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couple questions.

B

bryansnake

New member
It seems like I'm always asking about something every other day here. But I suppose when you need answers it's easier then trying to google it.

So in light of her escape, I'm looking at buying a new, more secure tank. I found a zilla tank I can order online since no one in my area supplies them. It got me wondering, if I go ahead and buy a 20 gallon long now, will my snake stress too much from all the extra space? I've heard they can be agoraphobic, and where she's still little I don't want to add unnecessary stress like too big a home. If it is possible, would she be more comfortable if I just loaded it with hides everywhere?

The other thing I'm wondering about is the "infrared" heat lights. I use one sparingly for the cold side of my tank. It's a little too cold, so I turn the light on, let it warm up, and then turn it off again. The box said it won't interfere with day/night cycles saying they snake can't see the red light. Do you guys find any truth to that? Or is it just garbage said to sell lights?

And thanks everyone for all your help and support. I'm new to taking care of anything, let alone a young snake. This forum and community has been so much help and I'm very thankful to all of you.
 
I have my little guy in a 30 gallon tank, and he's just fine. I think the "baby snakes are afraid of big tanks" thing is a myth, according to the consensus I've seen on this forum from experienced corn snake folks.
 
Putting a baby into a 20 gal now is fine. Just make sure that you have plenty of hides for him. It will help him feel secure in a small area.

Using the red bulb is not going to be harmful to the snake. Just make sure that the light is not touching the screen. Corn snake benefit more from belly heat then upper heat. So you would do better warming the tank with an under tank heater (UTH) and a thermostat.

And feel free to shoot questions out when ever you need to. That is the beauty of this forum. Everyone is here to help each other.
 
oh yeah. I use an uth heater for the warm side. it's just the cold side was a couple degrees too cold. So I use the lamb to warm up that side. I have digital thermometers on both ends to keep track.
 
I was wondering. Since I've switched to aspen bedding. I've been having a hard time keeping the temperature stable on the warm side. I find that it will rise up to 86 pr 87, but then later it'll have fallen down to 80, or even mid 70's, but I won't have moved the silder on the dimmer, or if I did only very little. The difference is very noticeable compared to when I had the soil stuff. Does anyone else have this problem?
 
I have not had that problem. Does your house fluctuate that much? Cause that is the only time that I have noticed the change in temp.
 
it's quite possible. The tank is in the living room, and the living room has a window for most of one wall. it's not a big bay window or anything, just 3 standard ones. I keep the blinds pulled though. I guess though it'll still heat the room up once the sun starts shining for the day.
 
ok. I just took my little girl out of her temporary home and she's got me worried. She seems very lethargic and almost moving in segments. I haven't handled her for 2 days, as I fed her, and I know I shouldn't for 48 hours. I also noticed that down by her tail her scales seem pushed out, shaggy like. Her eyes are clear though. Is she ready to shed? I was just out of the shower though when I handled her, so she may not have recognized me and been her normal squirmy self. I'm worried now as to what's going on.

Also, I had her tank sitting mostly on the heating pad, but is it possible that it just wasn't heating through and she's gotten cold? Oooh crap. I think she just regurgitated while I was writing this. She opened her mouth really wide like she was yawning, and slimely brown stuff came out. Is my baby sick now?

This is just one catastrophe after another :(
 
Hi fella,

I had a anerythristic motley, only 6 months old, and fed it a pinky, when I got him, and it regurged after a day,

first thing I checked were temperatures on the warm side and on the cool side

and also checked his feeding schedule, as well, and also when he shedded

I then found a pattern then he shed every 4 weeks, and on the 4th week he wasn't fed, as I did not fully read the prev hsitory, I fed him while he was about to shed

have you seen signs of shedding other than nose rubbing? like blue/milky eyes, dull skin etc? if so then he/she is about to shed

ANd some snakes, do actually regurge while in the shedding process and its different to each one.

I would suggest, wait for it to shed, and while it is doing so, just make sure the humidty is there and if in doubt get a small box with a cut out hole and some damp spagham moss inside, as this can help humidity and shed

don't handle or feed until he sheds, and then wait at least a week before trying to feed again

also I tend to leave mine for 72 hours, depending on size of food, as bigger food takes slightly longer,

also make sure there is no shed remains around the cloaca and tail as if this is blocked, also can cause problems

and also if in a large tank which is a little to big, this can cause stress, so, either get a medium size tank, or keep the existing and make it snake proof, and also put lots of hides, fake decor in etc, so it feels relaxed, as snakes and big spaces = huge stress = regurge also

hope this helps

let me know the outcome
 
well. I've come up with a couple more questions.

When feeding a half a pinky; do I feed it cut side first, of tail side first? She's on a restricted diet due to the regurg, which means going down to half sizes.

When I go to get a new tank for her. I was originally going to get a 20g long, which seems to be what a lot of people say is fine. But with the couple new threads on this, I'm starting to wonder if a longer tank would be better. Thoughts and reasons?
 
I personally feed the closed side first. So if you are feeding the butt half, I would feed butt first. I am not sure if it really makes a difference but I figure it is the smallest section going bigger.

As far as tank size a 20 gal long is a big enough tank to last a snake it's whole life. The snakes that I have in tanks, do have tanks equivalent to 55 gal. But that is because those are the tanks I had available and I like decorating them.
 
yeah. I keep hearing most people say that the 20 gal long is big enough. but when I look at the measurements, that's only 3 feet long, but my snake will eventually be 4-5-5.5 long won't she? so when I think like that, it makes me think it'll be too small.
 
Personally, I kind of think so myself. I like them having a lot of space to roam around. So I wouldn't blame you if you got a bigger tank too.
 
So I was wondering. Are the bendable climbing branches they sell in the reptile section ok for corns. I felt one, and it seemed kinda rough, like it might scratch her up. Or am I just being a little over protective? Also, a uth wouldn't break the glass on a Zilla tank would it? I'm getting on now soon and read on a review page that it would. It doesn't seem right to me, but I figured I should ask to be sure. Also, should I put the probe in the tank, under the aspen, or should I stick to the utc when I stick it to the tank?
 
I have three Zillas and they all have UTHs. The advice I read on this forum, and followed, was to lift up the cage so that the heat would be able to dissipate and not build up between the cage and whatever it's resting upon. I use those sliders you put under furniture legs to let you move furniture more easily; they lift the Zilla up about 1/4 to 1/3 inch. Anything would do though.
 
I wouldn't worry about scratching. Scales are tough.
However, if you notice scratching, you should probably remove the offending decoration.
 
Think about it this way: In the wild your snake would be climbing over branches, logs, gravel and rocks. All rough surfaces. The scales are designed to deal with that stuff.

For the UTH, the probe thermometer's probe should be in the cage, with the probe placed under the substrate, directly on the glass over the UTH.

And for the pinks: I tend to cut mine in half lengthwise for picky feeders so that there is no 'closed end', and they do just fine and dandy with it. Just feed it in a clean, empty bin/tupperware and it won't be a problem at all.
 
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