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Some random questions from a newbie

R

rocketshipwalker

New member
I am planning on getting my first cornsnake at the Repticon in Orlando which is in a little over more than a month.
I'm been acquiring some of the stuff I need since September.
Right now, I have a twenty gallon long tank with a sliding lid, two paper towels rolls to use as hides, and a cardboard box to use as a hide.
I know I need a water dish, a digital thermometer, a thermometer for the cool side, a uth, a thermostat, a hygrometer, feeding tongs, and aspen. As well as any other miscellaneous hides/decorations/things I want like fake plants, a reptile hammock, a scale, a mister, storage bin for feeding, etc.

I was wondering what brand of aspen you reccomend?
The Zoo Med aspen is really expensive in pretty much every pet store I've been too.
Is the aspen that is in the 'small animal' section okay to use? At one petstore, they have a brand of Aspen called Kay Tee and it is way cheaper than all the aspens I've seen in the reptile sections.
Would that brand be okay to use?

I've been waiting to buy the electronic stuff last just in case something didn't work or whatever.
I already know I'm going to buy the Hydrofarm thermostat on Amazon.
Does anyone know about how long it would take to ship to Florida?
I have the money for it right now or should I wait until it's closer to December to buy it?

When I have everything, when should I set up my tank?
A day before the convention?
I figured I should set it up earlier to get the temperature right, but how early?

I think those are all the questions I have at the moment. If I think of any more, I'll post them as well.
This will be my first snake and I want to be a good owner!
I've wanted a snake my whole life. It's taken me about twenty years to actually get one.
 
Personally I'd get the thermostat etc now and give it a test run. That way you can deal with any problems well before you get the snake.
 
I don't know that specific brand, but as long as it's really just Aspen, you should be OK. The problem is that "small animal" usually means "small mammal" and I've seen some "small animal" bedding that is actually an Aspen and other woods blend.

There's probably a good chance that you'll be able to find at least one dealer at the expo selling the giant bags of shredded aspen for cheap. So you could probably get away with just buying one bag of the more expensive stuff from the pet store to get the tank set up with and then get your real supply from the expo.

If you order from Amazon, you should get the thermostat within 3-5 business days.

Personally, I'd set up the tank as soon as possible. It won't hurt anything to have a completed tank sitting snakeless for a few days/weeks, and it will give you plenty of time to ensure that your heating is set up and working correctly.

For decorations, at least until you learn your snake's personality, I'd go a bit conservative (money-spent-wise). Some will like to climb, some won't. Some are out and about all the time, others are "all hiding all the time" types.

Although you will definately want some nice plant ground cover to fill up the tank with, and for them to feel hidden in, especially if you're getting a hatchling/sub-yearling.
 
Thanks for the advice!
Looking for Aspen at the con is a great idea!

Ohh, I was wondering if any of you knew if there might be vendors at the con with corns that are a few months old?
I've been going to the pet stores in my area and holding their hatchlings and even though I can hold them just fine, they make me kind of nervous.
They're really really small!
If I wasn't so fascinated by all the changes a corn makes in it's first year of life, I would totally go for an adult. But, since I'm not planning on breeding, I really want to start off with a corn that is under a year old.
 
I thought of another question.
What brand of UTH do you recommend?
I see the Zoo Med heaters everywhere, but that's it. I don't recall seeing any other brand.
Are there any brands on Amazon that might be better than Zoo Med?
 
We generally order our aspen from Amazon. It's way cheaper than the pet store (but then, we have Prime, so don't worry about shipping costs either. That may add to your price) We also get our thermostats there (check for Hydrofarm. It's fairly inexpensive, but a lot nicer than comparably priced ones I found at the pet store)
 
Most of the vendors at an expo like that will have a variety available.

You'll definately see lots of 2012 hatchlings (which could be early 2012 or recent 2012 just depending on early or late season).

Many vendors will also have 2011 yearlings and older full adults available as well.

A yearling is a good choice for a first snake. You get to bypass the really fragile "real hatchling" stage, while still having a young enough snake to see noticable changes as they grow up week-by-week. Plus with a yearling, you can (usually) be less worried about getting a problem feeder.

On the other hand, raising a scale baby up from the teeny tiny worm stage has it's rewards as well.

I'd say just browse around the expo looking at each snake and you'll probably find one scalebaby that just clicks with you. (try to stick with one at first...it's soooooo hard I know, but do your best to stick with only one for at least a few months) :)
 
Soulwind, thanks! This will be my first Repticon, so I have no idea what to expect.
I'm definitely going to be sticking to one corn snake for a long time.
I still live at home and I have absolutely no room for more than one. I had to get rid of my tv to make room for a tank.
 
I bet there will be several of the breeders from here at the Repticon too. Personally I like to support the people who are active here by shopping with them first. It is the only way I can think of to say thank you to them for their support, insights, patience and sharing of their knowledge. I am constantly amazed at how much time they spend here and how willing they are to help.
 
The zoo-med UTHs are fine. You'll want the medium sized one for a 20L tank though, the small-sized one (the one you linked) is for 10-15 gallon tanks.
 
Would I need the 30-40 gallon uth because a 20 gallon long is longer than a normal twenty gallon or would the 10-20 gallon uth cover enough floor space?
 
The UTH should cover a third of the base of the tank or tub. Check the dimensions and see if it'll do so
 
Ooh. Mine UTH covers 2/3 of the viv, I've been meaning to get a new, smaller one but I've been unsure whether to do so. I keep the temperature slightly lower than recommended to compensate (the thermostat is set just below 28), on the hot end it tends to be between 24-28 degrees C, on the cooler end around 2 degrees cooler. I find Cleo on both sides of the tank, can't say she spends too much time on the cool end so as yet I haven't been concerned.

Sorry to hijack the thread.
 
ladymagpie said:
Ooh. Mine UTH covers 2/3 of the viv, I've been meaning to get a new, smaller one but I've been unsure whether to do so. I keep the temperature slightly lower than recommended to compensate (the thermostat is set just below 28), on the hot end it tends to be between 24-28 degrees C, on the cooler end around 2 degrees cooler. I find Cleo on both sides of the tank, can't say she spends too much time on the cool end so as yet I haven't been concerned.

Sorry to hijack the thread.
Click to expand...
Honestly, I'm sure as long s there is a gradient, Cleo will be fine. 1/3rd is a general guide. After all mine have heat cable at the back of their rack, nothing actually under their tubs at all, but the cable heats the back end of each tub!
 
rocketshipwalker said:
Ohh, I thought of another question.
Since I'm planning on getting a hatchling/yearling, how big should the water dish I get be?
Click to expand...

It should be big enough for your hatchling to fully submerge it's body if he/she wants to. This is incase your snake wants to bathe while in the shedding phase (the moisture helps with shedding) or if your snake gets too hot for whatever reason, it allows them to cool down quickly. If its slightly bigger than that it should be fine (if its too big though it might be too intimidating), but try to avoid getting one too small or "just" big enough. Your snake will continue to get bigger!
 
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