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Hello From Chicago!

Twoboyz

Twoboyz

New member
HI Everyone,

First I'd like to say how much I love this site. I'm so happy I stumbled upon it. I am a mother of an 11-year-old snake fanatic, my son. I fought it for a year now, but finally caved. We are now the proud owners of a really cute (I have to admit) baby corn snake. He hasn't really come out of hiding much yet as we just got him the other day. Our biggest questions right now are:

Is it male or female?

How old is it? It's about a foot long and the circumferance of a pencil or smaller.

What morph is it? It's light in color, almost white with some pinkish and light orange colorings, a diamond on his head and red eyes.

Is the little guy going to be okay in a 20 gal tank or will he be too stressed? We bought the Zilla Deluxe Snake Kit and I hate to buy more stuff now. I'm also a little nervous about leaving the heat lamps on all day while I'm at work. I'm afraid the house is going to burn down. (worrywart).

Can it eat pinkies now? Seems way too small to eat pinkies. The guy at the petshop told us he eats minnows, to put them in his water dish. I thought that was wierd. I'm nervous about the first feeding because of all the stories I'm reading about picky eating habits.

I'm sure I'll find these answers on this site because it seems like you can find anything here. I think my son is surprised at how much time I am spending on researching this. I admit I'm shocked myself, but I'm finding it really interesting and fun.

Thanks for all your helpful and great information everyone. I look forward to many hours on this site.

Twoboyz
 
Welcome! I live in Naperville and do the Wheaton All Animal show twice a month.If you want you could bring them to the next show and I would happily sex them and answer all your questions in person. The Zilla kit is "okay" for the snake but there are a few things you won't even need in there. Your new snakes eat pinks (assuming it IS a corn snake); no crickets, no minnows, no worms no cat food etc. You can buy pinks F/T very reasonably at the Show, much cheaper than a pet store.
I'd love to meet you. Good Luck!
Terri
 
Hello, Im glad you got your son a Corn snake. I just got into this hobby not long ago and I'm obsessed! I dont have as much experience as other people on this forum but I would like to try to help you.
Twoboyz said:
Is it male or female?
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Its hard to tell if its a male or female with out a visual of what your corn snake looks like. A picture or two would be helpful. Even with pictures of the base of the tail, it is difficult to sex a snake accurately with just pictures. From what I understand, females will have a tail that tapers quickly just after the vent. Males will have a broader tail because of the hemipenes. To accurately determine the sex of your snake, it must be popped or probed.
Twoboyz said:
How old is it? It's about a foot long and the circumferance of a pencil or smaller.
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It is difficult to gage the age of a snake based on weight and length. From your description, it sounds like it hatched late '09. Then again, if you bought the snake from a pet shop, if could have been fed a maintenance diet and be much older than that.
Twoboyz said:
What morph is it? It's light in color, almost white with some pinkish and light orange colorings, a diamond on his head and red eyes.
Click to expand...
Assuming it is a corn snake, the description sounds a snow corn. Its a combination of an anerythristic (lacking red pigment) and an amelanistic (lacking black pigment). Again, its difficult to say without pictures =D
Twoboyz said:
Is the little guy going to be okay in a 20 gal tank or will he be too stressed? We bought the Zilla Deluxe Snake Kit and I hate to buy more stuff now. I'm also a little nervous about leaving the heat lamps on all day while I'm at work. I'm afraid the house is going to burn down.
Click to expand...
A 20 gal is an appropriate sized tank for an average adult corn snake. However if multiple hides and plenty of fake foliage are provide, it shouldnt be a problem. Since you just got the snake 'the other day', you need an acclimatization period of 7-10 days to let your snake get settled in. After that, it can be held for periods of 5-10 mins, gradually increasing handling time. It is generally recommended that undertank heaters (UTH) be used with a thermostat/rheostat. Corns snakes rely on belly heat for digestion and overhead heat lamps tends to drastically reduce the humidity in the tank.
Twoboyz said:
Can it eat pinkies now? Seems way too small to eat pinkies. The guy at the petshop told us he eats minnows, to put them in his water dish. I thought that was wierd. I'm nervous about the first feeding because of all the stories I'm reading about picky eating habits.
Click to expand...
If your snake is actually a corn snake, then it will happily eat a diet consisting of mice all its life. A generally accepted feeding plan (The Munson Plan) can be viewed here: http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50106&highlight=munson+plan
I wouldnt suggest feeding anything other than mice, or the occasional rat. Frozen-thawed of course.

A good resource is the stickied Husbandry and FAQ found here:http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28341

Welcome to the forum and the world of corns. If you have any further questions, do not hesitate to ask. Technically, Im still considered a newbie so if others have anything to add or correct, please do so.
 
Thanks so much for your helpful information Terri and Amel. I learned so much today! My son is laughing at me because I was so opposed to the idea for so long and now I'm giving him all this advice. We're both dying for this acclimation period to be over!

Terri, I think my son and I will definitely try to get out to the show at some point. We'll look for you. As far as bringing the snake, I guess we would jut put him in a little plastic carrying case that they sell at Petco? Will it stress him out to transport him? Sorry, more questions. I'll post a picture as soon as I can. He's been in hiding alot. It seems underneath his water dish is his favorite spot for now. Oh, and I'm pretty sure he's a corn snake. We got him at Petco and he was in a tank with about 4 other little corn snakes of varying colors. I thought pinkies would be too big, but I looked at the size of the small pinkies on the mice direct site and they are only about as long as a quarter so I'm sure he can eat those.

Take care and thanks again for the info.
 
I live in the area too! Welcome to the site... hopefully I will bump into you at the expo sometime! :)
 
LOL I know what you mean about fighting the snake passion, my parents tried, and well, here I am 20 years later... glad to see you have "caught the bug" now!
 
Oh, sorry, forgot to answer you about bringing the snake... A plastic tupperware tub with holes in it will do just fine. You can throw some bedding (aspen) at the bottom in you want.
 
Thanks Emily! It's pretty far for us to go to Wheaton, about 45 minute drive. Hopefully it won't stress him out too much to travel. I really would like to bring him so I can get some advice on what kind of corn he is and possibly to find out if he's male or female. My son's excited about going too. Unfortunately the earliest show we can probably make it to will be June or July.

Oh, and we fed him for the first time yesterday and he ate that pinky instantly! It took him no time. We were nervous with all the stuff I'm reading about picky eaters and stress. Now I just have to find a good source for pinky's. Petco is expensive!

Thanks!
 
Twoboyz said:
Thanks Emily! It's pretty far for us to go to Wheaton, about 45 minute drive.
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Welcome to the forum. This is indeed a great site with lots of good info. I live in Western Springs and have a 7 year old boy who loves snakes.

It is well worth the drive to visit the Wheaton Show. Your son will love the huge assortment of reptiles. You might want to drive out once without the snake just for the experience. You can always bring the snake on a future visit to be sexed by Terri -- she seems to be there most every show.

http://www.allanimalexpo.com/
 
Twoboyz said:
Thanks Emily! It's pretty far for us to go to Wheaton, about 45 minute drive. Hopefully it won't stress him out too much to travel. I really would like to bring him so I can get some advice on what kind of corn he is and possibly to find out if he's male or female. My son's excited about going too. Unfortunately the earliest show we can probably make it to will be June or July.

Oh, and we fed him for the first time yesterday and he ate that pinky instantly! It took him no time. We were nervous with all the stuff I'm reading about picky eaters and stress. Now I just have to find a good source for pinky's. Petco is expensive!

Thanks!
Click to expand...

The show will come in handy! There is a great vender who sells feeders for waaaaaaaaay cheaper than Petco.

FYI there are two frozen rodent vendors - one will make you buy in bulk and I have found his stuff to be of lesser quality. The other vendor will not - definitely go there!
 
Great to know he is eating. My only recommendation is to use an appropriate size under tank heater and measure the temp. directly above heater on the inside glass under the substrate keeping the temp.on warm side 81-86 degrees and the cold side between 74-78 degrees. Once you have the UTH set up you can get rid of the lamps. And not sure if you already no this but start out feeding him 1 pinkie every 5 or 6 days and don't handle for 48 hrs after feeding because it can cause him to regurge(throw up)this is real bad and if it ever happens come here for advice and follow it step by step to make sure your little guy will make a full recovery.
Have fun with your new little friend
 
Thanks guys. I appreciate all the help and am following all the good advice. I have everything arriving today, UTH, thermostat, timer, etc. The only thing I'm having trouble finding is the digital thermometer/hygrometer with the probe. I can't find it at Walmart/Home Depot/Lowes. Websites seem to be out of it. I found it on one, but it's double the price. It's still cheaper than buying the ones I've seen specifically for reptile tanks. I'll just order it and be done.

I've checked out a couple places online to get pinky's, but they seem to be in bulk of 100 qty. It'll take me forever to get through those and I hesitate to get that many. Does anyone have any good online sources that you don't have to buy in such large quantities? Or is that something that we can't discuss on the boards. I don't want to break the rules. I'm not too familiar yet.

Thanks
 
Twoboyz said:
I've checked out a couple places online to get pinky's, but they seem to be in bulk of 100 qty. It'll take me forever to get through those and I hesitate to get that many. Does anyone have any good online sources that you don't have to buy in such large quantities? Or is that something that we can't discuss on the boards. I don't want to break the rules. I'm not too familiar yet.

Thanks
Click to expand...

There is a vendor at the Wheaton show that will give you cheap prices but you don't have to buy in bulk. That's where I buy my stuff, because I only have 3 snakes (but refuse to pay outrageous pet store prices).
 
You say you are 45 minutes from the Wheaton show. May I ask were exactly it is that you live? I'm in Naperville which is about 20-30 minutes south of Wheaton. If you are close by I would meet you somewhere in between and sell you pinks at my cost if you were interested. I buy in bulk off the internet. I buy so much that I supply the two local pet stores with their frozen. So I have plenty to spare.:)
Terri
 
Terri,
I'm near Ohare. I don't know where that is in relation to Wheaton. I don't think I'd be opposed to coming out by you to pick some up if the price is much better. So I'm not crazy in thinking that buying 100 small pinky's would last me a year or longer for a 6-8 month old corn? I'm not familiar in how quickly they grow and how soon they'll move up to double pinks. Or can you feed them tripple pinks instead of fuzzies? I don't know how all that works. I'm lookign forward to getting out to the show hopefully in June to get some of these questions answered. I get so much conflicting information at Petco.
Thanks
 
Yeah a hundred pinks is a lot for one animal. You would have to feed pretty heavily to use them up while the snake was still the appropriate size for pinks. At every four days feeding a single pink, with no refusals and no shed downtime, it would take almost a year to go through them. This is unrealistic at best. If you are interested in pinks from me (roughly .20ea), PM me and we can set up a meeting that is convenient.
Terri
 
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