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Ash has landed!

Vegas

Vegas

New member
So, from now on I'm the proud owner of this little booger called Ash, a September -04 hatchling normal colored.

A few questions, I bought some kind of kittylitter, pineshavings formed into pellets, recommended by the guy at the petshop. When I returned home someone told me not to use this. I don't know, what's your opinion, it's pellets of pine.
Also, I now have a 50 W Nightglowlamp and a 20 W halogenlamp on + the hood with two 15 W plugged in at daytime, with this setup I have around 82 on the warm side and 79 on the cold side. At night it drops to about 79 at the warm side and 77 on the cold side. I could perhaps remove the halogen... I don't think it's needed. But I was thinking about maybe buying a UTH instead, what are the pro's and cons with spotlight and UTH? I've been told UTH is better, I dunno enlighten me. The temp is good I atm I assume.

Here he is.

Ash.jpg


And here's the setup.

IMG_1056.jpg


I'm gonna leave him alone for like 4-5 days and then try to feed him.
 
Actually I don't have a hydrometer (is it called that?). But I sprayed the viv a little bit today... just moistured it a bit.
He don't seem very scared. Just a little shy from time to time, but today he was perfecting his tan on the glassdoorslides for a good 30-40 min, as you can see in the picture. ;)
I might wanna get one of those hydrometers though.
 
Like I said, pine pellets arent the best substrate you can use, and others will confirm that.

You can get a hygrometer if you want---if you're only going to use lamps to heat the tank I'd suggest that.
 
Some people have said pine is fine (and use it with no problems), but I've heard bad things about pine being bad for the same reasons you should avoid cedar, so I won't take a chance with my snakes. As for humidity, unless you're giving out shocks everytime you touch something, there's really no huge need to increase it overall. Just throw in a humid hide when it's that time of the month and watch for bad sheds... increase accordingly.

What a great pic (the top one). :)
 
If it has a really strong scent, I'd stay away from it. It may not be bad, but I wouldn't take a chance.
 
I just got off the phone with the petshop and he says that the pinepellets are just fine, he used them for 8 years for his snakes and never any problems. I don't know wether to change or not now with the split opinions.
Anyway, now I removed the halogen and atm the temps are pretty much the same, slightly lower.
I'm heading to the local petshop later to get a better waterbowl, I just use this small coffeplate which is a real balanceact when I'm changing the water. ;)
Today he finally found his HUGE cave I bought him. Hope he don't like it too much then I'll never see him. :)
I got him saturday, when do you think it's a good time to try to feed him? wednesday or thursday perhaps?
He's a juvenile so maybe he needs some food faster? also, what should I do when I'm gonna feed him, it might be stressful to grab him and put him in the little feedingbox.

EDIT: How often should I spray the viv and how much should I spray? now I spray a little bit, and it's gone 1-2 hours later. Should I spray more whenever it drys up?
 
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:-offtopic Wow Vegas...you have some great photography skills there!

Back to the topic at hand...I can't really see how big he is but if he's as old as he is and well established then I'd say he'd be ready for fuzzies if he's not already onto them.
 
Well, to me he looks very very small, then again I don't know how big they should be before eating fuzzys, but I'd say his head is about the same size as the pinkys I received from the breeder. I got 5 of them, ordering 10 or something more from a petshop just for now, might buy bigger loads later.

Also, thx for the comment on the picture Princess.
 
If you are really concerned about the pine pellets, there is a product that is a simalar pellet, but made with recycled newspaper. The name of the product is "yesterday's news" and you would find it in the cat litter section.
 
I don't think we have "yesterday's news" in sweden, I could be wrong though. :)
I'm more concerned about the humidity, how often should I spray the viv? when I spray it now, after 1 hour or so the damp is gone. Should I spray it again then or what? and define spray? should I spray alot or just so I get a few drops around the viv.
 
i would definitely pick up a hygrometer (spelling?), as tecnically you shouldnt HAVE to mist your viv at all. if you cannot obtain one there, let me know. i can probaly obtain and mail you one for under $20.00. if you are concerned about humidity, perhaps put the water bowl on the warm side of your tank in the mean time.
 
Pine bedding can be very dusty and can cause respitory infections in small animals. Oils (such like Cedar has) can also cause problems with reptiles.

If you purchased the snake from a common pet store, the chances of talking to someone knowledgeable with reptiles is rare. If you had purchased from a breeder, I wouldn't worry about the advice you received.
 
How dry it is in my room? no idea to be honest. The guy I talked to at the petstore had been using the pinepellets for 8 years for his snakes. But I don't know. It's not sandlike pinebedding, it's pellets.
Spirit: Why I'm so concerned about humidity? shouldn't I be? I have no hydrometer and as I wrote earlier the damp goes away real fast. Therefor I'm afraid it's not humid enough.
He's been lying in his cave all day today until 30 min ago, he's now chilling around in the warm side on his piece of wood.
I've been trying to reach the breeder today with no success, I don't know how long ago it's been since he last ate. But I've heard you're supposed to let them sattle in for a couple of days first.

luvofthechase: Thx for the offer but I don't think it's a problem to get one.
 
The only concern I would have for humidity is the fact that you are heating with lights...and they will tend to dry things out...

Cornsnakes don't need a HUGE amount of humidity...but don't let it get TOO incredibly dry either...

Is you keep a water bowl with enough surface area to evaporate well...it should keep the humidity just fine...especially with the limited amount of screening your tank has...
 
Buy a hygrometer if you wish, but I dont think its necessary.

Again, you dont need high humidity levels. I'm cringing as I'm reading your post hearing you talk about misting and keeping the cage damp. That's over-doing it. Corns snakes dont need a damp environment to thrive, and I warned you about over-misting and getting the pine pellets wet--that can cause mold and create problems for your snake.
 
yesterday's news is a good suggestion. i use paper towels personally. I have heard that pine can be bad for the snake. I would suggest buying a hygrometer and only spray when its needed according to that. Theyre not expensive little things and can save your snake some problems.
 
You can try either Wednesday or Thursday. If you're concerned about him being too stressed, you can try feeding him in the viv on paper or something that won't let him get the substrate. I would try a feed box first though. You'll know if he's too stressed to eat. Almost all of mine ate the first time in the feed box. Of the 5, only two have needed to be fed in the viv, and I ended up putting paper down in there until they calmed enough to feed in a box. Every 5 days should be fine for a small hatchling until it's on fuzzies. Start with a pinky and see how it goes. Good luck!!
 
P.S. As far as misting, you shouldn't have to mist unless you see them in blue or know that they're near shed. Then you can either mist daily, or put in a moist hide. Even a damp paper towel draped into a tent works well. My amel loved to lay under his paper tent.
 
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