thawed mouse in an empty container with air holes and closing the lid. Cut into the skin of a thawed mouse to ensure faster digestion. Baby corn snakes feed once every five to seven days while adult corn snakes feed once every seven to ten days.

Corn snakes are constrictor snakes. They catch their prey and squeeze it. If you are feeding your snake thawed rodents, you may want to give it the feeling of catching its own food. Defrost the mouse and let it warm to room temperature before holding it by the tail with feeding forceps. Dangle the mouse in front of your snake so it can grab it and swallow the mouse. Occasionally, you may also feed your snake quail eggs.

Make sure to leave some fresh, clean water in a container for your snake and change it regularly.

Bird Eggs

Corn Snakes are well-known for eating eggs of some bird species. Besides the fact that eggs are easily sneaked from a bird’s nest, it is also a good source of protein for your snake.

Small Birds and Fish

In the wild, Corn Snakes do not need to worry about chasing a bird away from its nest. Corn Snakes are large enough to ingest a small bird then it will eventually kill the parents and then eat its eggs. Baby birds are an easy meal for Corn Snakes (or any other snakes for that matter). They also eat a variety of fish, ranging from small minnows up to large bass. 

Small Lizards

As mentioned earlier, Corn Snakes feed on other snakes and they are perhaps most famous for that habit. They are also known to eat lizards while they are still young. 

Frogs

Baby Corn Snakes also eat frogs but keep in mind that feeding frogs to Corn Snakes in captive puts it at risk, some frogs are poisonous or has diseases make sure to check them first.