Introduction-new snake-new member-Couple questions

[Vwals]

Hello everyone,
I'm a new member- first post. I recently discovered this site after purchasing a 5 week old male corn snake - at a shop called "The Zoo" in Schenectady, NY

http://www.thezoollc.com/

The gentlemen that bred my new friend seemed knowledgeable and while talking to him I decided that would be the day I would actually go home with a snake, as I've been wanting one for a long time.

A couple of points I feel are worth mentioning - I'm sure I'll be lurking and posting as I go about trying to keep this little guy as happy as possible...

-I have yet to name him - any ideas? I've attached a picture (hopefully the attachment works).

-I've been leaving his heat lamp OFF - as the ambient temperature has been between 75 - 85. I of course monitor it closely but I assume this is ok to do.

-He currently gets fed on Saturdays, but I would like to change this to Monday if possible so that I will be able to handle him on the weekends, when I am off of work and have the time. Should I wait to make this transition? He is only 5 weeks old and don't want to mess with his routine etc. What is the best way to transition from Saturday to Monday feeding?

Thanks everyone! -Vince

 

[Eavlynn]

What a sweet little guy. Congratulations on your first snake, and welcome to the forum!

I always fed my hatchlings on a 5 day schedule for the first couple months before moving them to 7, but that's just a personal preference really. If you feed on a five day schedule, you'll eventually land on a Monday lol. If you wait until Monday, he should be fine. 9 days isn't detrimental and it would be a one time deal before he'd be back on a shorter schedule.

I keep my lights on thermostats, and with the ambient temp in my apartment, I don't think they've kicked on in over a month or so, except at night here and there. As long as you're keeping an eye on temps, he should be alright, but if you can afford a thermostat you'll know you're covered in case temps drop for some strange reason while you aren't home.

 

[Karl_Mcknight]

a snake that young can eat every 4 or 5 days.

I'm not a big fan of buying a snake only 5 weeks old, and I would not do business with a breeder that sold them that young, but that's just me. I think it's better for the snake to have shed a time or two, eaten about 15 or 20 meals, shown no signs of illness or problems, and had the opportunity to get used to human contact. I personally would feel better knowing my snake was "Off to a good Start" so to speak. The breeder I got mine from will not even consider selling a snake until it's at least 3 months old.

But if your snake is eating ok, drinking, pooping, active, not showing signs of illness or stress, then you'll probably be ok.
If possible try to provide a heat gradient (variant) within the cage, rather than 75 to 85 ambient temp all over. 1/2 of the cage should stay at 85 and 1/2 should stay at 75. Your snake will then have a choice of warming up or cooling off when he wants or needs to.

Just out of curiosity, what are you feeding him?

Also, you can't tell by the picture you posted, but does he have places to hide? Snakes don't like to just lay out in the open as he appears to be doing.

 

[jagodzinski]

First of all, welcome to the forum. Feel free to ask any questions.

My first concern echos what Karl_Mcknight said, that those temps you were describing were the aim for the floor of the vivarium. And as he mentioned, you want a gradient. The best way to achieve this is to use an under tank heater (UTH) which you can find online or at a pet store. You want to look at the dimensions and pick one that covers about 1/3 of the bottom. With a UTH, it is very important that you buy a thermostat because otherwise, they can get too hot and injure your snake. THIS is a good one, I am many other members use it. It is also important to have thermometer probes (or use handheld gun) to measure the bottom of the tank where the snake's belly is. The reason you want this to be warm though, is that the belly heat aids digestion, especially important for younger snakes who might be at a higher risk of regurgitating their meal.

As for getting him onto a Monday feeding, because he is so little, I really would not mess with his feeding too much, at least for a couple weeks, but Eavlynn's suggestion of just going every five days until you hit a Monday is a good one, and I agree that at that size he should be eating every 5ish days rather than 7 to grow. Do you have a mass on him yet?

Very cute little wormie! Best of luck and welcome to the forums!

 

[DollysMom]

Hi Vince. Welcome to the forum! :wavey:

I got my little girl Cleo at 6 weeks, so I don't see that as a problem. Many of us here get snakes that young without major problems.

I agree on the 5 day feeding schedule at this point. I also agree on what has been said on heating.

Did the store tell you the morph? From the picture he looks like a really adorable little motley. He's so cute. So far no name has come to my mind. If one comes I'll be back here with it. One way to get name ideas is to think of names in movies or books you like. Another way is to google the baby name sites. There are so many names and you may find one you never would have thought of that way.

Congrats on such a sweet little guy and best wishes!

 

[Giga]

Hello! Others have mostly covered your questions, so I just wanted to say hi and welcome!

 

[kdickens]

Welcome Vwals! Nice little one you have. You'll enjoy your new snake I'm sure. Not much to add from what others have said. Read through this forum and use the 'search' features to find specific answers to questions that come to mind. Check out the FAQ section.
Snake names? My first snake never had a name. Guess I called him 'snake'. The snake I have now I named 'Loopy'. Not many know this ... but his name came from a box of cereal. Every time I saw my new little guy I thought of ...

 

[Vwals]

Thanks for the info everyone! I'll definitely have to invest in some more sophisticated heating equipment, also its getting cumbersome to constantly check the temperature.
He does have several hides, a fake half log, a paper towel roll, but what he seems to like most are the fake plants/leaves that are laid down across the bottom of the tank that he burrows into - as you can sort of see in the picture.
Also, the breeder/store I bought him from fed him every Saturday. Based on what everyone is saying I will feed more often than that while he is so young - will feed him this Friday.
Thanks again everyone - I will be searching through all the other forums for more info. Glad to be able to talk to so many knowledgeable people!

 

[jagodzinski]

Awesome! Once you get the heating gradient set up, make sure you scatter the hides so your little worm has secure hide options on both the warm side and the cool side (and you could even provide one in the middle too!) Those fake plants are great - my almost 5 ft long snake (Jag) still loves getting all twisted up in them!

 

[Karl_Mcknight]

......... Snake names? My first snake never had a name. Guess I called him 'snake'. The snake I have now I named 'Loopy'. Not many know this ... but his name came from a box of cereal. Every time I saw my new little guy I thought of ...

and he stays crunchy even in milk

 

[kdickens]

Those milk baths are great for aiding the shedding process!