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Bringing the corn home

I

idloveaguinness

New member
Our son will be presented with his corn at his birthday party, but this presents some logistical considerations regarding habitat. Would it be best if we could get the tank all set up and thermoregulated beforehand? We could try to keep him out of the room the snake will live in, but that may be a challenge....it IS his playroom and all. I think we could do it, though. OR - should I not worry about it and just bring the tank/snake home all at the same time and keep a close eye for the first 24-48 hours?

Thanks,
Kevin
 
It would be better to have everything set up before, but the most important thing is that the snake, especially if it is a baby, be left completely alone for the whole first week. It might be easier if this snake is a birthday present to bring snake and tank home a week or two ahead of time and put it somewhere out of the way like in a closet or in your bedroom. At that point you can have the snake established and know that it eats/drinks/poops and you will know that the snake is well adjusted enough to deal with the initial excitement and handling that your son and his friends will want to do. After that you can set up the tank in its permanent location and monitor it carefully for temperatures/drafts/lighting. Although a move in location like that still mandates an adjustment period of 4-7 days of no food or handling, spacing out the stress like that for a baby will make it much less likely to be fatal.
 
I think if I was doing it I would surprise my son with the setup (without hides) and a gift certificate to go pick out a snake together. That way you can go pick out the snake and the hides together and he can be aware of the whole process, and it's still a big awesome surprise. :)
 
Thanks....good ideas. I'm also wondering about the whole "leave the snake alone" for a few days after bringing it home approach to reduce stress. It would totally make my son NUTS if he couldn't hold / interact with the snake as soon as he gets it. BUT....if he's the one picking it out, with the tank already set up at home, then he'll at least feel like he's seen it and we can explain that it needs to be left alone for a few days......hmmmmm.
 
Well, this is part of his education where he has to learn that the needs of the snake come first - not his.

Perhaps you can explain that it's like starting a new school would be for him. The snake is scared and doesn't know its way round and doesn't know anybody there. Evrerything is new and a bit peculiar. If he just has a quiet time for a few days, he can get used to where everything is without being rushed and worried about things, being picked up when he just wants to be left in peace to work out what's going on. I'm sure your son doesn't want his lovely snake to start thinking about him as though he was the school bully!
 
I even have trouble leaving well enough alone with new snakes. I address this by going and seeing the snakes at local stores, reading about snakes online, getting snake books from the library, shopping for snake "stuff" (like hides and fake plants or even making homemade hides), and handling our other snake. Some stores will let you come in and handle their reptiles. Just make sure you wash well and don't have any possible germ transfer from store animal to home animal. And get a zillion books from the library on every aspect of snake keeping, morphs, etc!
 
I went through this with my boys and their pet corns. We informed them that the snake needed this time to adjust so it wouldn't be at risk with it's health. And that with out this time it might cause the animal enough stress to cause it do die. Once they heard that they seemed to be able to wait it out. And it didn't dampen their enthusiasm one bit. If anything it heightened it. They were happy to get stolen glimpses through the bin or during water changes.
 
I personally think that a juvenile or an adult is better for kids than hatchlings, which tend to be flightier. I've noticed that as my snakes grow, they become less timid around me.
 
Yes, we have been looking for an older snake from a local breeder as well. I've been flipping back and forth between hatchling and an older snake. On one hand, my son isn't in this alone.....he will always be under very close supervision and will be handling it over a blanket that's inside a 55 gallon tupperware bin. On the other hand, I'm a beginner, too. The herp store is getting in a bunch today and we're going to take a look at what comes in.
 
We got a hatchling when my son was turning 10, and it worked out, but I agree with Karoni. Hatchlings are so small and flighty. It's hard to handle them with confidence. If I were doing it over I would get a yearling or older for a child.
 
Even I get nervous around hatchlings. They are just very delicate and often flighty and for a kid who is going to want to handle a snake often, a bigger corn is just easier to keep track of. With a hatchling, you really do need that tub and a blanket, but a yearling might be able to hang out on the couch and watch tv with the family without incident. Just my $.02. I love tv time with the juvies. When they were tiny, I didn't really get to watch the show.
 
I didn't have my tank set up when I brought my corn snake home, and he hasn't died because of it. If you really want to surprise your son, it won't be a big deal at all! You can keep the snake in the container you brought him home in. Just place him in a quiet, relatively warm place and maybe throw some aspen shavings in the tub with him. Not having the temperature perfect when you put him in truly is not a big deal; I take my snake out (sometimes for an hour or so) and turn his lights off (or the UTH, which ever I'd been using that day). It certainly won't hurt him.
 
It certainly won't hurt him.
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I always have to warn people about making definitive statements like that. I probably won't have any long term adverse effects, but it is better to be safe than sorry IMHO.
 
Cassie16 said:
I didn't have my tank set up when I brought my corn snake home, and he hasn't died because of it. If you really want to surprise your son, it won't be a big deal at all! You can keep the snake in the container you brought him home in. Just place him in a quiet, relatively warm place and maybe throw some aspen shavings in the tub with him. Not having the temperature perfect when you put him in truly is not a big deal; I take my snake out (sometimes for an hour or so) and turn his lights off (or the UTH, which ever I'd been using that day). It certainly won't hurt him.
Click to expand...

I'm curious how much experience you have in keeping snakes? From your wording I think you have one snake and seeing your amount of posts not for very long either. I'm sure you mean no harm and are just enthusiastic, but the fact that your snake didn't get any problems (so far) does not mean no snake will from being stressed out right after getting into a new environment, or being put in a viv with less then ideal temperatures.

I think the idea to learn a kid that the snakes needs comes first is key in this matter. This kid is old enough to learn that now.
 
I definitely am lacking in experience with corn snakes as I've only had mine for a few months now. I just thought I'd share my experience; I'm sure I'm not the only snake owner who didn't have my set up ready when the snake came home! I truly feel that the snake won't perish from spending a small amount of time in the container it was brought home in for the sake of surprise, and I'm sure many experienced owners have their snakes in unheated feeding containers for such time frames. I'm definitely not saying to keep it in a tub for five hours, but would one hour be harmful? I doubt it.

I suppose a disclaimer of my novice might have been appropriate. I certainly did not intend to dispense ignorant advice!
 
Sometimes, depending on which heat regulating device you choose, setting a stable temperature can take 24-48 hours, even for someone who knows what to expect from a UTH.

One way to help with the anxiety of not handling a new snake for a week is to take lots of pictures before you settle him into his new home.
 
Cassie16 said:
I definitely am lacking in experience with corn snakes as I've only had mine for a few months now. I just thought I'd share my experience; I'm sure I'm not the only snake owner who didn't have my set up ready when the snake came home! I truly feel that the snake won't perish from spending a small amount of time in the container it was brought home in for the sake of surprise, and I'm sure many experienced owners have their snakes in unheated feeding containers for such time frames. I'm definitely not saying to keep it in a tub for five hours, but would one hour be harmful? I doubt it.

I suppose a disclaimer of my novice might have been appropriate. I certainly did not intend to dispense ignorant advice!
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Ok, I thought you meant it could be in a unheated tub for a couple of days.
I did not mean to sound as harsh as it might seem, I really thought you were thinking; if my one snake wasn't stressed, why would others be? I do agree that many people probably have not set up a tank before putting a corn in, as many snakes are impulse buys. An hour or even a couple of hours won't hurt but still, especially someone with no experience would be better of just reducing the risk of stress as much as possible. Having to handle a regurge after a first feeding just ain't the most encouraging situation to start with.
 
Blutengel said:
Ok, I thought you meant it could be in a unheated tub for a couple of days.
I did not mean to sound as harsh as it might seem, I really thought you were thinking; if my one snake wasn't stressed, why would others be? I do agree that many people probably have not set up a tank before putting a corn in, as many snakes are impulse buys. An hour or even a couple of hours won't hurt but still, especially someone with no experience would be better of just reducing the risk of stress as much as possible. Having to handle a regurge after a first feeding just ain't the most encouraging situation to start with.
Click to expand...

You did not sound harsh, and I did not take offense! And I wouldn't want to generalize the feelings of any one snake based on my own, and I see where what I said could be construed that way.
 
Its kind of like coming home from a long trip to a messy house. It sucks for you just like it would probably for the snake. But it PROBABLY won't kill them. If you think about that you might want to consider keeping the set up tank in a different room than where it will normally be It's not that hard to move a snake tank unless you have like a 50g. I have mine in 20g and I'm 5'2" with no upper body strength. Just saying it's better for them. I also like to gift ceritficate idea. That way they can maybe pick out a morph they think it prettier.
 
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