My first snake! (picking him up today)

[DavidFallows]

Hi guys,

Decided it would be cool to go out and buy a snake on saturday. LOL. Rather than rushing into everything I decided to buy the vivarium, accessories + a couple of books and have it set up and running for a couple of days before introducing the snake.

Well, today after work at 4:30pm I go to pick him up! He's a one year old corn who was given to the pet shop the day I went in enquiring. His previous owner was moving and couldn't take him with him. He looks like he's been well taken care of, I only hope I can maintain that care the best I can and give the little guy a good home.

Just a couple of questions, does he need a hide on the cool side of his viv? If so I'm sure I can fit a smaller hide over there. Also, is it ok to turn the heat mat off at nights for 8hours or so? It can get pretty cold in the winter and I'd rather leave it on to be honest.

As for the heat mat itself, does it need to be secured to the bottom of the tank as the manual leaflet states? There's a pretty heavy hide directly on top of it which should be ok - I'd rather not risk using tape that might come undone with the warmth and then stick to the snake.

Branches - do corns actually use them for climbing at times? I see this to be unlikely and a branch to be nothing more than a waste of space ornament, I want to fill his viv with things he's going to appreciate.

I'm not too keen on using a heat lamp, with him being a burrower I suspect he won't care for light that much anyway. Will normal daylight suffice? Or would he actually appreciate basking under a hot lamp during the day? I suppose all I can do is try different things and note the results. The flickering of lights puts me off too - however, I don't know if the heat mat will be enough to heat him sufficiently on it's own, the last thing I want is him getting indegestion because I haven't set him up with a decent heat source. I doubt the thermometers are reading correctly as they're stuck to the sides of the viv and the outside walls are pretty cold - you put your hand inside however and it feels nice and warm, warm enough to warm my cold hand anyhow, the wood chippings and the bathing pool on the cool side are still cool at touch and shows a pretty decent heat gradient which is a good start I think.

Anyways, I'll let you all know how he reacts to his new home tomorrow.

 

[CAV]

1) Make sure the viv is escape proof.

2) One you do #1 do it again

3) A couple of hides are always good.

4) Always leave the heat mat on.

5) Corns and climbing is an individual preference, some do, some don't. ON that note stick can aid escages (See #1 and #2)

6) Daylight is fine. Lamps are not necessary and tend to over dry the air inside the enclosure. Just use the UTH.

7) If you invest in any one piece of equipment, buy a good thermometer that will give you the reading ON THE SURFACE, and not the glass. "Warm to the touch" can be too hot for a reptile

Just out of curiosity, what size enclosure did you get?

 

[darkpbstar]

umm, keep the UTH on all the time. I use the lamp during the day, on a 12 hour cycle, 6-6pm. The UTH goes under the tank... I'm confused, are you using tape? Even the regular day light will not keep my tank heated in my house, my bedroom is downstairs and it is cold. I have to turn my heater on in my room to get the room temp up just to keep the tank up, but the UTH still gets it warm enough. anyway, I'd use the lamp even if he is burrowing. And corns do like to climb, if you have a stick and never see him/her climbling, it's probably because they do it at night, that is when mine are doing cool stuff. On like fridays if I check on them at like 2 am, I will see my snakes climbing, and moving around alot more, anyway, have fun with your snake.

 

[DdotSpot]

Well, I'm no expert, but I've been doing a lot of reading from some...

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but you do not want to put the heat mat on the INSIDE, but underneath the viv. Make sure to give the mat some air also(for example put some cardboard underneath with holes poked in it).

Also, your new snake will greatly appreciate a hide on the cooler side(So he can feel secure at both spectrums). Generally the themometers are pretty accurate to tell the air temp of your viv, but, if you have a UTH, you might need to monitor the temp of the substrate(I'm not an expert with UTHs, I use a heat lamp for the time being). Make sure to give him a few days to get used to his viv before handling(you don't want him to associate all this stress of moving and a new home with you holding him!)

Oh yeah...and buy a copy of Kathy Love's Cornsnake Manual, such a great help!!

Hope this was semi-helpful...

Daniel

 

[darkpbstar]

look at that, CAV posted one minute before me, as I was typing mine, and I posted one minute before you, as you were probably typing yours.

 

[CAV]

Yeah I'm a pretty fast typer.........

 

[DavidFallows]

At the moment, the UTH is outside the tank, I was going to place it inside depending on the tape situation - it's a plastic vivarium made exclusively for snakes, vents at top and bottom, and only the glass at the front in which to view through. The air isn't warm as such, but is more 'comfortable' if you catch my drift - without a perfect thermo reading I can't be sure but it feels to me at least that it is the perfect temp for the snake. I'll try and find a digital thermometer tonight from somewhere.

The size is around 26" by 16" - nice and spacey. Unsure of the length of the snake really, I remember comparing him with the tank before I bought it and it seemed perfect however.

There is NO WAY he's going to escape, unless he can move heavy sliding doors from the inside.

If the place is too hot I can put some board between the mat and the plastic to try and absorb some heat - these things should come with a settings dial.

Luckily I'm away on holiday for 6 days this week, so he won't have me pestering him each day - I'm getting my mum to change the water twice a day and that'll be it until I get back.

-------------------------------------------------
Usually, I'm totally against keeping animals contained in small spaces so naturally I want him to enjoy his vivarium as much as possible and not feel 'bored' (if snakes have that feeling). I'll feel a lot better after I've had him a few months and I can let him roam my room every now and then.

 

[CAV]

There is NO WAY he's going to escape, unless he can move heavy sliding doors from the inside.

You will be surprised.......

I'd recommend placing sticks in the track for the sliding glass anyway. They can also squeeze between the glass sections. I know it looks impossible, but it is a real threat. Corns are unbelievably adept at escape. Even the smallest hole or crack offers freedom to a determined corn.

Remember that your body temp is 98F. You will have a hard time even registering warmth with your hand unless it is close to that temp. Always verify with a thermometer and don't rely on your touch. Too much heat will kill a snake quickly.

 

[DavidFallows]

I'd recommend placing sticks in the track for the sliding glass anyway. They can also squeeze between the glass sections. I know it looks impossible, but it is a real threat. Corns are unbelievably adept at escape. Even the smallest hole or crack offers freedom to a determined corn.

The sliding doors have rubber/plastic seal mounts which stop even air escaping. Even for me shoving the things to one side takes some effort.

 

[CAV]

Then best of luck David. Keep us posted and of course pics are required...

 

[DavidFallows]

Will do, need to get my hands on a camera!

Thanks for all the words so far. The net is great for subjects of concern like this.

 

[DavidFallows]

Ok guys, Snake (I've named him 'Snake') is in his new home after his rough, cold ride home in a taxi last night.

He seems to be enjoying his hide on the warm side of his tank, and only ever comes out to sip at his water. The thermometers still aren't reading correctly, I'll buy a digital one when I get back from Amsterdam. The surface temp of his substrate is nice and warm to touch with the base of the viv being quite a bit warmer, it feels like a radiator on low/normal. I'm sure he'll dig and dig until he finds the right warmth as I have around 1.5/2" of substrate on the warm side - or will he just dig and dig regardless of the heat?

It's quite a cold house in the winter no matter how much heating I put on, although the air inside the viv is nice and cozy, not 'tropical' by any means but it certainly feels comfortable.

The dimensions of the viv are 23.8" x 17.6" (24"x18" on the ad. although this is exact 'inside' space). Will this suffice for a fully grown adult or will I need to upgrade later this year? I have quite a large warm hide and water pool in there, along with a smaller cool side hide and it doesn't leave that much spare surface. I'll measure Snake himself when I get back, I don't want to handle him too much as you can tell he's not so sure of me yet (he's only around a year old and I'm guessing 26" long). I checked up on him last night before going to bed and he immediately slithered for cover under his warm hide only to peer at me from the shadows.

I'll buy him a couple of packs of fake leaves to hang over his water and behind his warm hide - perhaps I could fit a branch in there. I'll take some pics and then let you guys decide - best thing about having local friends with snakes is that we can pass on items that are unwanted/grown out of.

I'll try and get some pics soon - I don't have a camera so I'll need to borrow one.

He's due for feeding tomorrow, how do I thaw the mice? Do I just leave them out to thaw overnight in an empty container? (and then our cat can't get at it) I don't have any tongs yet so I may have to stick it on the end of an old fork, that might be alright for exposing some brain juice a the same time. Jesus, I've never mutilated an animal before - living OR dead.

 

[DdotSpot]

As far as burrowing...

I think the burrowing depends on your substrate really. CottonBall has never burrowed(grant it I've only had him for a week). But as far as what I've read, if the substrate is softer, they are more likely to burrow, otherwise they just sit on top of the sub. Don't worry, my snake still retreats to his hide and 'peers at me from the shadows' too. It might take a couple of months for them to get used to us, after we've handled them a bit and fed them, before they seem at ease with their surroundings and us.

I don't know if it will help, but I cut up a piece of my undershirt and rubbed it on my arms and hands and put it in his viv with him. I thought maybe he could get used to my scent and maybe associate that scent with no threat. Just an experiment I heard someone else try, sounds pretty logical to me.

Daniel

 

[DavidFallows]

Good idea. The fake plants I'm buying are made from fabric so I could try rubbing those over my arms before putting them inside.

I've just returned back to work after checking up on him at lunch. The good news is I think he's got a little too much heating rather than too little, he was curled up underneath his cool side hideaway, he didn't move much and I didn't notice him flickering his tongue at me. Those crappy thermometers I spoke about: the one on the hot side was reading 75'F - The substrate and space under the hot hideaway will obviously be in the 85-90 range I imagine.

It did seem a little humid inside. I stuck my head in to breath the air and it does seem more 'tropical' now. There is no moisture build up on the glass and the substrate is nice and dry too so at least things are keeping dry. I imagine the ventilation is more difficult to measure than the temp. even. I only hope it's not too musky in there for him.

After I get a precise reading of the temp and it does turn out to be a little too hot how would I lower it slightly? Place another sheet of polystyrene ON TOP of the heat mat as well as underneath?

Eventually I'll move him into a better vivarium so that I can monitor these things more accurately.

 

[MADMAN]

Good idea. The fake plants I'm buying are made from fabric so I could try rubbing those over my arms before putting them inside.

why buy fake plants, why don't you get real plants?

my snakes love the real plants its a naturally cooling area on the cool side of the tank

 

[DavidFallows]

I'll move onto real plants when I'm a little more experienced Madman, at the moment I'd be too concerned about parasites and such. I've enough on my mind at the moment trying to get the temp. perfect.

 

[gatorlink]

Good idea. The fake plants I'm buying are made from fabric so I could try rubbing those over my arms before putting them inside.


After I get a precise reading of the temp and it does turn out to be a little too hot how would I lower it slightly? Place another sheet of polystyrene ON TOP of the heat mat as well as underneath?

For the fake plants i think plastic ones/ silk plants are better, they are much much easier to clean

For lowering the temp it is probably a good idea to get either a thermostat (which is expensive about $90) or get one a plug in dimmer/rheostat (costs about $25). I use a dimmer and a setting of 70% (of the max wattage of the heat pad) keep my 30 gallon glass enclosure at the correct temp. hence if it was plugged directly into the wall i would be cooking CHARLIE. Which is probably why your snake is on the cool side. Get a correct reading on the temps before feeding him

 

[MADMAN]

I'll move onto real plants when I'm a little more experienced Madman, at the moment I'd be too concerned about parasites and such. I've enough on my mind at the moment trying to get the temp. perfect.

The reptile store i deal with has an assortment of plants that are ideal for reptiles. i'll get the names of them later this week and post them here for you.

the plant i have for my okee's is a devils ivy wonderful plant .

the miamiphase i own has no plant as of yet the tank my buddy gave me was way to small for her it is a 20 gallon. This weekend i am buying a 50 gallon with swinging glass doors and built in lamps i'll ask about the plants then for you.

BTW i know how you feel with worrying about the snake as you do ,i did the same with my baby okee's but all in all once you have figured it out they're a lot of fun to watch and they are pretty versitile .

 

[whiffin]

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

But the snake bloke at my local shops says it's OK to put a heat mat inside a vivarium if:

The snake can get off of it
It is thermostatically controlled so it doesn;t get too hot
A good substrate so water doesn't get on it
Stuck down so snake can;t get underneath

Is this right?

 

[DavidFallows]

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

But the snake bloke at my local shops says it's OK to put a heat mat inside a vivarium if:

The snake can get off of it
It is thermostatically controlled so it doesn;t get too hot
A good substrate so water doesn't get on it
Stuck down so snake can;t get underneath

Is this right?

That's exactly what I've been told a number of times.

The heat mat I was supplied doesn't have a controller so I can't set it. If I'd have drilled holes and fit it inside the tank (like I'd planned) it would have been an entire waste of work as it would have been WAY too hot.

I'd leave it on the outside for a few days with a decent thermometer on the inside. I think I may have rushed into things a little even after leaving it running for 2 days before introducing my snake.

Tonight I'm going to move the vivarium away from the radiator in my room and move it to a cooler spot, I may place some cardboard between the mat and the viv if he's still over on the cool side when I get back.

It's these things you don't find out until you actually get your little buddy in there, then you have to adjust things to suit him - therefore I do not recommend attaching the mat on the inside unless you are heavily experienced with vivariums.