Bloodredsnake
New member
I am new to all of this, i have never had a snake but i am learning about it before i get a corn snake. I wish to learn what i need to know about them before i get one. I want to get a baby corn snake and watch it grow.
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New to all of this
- Thread starter Bloodredsnake
- Start date
Congrats on deciding on a corn. They are awesome and have a great color variety, they are hardy and most of them tolerate handling very well. You will like it a lot, it's a great experience.
I would recommend you to take a look at the stickies in the basic care and husbandry forum section and, if you can, look for a book on corn snakes, such as the one by Bill and Kathy Love or the one by Don Soderberg.
If you have questions you can always start a thread here.
When do you plan on getting it? You gonna choose a bloodred (by you nickname)?
Welcome to the forum!
I would recommend you to take a look at the stickies in the basic care and husbandry forum section and, if you can, look for a book on corn snakes, such as the one by Bill and Kathy Love or the one by Don Soderberg.
If you have questions you can always start a thread here.
When do you plan on getting it? You gonna choose a bloodred (by you nickname)?
Welcome to the forum!
Athena_Cornsnake
New member
The book by Don Soderburg was what really got me started. It has a lot of great info. Also, a piece of advice, baby corns are pretty nervous, and, if their substrate allows it, will burrow for extended periods of time. I know it really freaked me out a few times, but it's natural your snake probably didn't escape like I thought mine had. ONce they calm down a little, they're awesome! They don't burrow as much and will usually let you handle them no problem! Best of luck!
Bloodredsnake
New member
Thanks, I am doing all the research first to make sure i don't make any mistakes. I did order the book by Bill and Kathy Love in paperbook and i just order by Don Soderberg as a ebook. I want to get a bloodred but not sure yet i am looking around to find the best place to get a baby snake from and see the prices. I want to make sure i know everything i need to know before getting one. I have only ever had dogs and cats in our house. I have never owned a reptile.
Bloodredsnake
New member
THanks for your advice. That will come in handy.
DollysMom
It never gets old!
Getting a baby and growing it is very rewarding. Just know that it takes patience. All babies have an instinct to hide and flee big things (you), so don't be dissappointed if that happens. Your snake will get used to you and you will forge a great relationship.
The books you are getting are great!
Glad you're here. Wishing you every success. Welcome to the forum! :wavey:
The books you are getting are great!
Glad you're here. Wishing you every success. Welcome to the forum! :wavey:
Bloodredsnake
New member
It's ok i am open to hear all thoughts. I still haven't got a snake yet. I am making sure i know all i need to know before getting one.
Bloodredsnake
New member
Thanks, I am sure i will need to know any advice anyone can give me. I am going to post some questions soon to ask to learn more them. I am still learning what i need to know. I am always open to learn more about them.
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Bloodredsnake
New member
These are a few questions about Corn snakes, I am still learning about all of this.
1. Can you raise two (one male and one female) corn baby snakes together before putting them in their own tanks?
2. Do you change their temperature even if you don’t plan to mate the snake?
3. Can they get older (since they live for 18-20) before you mate them without it harming the snake’s health?
4. What is the best way to feed them if you don’t want them to associate the opening of the tank with feeding?
5. Do you have to change the temperature of their tank during winter and summer?
6. Is a heating pad or Night time light better for snakes?
7. And if it is get hot in the room I have them in during the summer what should I do to keep them cool on the cool side of the tank?
1. Can you raise two (one male and one female) corn baby snakes together before putting them in their own tanks?
2. Do you change their temperature even if you don’t plan to mate the snake?
3. Can they get older (since they live for 18-20) before you mate them without it harming the snake’s health?
4. What is the best way to feed them if you don’t want them to associate the opening of the tank with feeding?
5. Do you have to change the temperature of their tank during winter and summer?
6. Is a heating pad or Night time light better for snakes?
7. And if it is get hot in the room I have them in during the summer what should I do to keep them cool on the cool side of the tank?
Athena_Cornsnake
New member
Not sure on all of those but as for #4, just feed them in a separate box. A Tupperware bin works well. Just drill some holes in nit and put them in there to feed them. That way, they will not automatically associate their tank opening with food. Only the box.
And for #5, The more constant you keep the temps, the better. Much of a change in the winter could lead to hibernation.
I wish I could be of more help, but I know nothing about breeding. Hope that helped!
And for #5, The more constant you keep the temps, the better. Much of a change in the winter could lead to hibernation.
I wish I could be of more help, but I know nothing about breeding. Hope that helped!
Bloodredsnake
New member
That helped thanks ^^
Zimmer
New member
1. I would not, because it's hard to keep track of things with multiple snakes in one house (who's regurged? who pooped? who's shed skin?)
2. You don't need to do any temperature change. If you want to brumate (hibernate) them, that is a whole process that can be discussed seperately, but brumation is unnecessary.
3. No personal experience here but have heard of snakes in the 8 - 10 year range breeding with no problems. Probably depends on the individual animal.
4. Lots of people are going to tell you to feed outside the tank to avoid cage aggression and substrate ingestion. Lots of people will tell you to feed in the cage to minimize stress and handling during a feed. Do more research here and learn what will work best for you..,.. (I feed in the cage, I have no problems with it so far.)
5. Same answer as #2
6. Lights can work fine, but preferred method is a under tank heater on a thermostat to control the temperature left at a steady 82-85 degrees year round.
7. If your house gets super warm in summer, turn off your heating equipment and use fans, maybe? No experience here I live in a cool climate and will probably never have to worry about this with my snakes.
Glad to see you doing research, you can never learn too much about these amazing creatures
Zimmer pretty much answered all. But I'll give my 2 cents anyway.
4. I feed in a separate tank and has worked well for me. Corns are not that feeding aggressive (maybe an isolated individual could), and don't usually bite, plus you'll have to open the doors almost daily anyway to change water, scoop clean, handle the snake, etc., so I doubt the snake will associate it exclusively to feeding and strike. Either method is OK and will have lovers and haters.
5. I don't change the heat pad temperature. This summer the only thing I did since it was really hot was to set the temperature variation alarm a bit higher so that it was not ringing all day. You don't have to worry about it unless you have this function.
6. With this question I understand you may be planning to use the heat pad only at night. You should use it all day round to provide the heat gradient for your snake to choose a proper temp to digest. Anual costs of a big pad constantly plugged and thermostat controlled are not more than 15$/year, not even worth risking a regurge.
7. Had a lot of issues with this one myself, since Spain is REALLY hot in summer. You can cool the whole room with AC or a portable AC unit (which I didn't have). So I froze small bottles of water and protected them with 2 old socks to avoid substrate dampening. Then I put them on the cool side of the viv and kept rotating them as they thawed. I could keep temps at around 79ºF, but with difficulty, since this summer has been specially hot, with temps over 102ºF. On more usual summers I think they'll do.
Fans don't work with snakes. They don't sweat, so the air you provide has to be actually cool, otherwise you just move the hot air around. Some people try ice filled trays in front of the fan directed at the viv.
Zimmer
New member
Good to know!!!
Karl_Mcknight
Common Sense Holder
#1. Many snakes are known to eat other snakes, King Snakes in particular. But Corn Snakes are also known to do that. Not saying your's will, but if it "Could Happen" then why risk it. I say keep them separate.
#3. The typical corn snake in the wild averages about 7 or 8 years age due to hazards and predators. The pets can go about 12 to 15. The 18 to 20 year range you speak of is very rare. The largest pet Corn Snake on record only lived 9 years.
#4. I feed in a separate box. You don't have to. Some of us do some of us don't. It's a good idea to do weekly cage cleanings, so I usually time my "Cage Duties" with the feeding cycles. It takes the snake about 30 minutes or so to eat, and while he's in the other box eating, I'm taking care of his home environment.
#5. It's very hard to set a temperature and expect it to stay that way. Even our own homes are not like that. (I've been in the Heating and AC business for almost 40 years.)
But consistency is best. We (humans) can take the weather changes better than reptiles can, so try to keep it simple and in the preferred range. There are some really nice thermostats out there specifically designed for heating snakes and if you're willing to spend 200 bucks for one that will be the closest to consistency you can get. On the other hand, you can get a thermostat or rheostat for about 20 to 40 bucks that will do a pretty good job, but you will have minor fluctuations. It's usually not a big deal.
#6. Most of us would say use a heat pad along with a thermostat. Although a lot of people will say Corn Snakes do not need light, I beg to differ. If you put one in a dark box and leave it there all the time it can mess up its life cycle and metabolism. It's best to provide about 12 hours light and 12 hours dark per day. It does not need to be a "Heat Lamp" though. It's there just to provide light for the animal so it can tell a difference between day and night. If there is enough room light in the room, then you may not need any additional light at all. If you place the snake by a window, make sure the sun does not shine directly on the snake. Glass can have a magnifying effect and even though the room might feel comfortable to you, if the Sun light is shining through the glass all day long, the temps in the cage can get quite high. My cage is by a window, and direct sunlight only hits the cage about 30 minutes per day, so that is no problem.
#7. If your house gets super hot in the summer (above 85 degrees) how do you handle it personally? I mean if it was me, I would be uncomfortable sitting around in a house that hot, not to mention I don't think I could ever fall asleep in that kind of heat.
Hopefully, you're not talking about that hot. But you could just unplug the heat pad and let the room heat suffice for the snake. Then plug the heat back in when the temps drop back down.
Providing the heat gradient is preferred and in a perfect world we'd have half the tank at 74 and half the tank at 84 degrees. But keep in mind, Corn Snakes come from the Southeastern USA, and I'm right here in the middle of it (Tennessee). I used to catch corn snakes and play with them as a kid. And here where I live, we have 5 below zero in the winter, and 105 in the summer, and the corn snakes do just fine here. It's not going to kill your snake if you have a few "Cool Days or Warm Days."
#3. The typical corn snake in the wild averages about 7 or 8 years age due to hazards and predators. The pets can go about 12 to 15. The 18 to 20 year range you speak of is very rare. The largest pet Corn Snake on record only lived 9 years.
#4. I feed in a separate box. You don't have to. Some of us do some of us don't. It's a good idea to do weekly cage cleanings, so I usually time my "Cage Duties" with the feeding cycles. It takes the snake about 30 minutes or so to eat, and while he's in the other box eating, I'm taking care of his home environment.
#5. It's very hard to set a temperature and expect it to stay that way. Even our own homes are not like that. (I've been in the Heating and AC business for almost 40 years.)
But consistency is best. We (humans) can take the weather changes better than reptiles can, so try to keep it simple and in the preferred range. There are some really nice thermostats out there specifically designed for heating snakes and if you're willing to spend 200 bucks for one that will be the closest to consistency you can get. On the other hand, you can get a thermostat or rheostat for about 20 to 40 bucks that will do a pretty good job, but you will have minor fluctuations. It's usually not a big deal.
#6. Most of us would say use a heat pad along with a thermostat. Although a lot of people will say Corn Snakes do not need light, I beg to differ. If you put one in a dark box and leave it there all the time it can mess up its life cycle and metabolism. It's best to provide about 12 hours light and 12 hours dark per day. It does not need to be a "Heat Lamp" though. It's there just to provide light for the animal so it can tell a difference between day and night. If there is enough room light in the room, then you may not need any additional light at all. If you place the snake by a window, make sure the sun does not shine directly on the snake. Glass can have a magnifying effect and even though the room might feel comfortable to you, if the Sun light is shining through the glass all day long, the temps in the cage can get quite high. My cage is by a window, and direct sunlight only hits the cage about 30 minutes per day, so that is no problem.
#7. If your house gets super hot in the summer (above 85 degrees) how do you handle it personally? I mean if it was me, I would be uncomfortable sitting around in a house that hot, not to mention I don't think I could ever fall asleep in that kind of heat.
Hopefully, you're not talking about that hot. But you could just unplug the heat pad and let the room heat suffice for the snake. Then plug the heat back in when the temps drop back down.
Providing the heat gradient is preferred and in a perfect world we'd have half the tank at 74 and half the tank at 84 degrees. But keep in mind, Corn Snakes come from the Southeastern USA, and I'm right here in the middle of it (Tennessee). I used to catch corn snakes and play with them as a kid. And here where I live, we have 5 below zero in the winter, and 105 in the summer, and the corn snakes do just fine here. It's not going to kill your snake if you have a few "Cool Days or Warm Days."