Carl and the lightbulb

[Lenny and Carl]

Hey everybody

So i got 2 (probably male although they haven't been sexed) corns a few months ago (26/1/08) when they were roughly one year old. they looked really cool, were fun and liked attention. Everything was fine :crazy02: ... Until...

One night (after the lightbulb had turned off) i saw Lenny trying to get up onto it by 'grabbing' onto the thermostat then reaching for the wire above conneced to the lightbulb. I got him down, before realising Carl was already wrapped around the lightbulb.:uhoh:

I got him down and the next day we put a cage around the lightbulb. This didn't stop him as that night he got on the cage (we didn't attatch it to the roof, we put the lightbulb through a hole in it) and jumped off. Then Lenny joined in. I didn't get to sleep 'till 1am because of the *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* all night.:shrugs:

So the next day we attatched the cage to the ceiling of the viv. Surely there was no way he could get in there. 'Course there was. :headbang: there was a tiny gap about 2mm wide that this 5mm corn could get through. So I took him out and sealed it up as best i could with blu-tac at midnight.

Then this morning, I woke up to find Carl in the lightbulb cage WHEN THE LIGHT WAS ON!!! I knew that if he touched it his skin could melt and get stuck to it so ran over and turned it off before getting Carl out.

Since then we have tied it up with string and hope that will work.

The only other thing I could think of is getting a heat mat but don't know any specifics on them...

PLEASE HELP ME!!!

 

[Gralena]

As far as I know, I do not think it is necessary to have a light like you have described. Most owners use UTH (under tank heater) with their vivs. You can purchase them at any pet store, or online. It sticks to the underside of your tank on one end only (so as to provide a temperature gradient). They run about $15-$40 depending on the size of your viv. I also purchased a thermostat that the heat mat plugs into so I can control the temperature. You at least want to use thermometers over the mat, so you can see how hot it is getting. (you don't want to go over 85-90 degrees F) I would not risk your snake being burned by the lightbulb, especially since he seems to be attracted to it. Good luck!

 

[Corny Noob]

You really want to get that thing out of the tank and keep it out. If there is no way for you to keep it outside of the tank and use it then an UTH is your best friend.

They come in sizes depending on how big your Viv is (for example 10-20 gallon UTH's are for..10-20 gallon tanks!) You place it underneath 1/3-1/2 of your viv that is deemed the warm side. I don't stick them on because I would hate to have to buy another one if I ever decide to get rid of the tank or use it for something else.
Also along with what Gralena said you are certainly going to need something to accurately measure the temps along with something to control it.

One last thing I'm curious about as well, from reading your post it sure seems that you have both of these snakes housed together. And you don't even know the sexes. Are you prepared for the fact that they may breed way too young and you put one of your snakes health in danger from this? (aside from a whole slew of other issues....)


PS- That yellow is really hard to read, could you maybe not use it please? Thanks.

 

[Lenny and Carl]

Gralena - Thanks. I'm not sure if it is possible to have UTH with a wooden tank? It is completely wooden other than the glass sliding door front. I already have a thermostat for the lightbulb i have.

Corny Noob - Do you mean get the snake out of the tank or the lightbulb? Or the cage? Ok, but I don't know in gallons how big my tank is. It is 3 ft. wide, 1 ft. deep and 1 ft high. Again is it advisable to use a heat mat with a wooden viv? The person at the place I bought the snakes said I would be fine with a lightbulb and it is the better option than UTH as it provides light on top of heat. I already have 2 thermometers (one for the hot end and one for the cold). Yes I do have 2 snakes together and I don't know the sexes (however according the the place i got them they are probably male). What are the dangers of breeding early? I had not realised there was a danger at all.
P.S. Is it possible to change the post to change the colour? I won't use it in future.

Please reply to my questions. I'm quite worried now.

 

[Corny Noob]

I meant take the light out of the Viv it's obviously causing you more trouble than it is worth.

A lot of people here use UTH's with their wooden vivs I would just say drill some holes in it for the bottom for ventelation and then put the UTH under neath a peice of tile inside of the cage, so that way the snakes can't spill anything on it like urine or their water dish. The light is not a necessity and is really only for you, so there's no need to worry that you're taking their light away.

As for your tank size a 36x12 inch tank is a 30 gallon tank. So you would want to get one rated for 30 gallons.

When it comes to housing two snakes together, again the first thing that worries me is that the pet store says they're "probally" a certain sex. Even if they aren't opposite sex the only two I'd even think about ever keeping together would be two guarenteed females. Males eventually will have agression issues with each other, and as I stated before breeding too young can be detrimental to the females' health. Not to mention if you aren't prepared for the comittment for all the extra babies.

For some other info on cohabbitation it would probally be easier for you to check out some of these links, as it's been discussed so many times before:
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66093&highlight=cohab
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64742&highlight=cohab
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64024&highlight=cohab
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20773&highlight=cohab
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60151&highlight=cohab

 

[Lenny and Carl]

ok thanks again. i will definately get a UTH but i don't understand what you're saying about drilling holes then putting tiles above etc.

I have a friend with 2 corn snakes (male and female) they are cohabbed and the female was ill after giving birth. However about the babies my local pet shop does a deal where they incubate the eggs, then keep half of the babies as 'payment'. You can either keep the other half of the babies or sell them back to the pet shop.

Ok so I told my parents about what you and others have said here and in other places on the internet about cohabbing. They said there was no way they would pay for another viv so I said i would save up but they said it was ridiculous and wouldn't let me =S

 

[Corny Noob]

Well since you have a wooden viv you will have to put it in the bottom of the tank as opposed to underneath it.
Since it is a peice of electrical equipment you don't want your snakes spilling pee or urine on it. So if you take a floor tile (you can get a scrap one from most hardware stores) and place it on top of the UTH it will insulate as well as protect from electrical issues. The drilling of the holes is so that you allow for ventelation of the heating unit. And again by placing the tile on top of the UTH you can make sure your snakes won't escape through the holes.

 

[clipclopclip]

You wont need another viv. Get a sterilite plastic shoebox with a lid that will snap down, drill some holes in it, put in some paper towels, two hides and a water bowl. get a second UTH and attach it to the thermostat. Viola! Theers a new viv until you buy a second one you like. I personally prefer to keep my snakes in tubs rather than vivs anyway..less messy and heavy to clean. And MUCH cheaper.

 

[v_various]

yup, I'll second clipclop. I use a sterlite bin for my spotted python, he was kind of taken in last minute so I didn't have time to get a proper tank - and I love the sterlite bin even better! While I like the aquarium type for display, my spotted hides all the time, so a large display tank isn't worth the bulk. And the sterlite is easier to clean. No need to get involved with tile either, just shove an under tank heater under it (I also attached lamp dimmers to control the heat output), drill some holes in the side, slap a luggage strap around it for extra security (you can get them at dollar stored. Thanagar got a rainbow one because he's fabulous) - but don't let it touch the UTH. It's a great little snake home.
My set up

I really think you should separate them, it's healthier for the snakes.

 

[patm1313]

For some other info on cohabbitation it would probally be easier for you to check out some of these links, as it's been discussed so many times before:
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66093&highlight=cohab
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64742&highlight=cohab
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64024&highlight=cohab
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20773&highlight=cohab
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60151&highlight=cohab

*Bowing down to the person who took the time and effort to get that many links*

Anyhow, this isn't exactly the first time I have heard about corns and their dangerous shinanigans with light bulbs.

I would go with a UTH (under tank heater). They are a lot easier to control, and don't need to be replaced like lightbulbs would. I would say in the meantime just placing the bulb on to of the screenof the tank, but if you are using a sliding door tank then you might have to be more creative...

 

[Lenny and Carl]

ok thanks all. i will get uth and floor tile etc. i will also follow clipclop's advice untill my parents let me get a new viv =S thanks again everyobdy

 

[freetv-5]

Hey Lenny and Carl
I went with a light bulb for a while when I first got Fang, actually thats what previous owners used and he seemed pretty happy and had already made it five years that way and temps where pretty good.
I was a little worried about burns too and possible fire risk, found wire mesh office style garbage cans at dollar store. I put a good amount of weight in the bottom to avoid tipping over hazard and wired the light on top.
After reading here and some good advice I quickly switched to UTH. If you do go with lights you pretty much need a spare infrared bulb and by the time you consider the price it's really not that much more for a UTH!
Just out of curiosity why are you shutting the light off at night? Your snake still needs it's warm side all the time. Also if space is a factor would it be possible to devide the tank using wood or plexi?

 

[Lenny and Carl]

ohh cool. Thanks for your post. the light is not shutting down as such - at night time (when it goes dark - it has a light sensor) however it is set to go down about 12 degress F. As i live in quite a warm house, it usualy stays around that temp. at night anyway