Nature
New member
Hello, I'm new to this forum, though I have been reading through it for the past couple of days. In time, I wish to get a corn, and I've been researching info for the past couple of months. The main issue at the moment is money, so until everything is stable, I think waiting would be wise. 
I've kept many animals, but never a reptile. I can understand heating and temperatures, and yet the setup is a bit overwhelming to me, what with the variety of options available.
Lighting and heating is confusing, as I've read about the recommendation of providing UV lighting for snakes, though it is not ultimately necessary, as well as heating lamps. I wonder over what sort of lights to purchase, if at all, as well as wattage and brands for either. I've read about people's preference for red heat lamps to use 24/7, providing heat and visibility of the snake at dark hours, but does that affect at all the recommended night heat? I do understand the need of providing both light and night time to the snake.
With a smaller juvenile vivarium made of those plastic pet cages, I've read that a heating pad will simply do, as lighting and overhead heating would not work well with a full plastic top. I wonder about heating pads with such cages though. What sort of heating pads are better? Store bought human heating pads, or the specialized reptile heaters? Any danger of melting the plastic? I do recall the suggestion of using a tile and providing air space for the reptile heating pad, would that also be recommended for regular human heating pads? There was also a preference of wrapping them in terrycloth towels to lessen the direct impact of heat, is there any fire danger in that?
I was thinking about getting a tank, and using that smaller plastic cage for feeding to avoid problems with substrate. When you feed a snake in a separate container though, do you have a heating pad for that one as well? Or do you place the snake back in it's vivarium to nestle up in the warmer half?
I took an interest to natural vivariums, with a lava rock drainage layer, charcoal filtering/purifying layer, and then topsoil and safe plants. But I later wondered if it was more trouble than was necessary, by means of bacteria, or if it would prove difficult to properly clean and maintain. I also wasn't sure if it'd be necessary to clean the whole thing out at some point or not, and so I may just settle on bark or aspen shavings as a substrate. Easier to clean and manage, good enough for burrowing..
I have read a lot, and so all the different opinions and preferences get a bit muddled in my mind. As I have not actually seen nor had experience with many of these things, it's hard to choose what things would be best. The thermostat seems like a good idea, but I'm not entirely sure how they work to manage the temperatures. I was wondering if I should keep a new snake on paper towels for the first month, to monitor it's health and keep a lookout for any problems, but I'm concerned about how to care for it while changing and stabilizing the tank after that period. If I kept it temporarily in the plastic cage, then it would seem as though more thermometers and a heating pad would be necessary to keep it comfortable.
My imagination could be making things more complicated than they really are. The basic idea of it, is what do you do with your snake while giving the whole tank a good clean? I know they can be hardy critters, but I don't want to be utterly careless.
I'd just like to know what your thoughts might be, so that I can put together a safe, interesting and healthy environment for my future corn snake.
I've kept many animals, but never a reptile. I can understand heating and temperatures, and yet the setup is a bit overwhelming to me, what with the variety of options available.
Lighting and heating is confusing, as I've read about the recommendation of providing UV lighting for snakes, though it is not ultimately necessary, as well as heating lamps. I wonder over what sort of lights to purchase, if at all, as well as wattage and brands for either. I've read about people's preference for red heat lamps to use 24/7, providing heat and visibility of the snake at dark hours, but does that affect at all the recommended night heat? I do understand the need of providing both light and night time to the snake.
With a smaller juvenile vivarium made of those plastic pet cages, I've read that a heating pad will simply do, as lighting and overhead heating would not work well with a full plastic top. I wonder about heating pads with such cages though. What sort of heating pads are better? Store bought human heating pads, or the specialized reptile heaters? Any danger of melting the plastic? I do recall the suggestion of using a tile and providing air space for the reptile heating pad, would that also be recommended for regular human heating pads? There was also a preference of wrapping them in terrycloth towels to lessen the direct impact of heat, is there any fire danger in that?
I was thinking about getting a tank, and using that smaller plastic cage for feeding to avoid problems with substrate. When you feed a snake in a separate container though, do you have a heating pad for that one as well? Or do you place the snake back in it's vivarium to nestle up in the warmer half?
I took an interest to natural vivariums, with a lava rock drainage layer, charcoal filtering/purifying layer, and then topsoil and safe plants. But I later wondered if it was more trouble than was necessary, by means of bacteria, or if it would prove difficult to properly clean and maintain. I also wasn't sure if it'd be necessary to clean the whole thing out at some point or not, and so I may just settle on bark or aspen shavings as a substrate. Easier to clean and manage, good enough for burrowing..
I have read a lot, and so all the different opinions and preferences get a bit muddled in my mind. As I have not actually seen nor had experience with many of these things, it's hard to choose what things would be best. The thermostat seems like a good idea, but I'm not entirely sure how they work to manage the temperatures. I was wondering if I should keep a new snake on paper towels for the first month, to monitor it's health and keep a lookout for any problems, but I'm concerned about how to care for it while changing and stabilizing the tank after that period. If I kept it temporarily in the plastic cage, then it would seem as though more thermometers and a heating pad would be necessary to keep it comfortable.
My imagination could be making things more complicated than they really are.
The basic idea of it, is what do you do with your snake while giving the whole tank a good clean? I know they can be hardy critters, but I don't want to be utterly careless. I'd just like to know what your thoughts might be, so that I can put together a safe, interesting and healthy environment for my future corn snake.
