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new first time owner

N

ninasnake

New member
Hi,

i just got a snake. I dont have a place to keep him yet, going shopping tomorrow. I put him in a large plastic jar with small holes in it for air. I put a small bowl of water there too. No heating pad yet. Room temp.

He does not have much space in it. Will he be ok? Or should I keep him in the canvas bag I got him in? He is about 2,5 feet long. I think he is 2 years old??? I am not sure.

I am planning to buy an aquarium with a lid, a heating pad and bedding and make some hiding places and give him branches to climb. Anything else I need? I have 4 mice in the freezer.

He is a beauty.

Do they bite? and if he does, what should I do? wait for him to let go or try to get him off?

Thank you
 
ninasnake said:
Hi,

i just got a snake. I dont have a place to keep him yet, going shopping tomorrow. I put him in a large plastic jar with small holes in it for air. I put a small bowl of water there too. No heating pad yet. Room temp.

He does not have much space in it. Will he be ok? Or should I keep him in the canvas bag I got him in? He is about 2,5 feet long. I think he is 2 years old??? I am not sure.

I am planning to buy an aquarium with a lid, a heating pad and bedding and make some hiding places and give him branches to climb. Anything else I need? I have 4 mice in the freezer.

He is a beauty.

Do they bite? and if he does, what should I do? wait for him to let go or try to get him off?

Thank you
Click to expand...

You shouldn't handle or feed him for a week or so...he needs to settle in to his new home. He should be fine in the plastic tub for a day. Get at least a 20 long viv for an adult corn. You might also consider lid clamps or a locking lid and you NEED a thermometer (2 probes) and a thermostat so you can regulate the amount of heat the UTH is pumping out. Corns will bite if they feel threatened but they are usually docile creatures. If you do get a bite...it happens so fast you will probably feel it before you see it coming but it doesn't hurt that much.:)
 
hey dj,

i realize it was an impulse buy ( well my daughter wanted a snake for few years now) but I am not an irresponsible pet owner. I bought it because I was at a show and started handling snakes, carefully in the beggining but in the end I started liking them and decided that I can have one. I saw them in pet stores but they never looked that healthy or colorful so I did not buy before.


He is fine, survived the night ok. I opened the lid and touched him gently and he moved. I dont want to take him out and stress him. I am off to buy things now.

Question: DO they smell? I will clean his place when he poops , is that enough?

HOw long do they digest food? Do they poop couple of days later and thats it OR does pooping go for days later in small amounts?
 
ninasnake said:
Question: DO they smell? I will clean his place when he poops , is that enough?

HOw long do they digest food? Do they poop couple of days later and thats it OR does pooping go for days later in small amounts?
Click to expand...

It smells when it comes out, but it's not like it smells up the room. If you use wood substrate just scoop out the dirty stuff. If you use paper change it.

My snake poops after a couple days, the leftovers from each meal come out in one shot.

If your snake has not pooped after eating be careful where you point it when handling, they like to pick handling time to go.
 
Ditto with you should have done the research first. I mean what if poo stinks to high heaven, what if they do bite???
Biggest question I have though is what kind of snake is it?
 
Welcome to the forum.

Yeah, research first in the future, but no harm done it seems.

You'll need:

A 20 long aquarium (or equivilant), that's a minimum
A water bowl
Two hides (one on each side)
A heat mat
A thermometer with a probe
A thermostat

Anything else is just extras, although some Corns do enjoy climbing.

In my experience, if I don't go and look to see if poo's there, then I won't notice it. It doesn't smell at all (unless you stick your face in a fresh one, lol).

Corn snakes rarely bite, but younger, smaller snakes are more prone to be nippy, because they're scared of your sheer size. As they get older, nearly all of them will mellow out. Even if they do bite, it rarely punctures the skin and they don't usually hang on. But if they do, DO NOT attempt to yank them off. Just spray them in the face with water.

All the best

David
 
Hey Nina welcome to CS.com and to the world of owning a corn snake.

I recommend reading the faq here.
http://cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28341

And also picking up one of Kathy Love's Corn snake Manuals.
CornSnakes-TheComprehensiveOwnersMa.jpg




These 2 items should be enough information for you to get underway in having a healthy and happy hobby. But you know, this is an addictive hobby and will find yourself getting a second snake with a year. ;) It happens.
 
hey,

It is a Normal Corn Snake

I have 20 gallon tank
heating pad
thermometer
aspen
one dry hiding place
one with moist moss
big water tank

what is a thermostat?
 
I like the colors of a normal.
A thermostat regulates the heating pad temperature, they can be too hot.
 
Two ways to regulate your heater:
A thermostat senses the temperature and either turns the power on and off to regulate heat, or allows enough current through to keep the set temperature.
A rheostat only adjusts the amount of current, it does not regulate temperature, that is up to the user. If it is hot in your house you turn it down a little, etc.
What kind of heater did you get?
 
ninasnake said:
hey,

It is a Normal Corn Snake

I have 20 gallon tank
heating pad
thermometer
aspen
one dry hiding place
one with moist moss
big water tank

what is a thermostat?
Click to expand...

Great, sorry for the silly question, but you never said corn snake. Last week we had a newcomer show us a beautiful picture of his new corn snake only it was a king snake or milk snake.
My Normal just laid 11 eggs, since I have no idea of hets of her or male, I'm excited.
You dont' really need a moist hide, unless they have trouble shedding, better just hide on warm side and one on cool side. Good luck with your new friend.
 
We are doing something right!

Our snake was underneath the aspen for 2 hours or so, now he is exploring!
all over the tank. He is in the wet moss hide away now. I made it out of a plastic bottle - cut out holes on both sides so he does not get stuck.

I put a big bowl with water in so he can get in. Did not do it yet. Maybe the bowl is too deep? There is only about 1 inch of water in but the walls are 2,5 inches.
 
The water bowl only needs to be as long and big enough for the snake to soak itself if it wants to..you don't need a huge water bowl in there
 
Again, you don't need a moist hide unless his shed is bad. While he may be in it, it is not always desirable as the excess humidity and staying in moist hide can cause RI and scale rot.
 
Heater: from Exo Terra called Heat Wave , terrarium substrate heater Desert Small . size 20x20cm. I paid $25 for it.
I went to 4 pet stores and they were eighter out or not carring heaters at all. I did not want to buy a rock as I heard they burn them.

I dont understand something about heating. Dont the snakes know it is too hot and move away from the heater? I dont have a thermostat yet, I am afraid the snake could burn.

It is only 73F in his aquarium. I put a thermometer in the middle of it , close to the substrate.
The snake seems to be mostly under substrate. But he did explore for a while and then went under and then out again etc...

Is it normal if they stay burried most of the time? or they are cold?
 
ninasnake said:
I dont understand something about heating. Dont the snakes know it is too hot and move away from the heater?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think you are right there, however the undertank heaters(UTH) can get pretty hot, well over 100F.
I think my goal with the thermostat was to have the max temp my snake liked on one side. I figured that way she would use the whole viv. I started with it at about 85F and found out through observation that she used the hide on that side more when it was a little cooler.

Some snakes hide a lot, they like to bury themselves, it's a security thing. Maybe this means you need more hides, or the hides you have aren't "right" for your snake, or maybe your snake just likes to burrow.
When you get a little time look around this website, use the search. You can find out just about everything you need here, and more.
 
That book by Kathy and Bill Love is a snake owners godsend! I recieved my snake from Kathy, she's the best.
 
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