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new...making sure i got the basics!

T

techflork

New member
Hey guys, I'm new here! Here's my plan/story. I've always wanted a snake but I never got the chance. I've had fish, turtles, and hermit crabs. I went all out with the crabs, I took care of them like legitimately. I don't treat them as "throwaway" pets. They're actually REALLY complicated and hard to care for correctly. (you must have 70 to 80% humidity, lots of sand, diet variety, separate tanks for molting....man i can go on and on :D) Well I am now in college. It is simply too hard to take care of hermit crabs. I have like no room for a bunch of tanks and sand haha. SO! Back on topic, sorry, I went to the pet store with my friend. He fell in love with some dwarf hamsters. He bought the whole set up and took it home to his dorm room. It actually fit very well and he has a cool shelf unit that fits above his bed. This got me thinking. . . ohhh no ;) I started researching snakes and I've come to the conclusion that a corn snake will be best for my needs. My friend is going to be my roommate next year and he really doesn't care about frozen mice in our freezer and stuff like that. I do know that my school will not allow pets (accept for fish) but quite frankly I don't care. People can easily get away with it, heck I just learned that some girl next to me has a corn snake! I went to the petstore yesterday to hold one. I'm so excited! I want a really cool morph, but honestly the common one looks awesome too haha. I found a neat site with pictures for each morph: http://iansvivarium.com/cornsnakemorphs.php
Ok my reason for all of this: Here's my plan for a set up:
1). 10 gallon terrarium with locking screen lid.
2). UTH with thermostat
3). Water dish
4). hidies
5). bedding (haven't decided yet, probably aspin)
6). supply of mice, where can i get the best frozen mice or pinkys? Petsmart sells like a box of 6 for like 10 bucks! That's such a rip but I'll do what I gotta do. . .I just need the pinkies to be contained properly. I've seen some sites selling them by the hundreds. A hundred mice in my freezer sounds a little nuts haha anyone have a pic of how the come packed?
7). Digital thermometer
That's about all i can think of haha, any other suggestions? I will be getting this snake when i go home (in 3 weeks!!!). I'm going home next weekend I will be buying the supplies to prepare :D Does anyone have any experience ordering online? OR is someone willing to sell me a baby corn snake? I would go with the petstore but I would really like a neat looking morph (bright colors with awesome patterns). The lady said most of the morphs they get are grey or albino. I'm just looking at my options, sorry if this is a "blah you should have search I hate you!" post but honestly I just wanna make sure I'm going about this correctly. Oh and my other question was I've read that a 20 gallon long is big enough for a full grown corn snake? I sure hope so cause that all I can fit in my dorm lol.
 
With only one snake, paying 40 bucks to ship 50 mice that will more than likely go bad before you use them all isn't worth it. Get the mice from Petsmart.

You can get a corn at a pet store or get one from a breeder. You have to be very careful with pet store snakes though. You really need to know when it ate (if it ate), check it out that it's active when you hold it, isn't injured, doesn't have junk leaking out of the vent, ect.

If you want just one, I would get a yearling or older from a breeder, that way it looks the way you want without having the hassle of a baby getting stressed and not eating, or growing up to look like what you didn't expect.

A 20 gallon long tank will suite a corn just fine unless it gets bigger than normal, which isn't very common.
 
Sounds like you got it all pretty well covered. I would second the recommendation for a 20g long though, and you’ll need some way to measure humidity, which I didn’t see listed. For 7$ at Wal-Mart, I found a nice indoor thermometer and hygrometer combo. Just set it in the tank and away you go!

I would also recommend a year or older snake. It may be beneficial for you to try and locate a reptile rescue near where you’re at and see if you can get something a bit bigger than a hatchling. Just make sure to ask lots of questions. Any holes in their knowledge will be pretty evident and they should be a sign to be careful.

Good luck with your endeavors!
 
Hey guys, I'm new here! Here's my plan/story. I've always wanted a snake but I never got the chance. I've had fish, turtles, and hermit crabs. I went all out with the crabs, I took care of them like legitimately. I don't treat them as "throwaway" pets. They're actually REALLY complicated and hard to care for correctly.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the pet stores are really misleading on those things. They are one of the most difficult pets to keep, because of their temp and humidity requirements. Their conditions are especially important when they molt, as a bad molt can easily kill them. They have to switch shells during a molt and they are extremely vulnerable then.

I had about 8 or so at one point, and every one of them died during molt. At least the petstores are paying more attention now. Petco and petsmart both monitor temp and humidity now. They didnt do that when I had them.


That's about all i can think of haha, any other suggestions?
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Yeah, make sure the lid is very secure. I had a 5lb weight on mine. They are stronger than they look and they will probe every square millimeter of the enclosure looking for a way out. They dont get bored or distracted like other pets do.

You definitely will not need a 20 gallon to start...10 is plenty big for a hatching and I have been told that they actually prefer smaller enclosures anyway. I would go with a 10 and upgrade when he is bigger in 6 months or a year.
 
Ok, I think i'm stuck buying from the pet store :( i'm not willing to pay so much online + the shipping costs. I will be cautious at the pet store though. Thanks so much for all your responses! The store only sells baby snakes but I think it will be ok. If i can get one from a breeder I would (I'd prefer a yearling). Anyone know any breeders in the Pittsburgh area? or Erie area? I will be able to house him at home for the summer so that will give me good bonding time, and the flexibility to figure snakes out at my leisure haha. Now I have to focus on my studies >.< I really wish I thought of the snake after finals. This is so hard to wait for!!
 
And Jeff, yes molting is the hardest things with crabs. They can go down for months at a time and you just don't know if he's dead or not! I had some successful molts but it required much of my time and heart ache trying to keep them alive haha. I'm not looking for something that hard while I'm in college though they were rewarding pets. Snakes seem really cool because no one has them, they're vibrant and they're just really exotic. Love 'em, always have.
 
OH question: Do snakes smell in any way? I need an honest opinion, anything smelly about them or my working with them going to be smelly? I don't wanna bother the roommate haha (as I said I already have his acceptance and he has hamsters)
 
IMO, I would find a reptile show in your area and buy a snake there.

The Amelanistic morph is very colorful. Especially as adults.
Here is one of mine, Bakti:
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And they don't have much of a smell. Well, not compared to furry pets anyhow.
 
Mine doesnt smell at all as far as I can tell. In fact, it is probably the least smelly animal I have ever had, including fish.
 
The only thing that could possibly smell is if you don't clean the waste up right away. But as long as you are looking for it a few days after feeding your snake you can usually get it right away.
 
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