Got a new snake

Hey everybody i finally got the snake i always wanted, A cornsnake..
I signed up on this site right now to be able to get some help in taking care of it..

WEll i already have a prob.
See i cant keep its basting light on during the day, as i have 4 cats n i also dont want to risk any fire hazards...SO what im trying to do is put the light on at night, n make it really dark in my room for him during the day, i put him in an isolated room... But is that gona work. How am i gona provide what he needs witout the light!?
Ill also need help in how to handle it, coz i do want it to get used to humans n not bite.

Cursed_Witch said:

Hey everybody i finally got the snake i always wanted, A cornsnake..
I signed up on this site right now to be able to get some help in taking care of it..

WEll i already have a prob.
See i cant keep its basting light on during the day, as i have 4 cats n i also dont want to risk any fire hazards...SO what im trying to do is put the light on at night, n make it really dark in my room for him during the day, i put him in an isolated room... But is that gona work. How am i gona provide what he needs witout the light!?
Ill also need help in how to handle it, coz i do want it to get used to humans n not bite.

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Welcome to the forum.
You will find useful information here. Just do a search. and read and read.
I don't think corn snake really need "basting light" . So I would just use a low wattage bulb or nothing just daylight. My snakes have plenty of daylight to use.
As for handling, give it 4 to 6 days of no handling when you first get it to settle in and after that no handling for 2 days after feeding it. then try to just build up the time of handling. start with 5 minutes.

Good luck. :cheers:

you don't have to have an overtop light for snakes... an Under the tank heater is the best ... the kind that stick on the bottom. (but you don't have to peel and stick them.. you can just put them under one half of your viv) I was actually told that they don't like the bright light shining over them and that the normal room light was good enough

Heres a pic of my setup just so you can get an idea.. ( i know its not the best, i am a beginner too, but it IS the basics) you can see that i have a hide on each side so he can hide on the warm or cool side (the left is the warm side) and i have the water dish on the cool side. I have a cool climby branch, thats not a necessity though. Also, my substrate is reptile carpet, but i plan on switching to aspen shavings soon (as soon as i get to the store.. LOL)



As far as handling, we handle ours almost every day, except for 2 days after eating. I will come home and play with him, then when my husband comes home, he plays with him too. He seems to get more calm with each handling... if he looks like hes going to strike, go ahead and pick him up anyway to let him know that your not afraid of him.

oh, and the best way to prevent a bite is to make sure you wash your hands before and after handling so he doesn't smell anything that might smell like food on you

i know im a newbie, but ive been doing research on corn snakes for years and ive just gotten to the point now where i could actually get one! LOL. so i hope i have good advice, if i don't.. hopefully other poeple on the site will correct me

Its true, cornsnakes do not bask(or 'bast' for that matter). They do not require overhead heating, in fact it in most cases GREATLY dries out the enclosure, which can lead to shedding problems. I recommend, if you are going to get any kind of heat source, to get an under tank heater for one side of the tank as was already suggested. You can get them from most all petstores for around $20.

Because the UTH's(under tank heater) usually run pretty hot, you will probably need to get a thermostat or a rheostat to regulate the temperatures of the heater. The thermostats are pretty expensive and rheostats, if bought, can run a little overpriced as well(around $20) but well worth it for the health of your snake .

Here is a thread on how to make your own if you want to spend a little less and have the time to spend.

How to make your own Rheostat for less than $7

Hope this helps

Its not easy

Well, the people at the pet store made me buy all this stuff n gave me this care sheet that i need these stuff. but apprently everything they gave me is wrong. They gave me a heater rock, which burns the snake, they gave me one of those basking lights with a 50mp i guess.... But i think it makes everything too hot..I told them i needed a heat pad but they didnt have.
I still havent had the time to go to a pet store n get a thermostat, i was caught up with work.
BUt i still have the issue of the daylight, so im planning to take saturday off so i can study how much light comes into my room n see if its enough or not, n once i get those thermometres i will test n see how hot it is.
N soon i need to feed it but here comes the new questions, i was told i need to get a seperate tank, i was wondering what kind? is plastic good? N i was also told not to touch the snake for 48 hours after it eats So how would i return it to its original tank?
I really need to know asap coz i want to know what to get from the pet store, plus i need to feed it soon.

Don't worry too much about light. Just use something for You to use, to see the snake.

As for feeding you can feed in the same VIV (tank) as your snake or separate container, I use a brown paper bag . You could use any container, a plastic one with a lid and make small hole in it. That what some folks do here. If you feed in the viv try placing a paper plate down first so snake won't swallow substrate. I a debate to feed in or out of viv. That's your call.
I preferr to feed at night , that when they are out and about, in a small bag, with light dim and quite.

i feed in a separate container so that the snake doesn't associate his home and the opening of the top to feeding. you can feed in anything but i use a plastic "critter keeper" with a lid so i can watch him and see how he does. And its ok to touch them after the feed to put htem back in their home. just don't touch the lump where the mouse is. I just kinda scoop my snake up from the bottom and lay him back in his home.

Cursed_Witch said:

N i was also told not to touch the snake for 48 hours after it eats So how would i return it to its original tank?

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After your snake has fully eaten its meal wait about 10-15 minutes. This gives the snake time to calm down (they can be a bit aggressive right after meals) and also gives the pink time to reach the snakes stomach.
After the 10-15 minutes gently remove your snake from it's feed box and place it back in its viv. You can also open the feed box (if you're using a critter keeper), place it in your snake's viv, and wait for the snake to leave the feed box. This however can be a little lengthy, so unless you've got the patients to watch put the lid back on the tank and check back periodically to see if your snake's left for one of its hides yet.

Snake didnt eat

Last night i thawed the pinky, actually a half one coz he's just a hatchling. I took the snake out, pet him a bit like i was advised to, n then i put it in the small tank where i had the food, but he didnt eat it. he smelled it n kept turning his head n ignoring it, I tried to move the pinkie, tried to wag it in front of him n he didnt...i kept him in the feeding tank overnight n waited for him to eat it..but nothing, the thing stinked by morning.
So i asked people on this site, n they told me its normal behavior, n that i should try again a couple days later. I also was told that it needs to shed before it eats. I would call the pet store but they were so ignorant in the first place that i am pissed at them.

N today i couldnt find him in the tank, it turns out he burried himself under the substrate.
Does anybody know whats happening?

It looks like you have a hatchling on your hands, buddy.

Hehe

That i Know, it is a hatchling. SO? a little more explaining would help at this point!

Cursed_Witch said:

That i Know, it is a hatchling. SO? a little more explaining would help at this point!

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I don't know who advised you to pet the snake before feeding him, but I wouldn't do this. There are exceptions, and every snake's different, but in my experience, snakes don't enjoy "petting"- especially hatchlings. The trick is to make them as comfortable and stress-free as possible.

Hatchlings can handle whole pinkies that are newborn to a few days old. I've never had to dimember a pink, and I've raised a bunch of hatchlings.

Acclimate your snake to a small housing container for a few days. Keep the container in a very low-traffic area. Give him a live pinky at sunset, and don't peek until morning.

If this doesn't work, do a search for "feeding problems" in the 'feeding/health problems' forum, and read up on the dozens of ways keepers combat problem feeders.

If you haven't gone back to the pet store yet, I wouldn't waste your time there. I've seen rheostats/thermostats at pet stores that are exponentially more expensive than the same thing at Wal Mart or Lowe's. As far as the heat rock and light go, if you don't want them, take them back. They might give you a hard time about it if you don't have a receipt, but you could always take a REAL corn caresheet with you to show them that you're not supposed to use heat rocks, and that the light is kind of pointless. If you've got a lamp in your livingroom or wherever the snake is, that's all the light you need.