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General snake question from a new owner

manny_chan

manny_chan

New member
Hey, I bought my baby snow corn snake four months ago. I did not know anything about snake caring so I read stuff on the net and listened to the council of the pet shop keaper who was a snake breader.
She told some basic things, got me all the stuff I need.
My questions are:

1-My snake does not seem to come out of her hide very often. The only time I see her/him out is either when her lamp is off, or when I am alone in the appartment watching television. I thought maybe she didn't feel safe so I got her a log to put in her terrarium. But it doesn't seem to make a difference. Is it normal?

2-How often does a snake shed his skin? Mine has shed twice since I have her/him. And does skin shed implie that the snake is healthy and doing good?

3-The tempature on the warm side of the terrarium (where her favorite hide is) reaches 75 degree or some when the light is on. At night it drops approximatly to 65. Are these good tempatures? Is it ok to have no lights on for her at night?

Besides this, I feed her/him once a week on mondays. She/he never regurgitated her/his food, and when I take her in my hands is docile. Never tried to bite anyone...so do you guys think I am doing good? I really want my snake to be healthy and happy. Is there anything I should do different?

Thanks alot,
Manny.

ps. My snakes name is Vivi.
 
1- some snakes hide a lot, some don't. from what i've learned, as the snake gets older and feels more comfortable in their environment, it'll come out more. hatchlings tend to hide more (by instinct) because they are much more at risk of being a bigger animal's lunch.

2-hatchlings shed about once a month. as they get older and their growth slows up, it becomes less frequent. a full shed is a very good thing, but doesn't *always* mean your snake is 100% healthy. you can't rely simply on that to determine your snake's health.

3-these temps sound a little low. the warm side should be above 80 at the very least during the daytime (i keep my warm side 84-87). 75 is a good temp for the cool side, though.

i would suggest picking up the cornsnake manual by bill and kathy love, it's definitely the best source of cornsnake information out there! you can find it at most pet stores or online at kathy's site www.cornutopia.com.

good luck!!! :cheers:
 
I agree with stefmc24 on all of the above, but would like to ask if the snake is eating/pooping normally and regulary? If the ansaw is yes their isn't (i don't think) much wrong with the snake.

The temps should be imho about82-86 ideally for the daytime temp in the warm side, but anything between 80-88 is fine.
 
Your temps are a little low but fine. Anything above 82-83 is pushing the limit of being "too warm". Too much heat can lead to unnecessary stress. If your snake is digesting normally (which it should at those temps) there is nothing to wory about.

Corns hide during the day because they are most active between the hours of dusk and dawn. They are programmed that way naturally for survival.
 
Thanks for the help.

Yeah its eating well and pooping normally.

So if I'd want to raise the temp of its terrarium, how should I go about it? ITs a 20 gallons and I have a lamp over it with a red bulp.
 
What kind of substrate are you using for bedding? You can often change temps just by changing the type or depth of bedding material without changing anything else. The problem with using lamps to regulate heat is that the hotter the bulb gets, the drier the enclosure gets.
 
I'd either adjust the depth of the substrate or alter the lamp wattage. What wattage are you currently using? It is red or black light?
 
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