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I wish I had only one question :)

J

Jenstet

New member
Hello, new here
My son has a corn snake and we are new to this whole thing. She is about 1 1/2 years old and we purchased her from a large breeding facility near us. She was taken out of one side of a rack that held about 100 different types of snakes. A shoebox size drawer with newspaper for a bedding. The thermostat was at 90 degrees and I asked (because I was curious) and was told that was because there were balls in the rack as well. The reason I'm telling you this is that I think the adjustment to a 20 gallon long home with aspen bedding may be affecting her behavior.
I may be over thinking this so please forgive me. It's been getting colder here in New Hampshire and I have the heat on. 71 degrees. Her tank never goes below that. I have a thermostat attached to the UTH set at 85 and that does fluctuate a few degrees. We have a hide on the cool side and the exact same hide over the UTH. I think this girl (her name is Cornelia) is fairly shy. She does come out at times but rarely. My son takes her out for a few minutes every day except the day before feeding and for two days after. She has been sweet. When we put her back in she roams around the cage for a few minutes and then hides. My concern is this. Is she getting enough to drink and does she know enough to get warm on the warm side? She went into her cool side yesterday and didn't come out. We fluff her bedding and look for her trails although I suppose she could be burrowing to her water dish. My son took her out this morning and said she felt really cool. He placed her back in the tank in front of her warm hide and she went right in. There have been times we have taken her out and we place her in front of her water dish. She will drink for quite a while and then hides again.

Will her instincts keep her from being dehydrated or will her shy nature keep her from taking care of herself? Getting the water she needs and moving from warm to cool sides.
Are the temps we are keeping her at now too cool because she was used to warmer temps for her early life?
I think she may also be getting ready to shed. Her eyes look clear but she has a checkerboard belly and the blacks are looking much grayer/duller.
 

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That is such a pretty snake! She probably drinks when you're not around, and she knows to warm herself. She should be fine. I think she'll enjoy your home more than he last one.

Once again, I love the colors on her. She's gorgeous!
 
If there's one things these little guys are good at, it's taking care of themselves as long as they can. No one knows her body better than she does, so if she has adequate hides (cool and warm and maybe some in between) and a fresh water supply, she'll do what she needs to and when.

She should always feel cool to the touch. Your corn should be kept at temperatures considerably cooler than the internal human body temperature. She shouldn't ever feel "cold", but definitely cool. The few times I've seen or heard of a snake not properly thermoregulating was in cases of either only 1 hide (in which case they spend all their time hiding on one side) or the rare case of hide preference, where they just don't want to use any of their other hides.

As long as her home is set up properly with hides, temperature gradient, and water though... I wouldn't worry. Being crepuscular, they tend to do most of their business when you're not around to see it. Some people will never see their snake drink, others will only see them drink after a handling, but not on their own. But, if a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, it certainly still makes a sound.
 
I wasn't exactly sure what he meant by cool. I asked him and he meant she felt cooler than usual and she was trying to get in his shirt :)

Thank you for the responses. I don't think I've ever worried so much about a little being. At least with human babies you can tell when they are upset. I can see why my son gravitates towards snakes. It takes patience and observation to really figure out what their personalities are.
 
He purchased her from NERD. Well, the store front downstairs I'm not sure if they actually bred her though. I think they mainly breed retics and balls. We did pick her out of a rack of about 20 different corns they had. We kind of joke that she looked really small in the store next to the 10 foot boas until we got her home and realized she was over 3 feet long.
They offer these fantastic tours where you get to see and hold a bunch of different species of reptiles. My son loves to visit.

http://zoocreatures.com/zoo/

http://newenglandreptile.com/index.php/
 
Thank you. I've been looking for some local shops to visit.

If you haven't been to Woof Meow in Derry, they have a lot of enclosure supplies.
 
Sounds like you are doing fabulous! The breeder before had her in too warm of a condition, I believe, so you having her is fantastic.
She will be shy for awhile, as she's settling in. She is close to being an adult (if not already is) so I would think she knows how to get water and when she needs a different temperature :) so not to worry! They may be reptiles and simple, but they aren't "stupid" ;)

The reason she feels cool-to-touch is because her body is set at whatever her surroundings are, while our skin is about 90-95F on the surface! about a 20F difference from her.

In the wild the air temperature drops at night, so she will be just fine with a night time drop to about 64F (not sure exactly the conversion, but I know it's 15C) - just in case your house does drop at night. With the thermostat on though you should have no worries.

Keep up the great work! And congrats on the beauty.
 
She's beautiful! What morph is she?

It sounds like you are on the right track, and I think people don't give enough credit to the snakes when it comes to heating. Make sure they have a warm side and a cool side, they will decide where in the viv is most comfortable to them. Offer them several options for hides around the viv, this will ensure their comfort level.
 
Moneypit said:
Thank you. I've been looking for some local shops to visit.

If you haven't been to Woof Meow in Derry, they have a lot of enclosure supplies.
Click to expand...

I noticed WoofMeow a few weeks ago while we were at the SportsZone. It's big. We'll have to check it out. Thanks!

The other place we have visited is Prehistorix in Exeter. We first saw them at the reptile show and they had a beautiful lavender albino king snake for sale that they had rescued. We try not to be impulsive especially when it comes to animals :) We visited the store but she was snatched up at the show. They are a new place and it isn't very big but they were very kind and helpful answering my sons questions which I appreciated.
http://www.prehistorix.co/default.asp
 
smigon said:
She's beautiful! What morph is she?

It sounds like you are on the right track, and I think people don't give enough credit to the snakes when it comes to heating. Make sure they have a warm side and a cool side, they will decide where in the viv is most comfortable to them. Offer them several options for hides around the viv, this will ensure their comfort level.
Click to expand...

When we bought her we were looking for temperament which is why we ended up with an older snake. I should have thought to ask exactly what morph she is. I did ask here on the forum and someone suggested an Ultramel.
http://iansvivarium.com/morphs/species/elaphe_guttata/ultramel/
She looks a lot like this picture.
We have since added another vine to her viv. She is so private especially when she eats.

We are so pleased with her. She has calmed down quite a bit and will actually sit still for a bit with my son. He's already talking about the next snake he would like to get. He's been looking at a Childrens Python :) I like the fact that his money is being saved towards something other than the newest Lego set.
 
Very pretty snake and a nice picture too.
I was going to say add another vine or two but I see you have now done that. I find it very cute when the bright red or orange snakes think they are so well hidden in green vines. By having put in more "hiding places" with the vine you may end up seeing your snake more. Also as others have said it may still be adjusting to a new home and better temperatures.
 
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