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Never had a Snake before, please help!

K

Kryten

New member
Hi there!

Me and my Girlfriend recently acquired a Cornsnake. He's called Sid =D

Now, he's not a baby Corn. I think he's a fully grown adult with perhaps another foot to grow at the most. He's roughly 4 foot long and very strong. This is a guess, but the tank we got him in is 2 foot wide, and Sid can almost double up the entire length.

Yesterday, we went out and bought a new heating mat around 16"x11", a half log to use as a hide (which is better than the plastic half tube he's got) and a log/tree branch for him to climb. We've also ordered a 4 foot vivarium, which we feel will make him much "happier". His current heat mat is absolutely tiny and the current thermomitor is stuck to the outside of the glass.


My questions:

The new Viv is going to be a sliding front glass type.

Where is the best place to situate the heat mat? On the back wall? Or under the substrate like the current (tiny) heat mat.

Should we use a thermostat?

Do we need another thermomitor around substrate level; what is the best type to get?

Lighting, is it ok to turn the light off at particular times? Will this make the snake more comfortable?

Handling

Sid is VERY strong. I've held a baby/yearling before that was perhaps a foot long. Sid is huge.

In the picture below, Sid has a VERY tight grip on my arm. Previously with the baby corn I held, it did this too and my friend said that meant he was comfortable with me. However, Sid had a very tight grip on me. not enough to constrict me, but I was slightly worried. Is this perfectly normal behaviour? Was my friend right? (my arm was very warm, also, so he was either trying to strangle my arm or it was nice and warm for him!)



Also, in this picture, he just stopped and laid there on my arm "chilling" is this normal? It doesn't mean he's scared or anything?

Sid will also gladly come out of his vivarium on his own steam and doesn't seem to object to being picked up. Sometimes he's the usual corn and will try to wrap on anything nearby, then other times he'll wrap around us and chill out.

Biting

Never bitten us, but we've had him only a few days. He hasn't shown any indication that he's going to strike, though. He seems very mild.




Thanks for reading, this is our first snake. If we've missed anything, please let me know!
 
Sid is a large boy, as seen from the picture. Love that! The clinging on to your arm is normal, some do, some don't. He just does not want to fall. The fact that he is calmly resting means that he is on ease, scared snakes will try to get away or pose to defend themselves. Heat mats can better be used outside of the terrarium, beneath the glass. you don't want any risk from water getting on it. You'd best place the sensor of a wired thermometer on the glass and check regularly on the temp. If it is way too high on a regular base, use a dimmer on it or even better, a thermostat. If you have a thick bedding above the heating mat, Sid can choose at which level in it he likes to be temp wise. If most of the air in the viv is not warm enough, you might need additional heat source for that. Otherwise, there will be hardly any range of temps and the snake will stay a lot hiding on the heating mat location.

I wish you much fun with this lovely big boy!
 
Kryten said:
My questions:

The new Viv is going to be a sliding front glass type.

Where is the best place to situate the heat mat? On the back wall? Or under the substrate like the current (tiny) heat mat.

Should we use a thermostat?

Do we need another thermomitor around substrate level; what is the best type to get?

Lighting, is it ok to turn the light off at particular times? Will this make the snake more comfortable?
Click to expand...

The heat mat should go on the outside bottom of the tank. The size you have is too big if the tank you want to put it on for now is only 2 feet long. It should only take up about a third of the bottom, off to one side. If your new tank is coming pretty soon (like a week or two), then I would just use the one he has for now. You don't want to feed him for about a week anyways, so he's technically fine without heat until you feed him.

You will want to use something to control the heat output, either a thermostat or simply a lamp dimmer. You want the heat to be about 80-85 F, measured under the bedding, directly on the glass in the middle of the heating pad. The best type of thermometer to measure this is the digital type with a probe.

You don't need, and probably shouldn't have, any lighting on the tank on a regular basis, since corns are nocturnal. You may want to have a light available that you can turn on if you need to see in the tank.

Handling
However, Sid had a very tight grip on me. not enough to constrict me, but I was slightly worried. Is this perfectly normal behaviour? Was my friend right? (my arm was very warm, also, so he was either trying to strangle my arm or it was nice and warm for him!)

Also, in this picture, he just stopped and laid there on my arm "chilling" is this normal? It doesn't mean he's scared or anything?

Sid will also gladly come out of his vivarium on his own steam and doesn't seem to object to being picked up. Sometimes he's the usual corn and will try to wrap on anything nearby, then other times he'll wrap around us and chill out.[/QUOTE]

That's all perfectly normal behavior. :) A corn isn't strong enough that you wouldn't be able to remove him on your own if needed. But you can see why it is recommended that you never handle the larger snakes by yourself!

Never bitten us, but we've had him only a few days. He hasn't shown any indication that he's going to strike, though. He seems very mild.
Click to expand...

Corns are usually pretty mellow and usually the highest risk of being bitten is when you are picking them up. Once you have them, they are pretty unlikely to try to bite.
 
Thanks for the replies!

VX48_20Ellmau_20Beech_1_large.jpeg


This is the viv we're getting, so I don't think it's going to be possible to put the new heat mat under it. I don't think it's glass on the bottom. So, where should it go?

And yes, currently, we're still using the old heat mat. Sid is curled up under his hide (which is right over the mat) I know there's concern that he might be getting too warm under the hide, because it's over the mat. But, he gladly comes out whenever and goes to the cooler side of the viv and around the water bowl.

Yeah, we've got a stick-on-the-glass thermomitor, but I figured another would be better as they only measure the temp on the glass, right? Would a digital one be better? Also, I think it's definately a good idea to get him a thermostat to regulate the temp inside over the mat.

Glad to know he's comfortable with me. I think my girlfriend was a bit gutted, because he kept wanting to come back onto me when she held him! He's supposed to be her snake!


Is there any way of sexing him without probing him? I've seen the probe videos and they look very girzzly and uncomfortable for the snake. I wouldn't want someone sticking metal wires in any of my holes!
 
I know from experience that a heating mat's warmth will pass trough the wood after some time eventually (it does even down ward). I think it's even safer dan beneath glass, since wood cannot burst from the heat.
 
Sorry for the double post (can't edit?) but Sid was fed around 2-3 days ago. The day we got him. He had two fuzzies, which to me seems like not enough. The was no visible bump on him the day we got him. Also, with his size, I'd think he would be ready for bigger mice now. Or, is the fact that he has two instead of one, ok?

We have two fuzzies left. After those should we carry on with fuzzies or step it up a level?
 
The wood won't start on fire at 85F though...

There's a member here who I think had that exact same viv- George. His user name is PetCornSnake. He rarely comes here now, but I bet if you PMed him he could tell you how he heated his.
 
I'd be feeding Sid an adult mouse every 10-14 days. Monitor his weight. You don't want him to lose weight, but you want to keep his weight steady. He's a big guy. I'd go to adults now and feed him a fuzzy along with his adult a couple times to use up the fuzzies. Adults can get kind of worried if they think they aren't getting enough to eat. They get a little pushy.
 
One of the benefits of becoming a contributing member of this site ($25/year) is the abillity to edit.
 
The previous owner has been feeding him fuzzies since they had him, which was maybe a year or so.

I think what I'll do is give him the fuzzies again in 5 days time (keeping to his 7 day feeding schedule, so as not to disrupt him) then in maybe 5-10 days give him an adult. What do you think?

We kind of feel we rescued him a little. He's in a tank less than half his size, with a woefully inadequate heating mat and a boring habitat. We're going to totally revamp that, tank twice as big, more 'furniture' and better heating and perhaps some controls on the heating.

How should we go about moving him into the viv? My idea was to keep all the original substrate (which is the sawdust type stuff you get at the petshops, sterilised, used for rodents) to put into the new viv, so as he recognised most of the smell (obviously we'll need more on top of that!) and let him explore for a few hours before handling him again.

Is this substrate appropriate for a snake? I also have the idea that we should put quite a lot of it in, as he does like to burrow under neath it. Would more be ok, or is, as the saying goes, less is more?

Judging from the pic, how old do you think he is? Does he have much more growing to do?


Sorry for all the questions and thank you very much for the answers. As the title says, we've never owned a snake before and we would like to make the rest of his life (probbaly another 15 years!!) much happier.
 
I guess the reason he was able to grow to his large size on fuzzies is because of the shortened (for an adult) feeding interval. Your plan should be fine.

He would appreciate a layer of substrate about 3-4" deep to burrow in. As you clean, you will be removing substrate, so it doesn't hurt to start with a nice deep layer and then replenish it as needed.
 
Brilliant. Best pop some more substrate in tonight when he wakes up.

Another question: scales on the bottom side of his body.

When handling him the scales sometimes seem to catch on my fingers and move in the opposite direction of the way they naturally flow. It feels like they almost life up off his body. This doesn't seem normal to me at all. He doesn't seem to be agitated by this, but I try to avoid it anyway. Is this normal? Or should I be looking out for some kind of ailment?



Thanks for the advice. I've bookmarked this site. I can see myself definately needing the wisdom offered here in the future. $25/pa isn't a lot of money to support a place like this!
 
If he backs up there's a chance the scales can catch. This is normal. If he is going forward, the scales should not catch.
 
It's usually when I try to slide my hand towards his head (to support him, and guide him in a direction that I want him to go in)

Looks like I need to try a new technique on that front!
 
The scales grabbing at you is how they climb. Try not to run your hand from tail to head, do it roughly enough and you could hurt him, though this is unlikely.
 
Yeah, I realised that today when he was climbing. I'm very careful not to roughly knock them the wrong way.
 
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