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Markey

M

Markey

New member
Here are some pictures of Markey the corn snake and her condo. I am currently adding a third level to her six foot enclosure as well as some new lighting, an additional uth, and some snake friendly vines while Markey is recovering from her upper respiratory infection in the hospital tank. Enjoy!!

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Thank you. She's my son's snake though.....but I still think of her as mine. LOL
You can't tell in the picture of the 260 mesh cage but there is an area towards the top of the cage that is fairly open and that's where I'm adding the third level. I'll post pictures of that when it's finished. I want to make sure all of my temps are regulated and charted for one full week before I put Markey back into her cage. I don't want her to get sick again due to my poor judgement on temps.....thanks for the compliments. I love Markey. She's super friendly.....even after almost two full weeks of getting antibiotics poked down her throat each day. Poor girl!
 
Please re-consider the mesh cage!

I wouldn't waste anymore time/money/effort in trying to improve that enclosure as its just not suitable for corns!

Theres not enough floor space, the mesh will not hold in humidity or heat (which is probably why the snake has an RI in the first place)

You can buy fairly cheap storage boxes that work great as a temporary solution if you dont have the money to buy a nice display vivarium (I am assuming you would want her to be on display).

Most other keepers will tell you the same thing, Those cages are not recommended for corn snakes at all. :shrugs:
 
"fairly cheap storage boxes"......like that gives Corns plenty of room to exercise?? I know that you said it was a temporary solution but I see tons of people who keep their corns in small containers all of the time and you think this enclosure doesn't offer up enough floor space?? Markey can completely stretch out on the bottom of this cage....
As for a display vivarium, I would love to know the dimensions on that if you would share them with me. I looked at many display vivs in my area that didn't come close to having the amount of room that Markey now has. It's not a "money issue" with us. I went with the cage because a friend used one and had great luck with it. Markey has lots of climbing space in the tall cage and that's why I purchased it. My friend's setup was similar but the cage was a bit smaller.
I've been checking my temps and they are holding just fine.....I haven't added the new uth so I'll have to do rechecks on temps, etc.....once I put that on the bottom.
I don't see how can you say that I will not be able to hold temps or humidity with this cage. I seem to be doing a pretty good job of it now that I'm following what I should have done in the first place instead of relying solely on the breeder's opinion.

Anerymad, Markey got the infection because I had her temps too low (I believe that's why anyway). She was moved from a smaller 20 gallon setup to the larger setup in late summer. When I made the switch I followed a breeder's advice on temp regulation and I didn't keep track of the temps. It was absolute stupidity on my part.....I've been regulating temps for almost two weeks now and they are holding steady; however, I am still making a few changes in the cage so I want to do rechecks on everything before Markey goes back into the cage.
 
Markey said:
"fairly cheap storage boxes"......like that gives Corns plenty of room to exercise?? I know that you said it was a temporary solution but I see tons of people who keep their corns in small containers all of the time and you think this enclosure doesn't offer up enough floor space?? Markey can completely stretch out on the bottom of this cage....
As for a display vivarium, I would love to know the dimensions on that if you would share them with me. I looked at many display vivs in my area that didn't come close to having the amount of room that Markey now has. It's not a "money issue" with us. I went with the cage because a friend used one and had great luck with it. Markey has lots of climbing space in the tall cage and that's why I purchased it. My friend's setup was similar but the cage was a bit smaller.
I've been checking my temps and they are holding just fine.....I haven't added the new uth so I'll have to do rechecks on temps, etc.....once I put that on the bottom.
I don't see how can you say that I will not be able to hold temps or humidity with this cage. I seem to be doing a pretty good job of it now that I'm following what I should have done in the first place instead of relying solely on the breeder's opinion.

Anerymad, Markey got the infection because I had her temps too low (I believe that's why anyway). She was moved from a smaller 20 gallon setup to the larger setup in late summer. When I made the switch I followed a breeder's advice on temp regulation and I didn't keep track of the temps. It was absolute stupidity on my part.....I've been regulating temps for almost two weeks now and they are holding steady; however, I am still making a few changes in the cage so I want to do rechecks on everything before Markey goes back into the cage.
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IMO storage boxes or rack systems are perfectly acceptable for keeping corns. I understand you only have one snake and doubt you would want to shove it in a box. HOWEVER I will stick to what I said in that a tall cage is not as appropriate as a longer, lower vivarium. A 4x2x2 tank is more than enough space for a corn to roam quite happily, including branches and vines galore! I would be more inclied to put arboreal species in a tall tank with little floor space.

I have found corns don't have a huge climbing preference, and if not given the option it doesn't bother them. Now given that your snake got the RI after you moved it into the mesh cage, does that not indicate its not suitable? I wouldn't think twice about putting the snake back into a cage where the ambient temperature can be sooo variable.

How about calibrating the temperatures for a good week or so, writing down the ambient AND uth temperatures and see what the results are. You may find a low ambient temperature is what would have caused the RI as mesh obviously does not hold in heat :shrugs:
 
If you do end up having problems with humidity a towel draped over the top half of the tank could solve your problems. You could also place a humid hide in the tank to solve the problem. Cornsnakes aren't tropical, although they do great in shoe boxes with higher humidity I don't think it's absolutely necessary for the humidity to always be that high. A humid hide would help ensure you snake has alright sheds.

Also, looks like you have a lot of leaves in the upper part of the cage. That will definitely increase the chances of your corn utilizing the climbing space. When I had my snakes in 20gal aquariums I had branches set up for them. I'd come back to my room and see them climbing on the branches, but as soon as they saw me it was back to the "safety" of their hides. Fake plants can make ok hides though I think.

Good luck with your cage, let us know if it works out.
 
I too have a mesh cage. ;) It isn't as fine of a mesh as yours, but I love it. Mine keeps the humidity fine., but three sides of mine are enclosed with a background so that is probably retaining a good bit of the humidity. I actually like it more because I can have a more humid area in the lower part of the cage and a less humid part in the top of the cage. She explores both parts and moves around quite a bit. The volume of my cage is identical to a twenty gallon, but I have more climbing space since some corns tend to be more arboreal, especially my snake. I think that it really depends on the snakes personality. Some snakes really like to burrow, others really like to climb, and some could care less. So I try to adapt my cages to the snake's personality. Here are some images of my enclosure.
 

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One thing you do need to consider is that corns like to try to escape. The mesh can cause sores to be rubbed on the snakes head, nose, etc. I have seen it many times (I work at a vet). The humidity issue can be resolved with covering some of the sides with something (like the aquarium background mentioned before). Honestly, I think the size is fine (even the height). It gives your corn lots of room for exercise. It looks as if the floor of it is pretty big. What does it measure? About 3' x 3'? It looks to be as wide as that door behind it.

The temps concern me a bit, too. Are you able to give your corn a good temperature variation? If so and you can keep it regulated, then I say your biggest concern is the potential for nose rubbing. If your snake gets another RI, then I would consider changing back to a glass or plastic enclosure, however.
 
Giant, I will be adding a lot more leaves when I add the third level. I agree that it helps to hold in humidity as where I have the most leaves/vines is where my humidity is highest.

nhaislip I love your setup! I looked at one like that but felt that I wanted something taller. I really wanted Parker to have a setup that he could enjoy looking at and that Markey could enjoy exploring. Of course the most important factor is that Markey stays healthy and happy in the cage. It's not going to do me any good if it makes her sick or kills her....
The background is an EXCELLENT idea! Thank you for sharing that with me. I'm definitely going to give that a try. Excellent idea!

CornCrazy, Markey never tries to escape. She is such a good girl. She never rubs her nose on the mesh cage either. We are blessed in that area!
As for the cage bottom, I believe it's 2 1/' x 2 1/2 ' (30" x 30"). I haven't looked at the box since we opened it but Markey definitely has room at the bottom area.
It is as wide as the door behind it.
I had a custom piece of glass made so I could attach the uth safely. I'm also adding a second uth on the warm side and I'm not putting a hide over that one so Markey has the choice of being inside a hide on the warm side or just resting on the warm side in a more open space.
As for temps, I have been able to regulate them. Each level has different temps and humidity which in my opinion is a good thing. Markey can go where she wants to go. Also, she loves to climb so she is always in the vines.
My temps directly on top of the uth on the warm side are registering at 88 degrees. That is resting on top of a thin layer of substrate (which I'm changing.....I'm currently using Repti Bark). If I check the temps outside of the hide, they are staying at around 80 degrees. The humidity stays around 41-43% on the bottom area. (Again, I'm adding plants, vines, etc....so I will recheck all humidity levels once that is completed.) My red night light keeps temps around 83 degrees on the warm side at the bottom area. The cool side stays around 70-73 degrees on the bottom area.
My second level is staying at a constant 75-76 degrees with humidity at around 26%. Where I have moss, the humidity jumps up to 53%. I'm adding a heat light there on the outside of the cage. I know I can get the temps up with the new light. I will be doing that while Markey is in the 20 gallon set up. I will of course measure all temps for one full week before putting Markey back so I can be sure they are good.
Currently I don't have any climbing areas on the third level but I am going to add some. When I checked the temps on the third level, they stayed at 86-87 degrees. I don't remember what my humidity levels were at there.
Also, if I add the background, it will change all of my levels so I will of course be checking everything before Markey goes back to the cage.

Thanks for all of your help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PS...Where in TN are you all from? My Mom and Dad's families are from TN. They are from the Maryville, Alcoa, Knoxville area. I just visited four times in 2006 because my precious Mamaw was dying.
 
I'm really really glad I could help. Mine doesn't rub his nose either. It sounds like you have everything going pretty good. One suggestion, I would remove the moss where your humidity jumps to 53% because they only need that much humidity when they are shedding. I keep my humidity around 30-40%.

P.S. I live in middle TN but am currently attending UT in Knoxville
 
Tenn.

I have family in both the Bruceton/Camden area and Jackson as well, I spend a week down that way every year...Beautiful State!!. Marshall P..
 
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