Tank prep questions

Hello. I am actually new to the forums, sup , and looking to purchase a corn snake very soon. At this time I currently have:

- 20gl tank(long) w/ fitting mesh lid
- aspen substrate
- several hides
- one of the cheesy rock/tree climby things
- a water dish
- digital hydrometer(sp?)
- digital thermometer w/probe
- GeoMed uth(30-40gl)
- squirt bottle for misting


The reason I picked up the 30/40gl size uth is because it seemed appropriate to the size of the long tank. Should I downsize to the 10/20 or will the 30/40 actually be fine? Kind of worried about burning my future critter.

There was also an interest in getting one of the 30 dollar thermostats, the $130 ones are a bit much for me to start out with. I worry about these because I have read several posts about them flaking out. I've also considered getting one of the mentioned dimmer switches. My worry about this is that the temperature at my place can fluctuate, which is partially due to the fact that my swamp cooler is a simpler one and is either on or off.

The tree thing is pretty much to the top of the tank. Do I need to worry about anything other then properly securing the top, like the snake rubbing its nose against the screen or edges of the top? I plan to get a piece of fine sand paper and sanding all the internal plastic edges of the aquarium so they are totally smooth.

Another side question is alarm clocks (loud buzzer). It’s my understanding that they are deaf but some believe that they can react to vibrations, be it high frequency. Should I worry about the snake stressing when I wake up early in the morning for work?

I have read through a large portion of these forums over the past week, including the FAQs aswell as some books. Seems like a great bunch and has been alot of help =].

Willing to take the extra time to make everythign right so that when he gets here, there will be as little fuss as possible.

I live in New Mexico so its pretty dry and I think with the swamp cooler on its around the low/mid 70s in my house.

Thanks for the help =] Ill try to add a bit a little later because I feel like I've missed something

Congrats on doing such a great job with researching!

About the UTH - it should only cover 1/3 (or less) underneath the tank. I actually get the next size down, instead of up. Make sure you have a piece of paper (others have done things with tile) over the glass where the uth is, but under the substrate so when the corn digs it won't have its belly against the glass and get burned.

BTW, corns do like those cheesy trees and branchs for climbing. lol

The alarm clock should be fine and wont bug your corn too much mine never gets bothered. A recommendation would be to get a copy of Katy Love's Corn Snake Manual it has many solutions to problems you might encounter and its a helpful reference guide.

I would agree with Kimbyra the 30-40 gal. UTH is a bit much if you can take it back and get the 10-20 gal. one.
The screen cover you got did it come with the tank? You might need some claps so you wont have any escapes.
Plus you need a separate feeding container! What i use it a see through sweater box with small holes drilled in the sides for ventilation.

Hope this helps!

BTW you can use the search feature on this site for more research if you need it. Im pretty sure someone has already had a thread like this one.

Thank you for the replies, much appreciated. I actually was thinking in regards to the 1/3 size thing for the UTH. Please keep in mind this is a long 20gl(length of 30") which means the 30-40 UTH(width of 8) is indeed less then 1/3 of the tanks footprint.

I got the tree thing because I saw several posts about how they will climb given the chance and Id love for him to always have the chance =p even if they aren’t arboreal It also gives the tank more dimension in general as well as making it look less barren; get enough of that here in NM =[.

I grabbed two tiles on the way home from work. They are the size of the UTH, and also fit quite well into the tank. One of the things I always kind of wondered about is all the talk about how heat rocks are bad even though the UTH turns the glass/tile into the same thing but that’s beside the point.

As far as security of the lid, I have the cage clip things for lids on order =]

I have done many searches as well as just reading straight through the forums in the hopes of learning, not to mention trying to avoid just making more of the same exact posts. I also bought one of the Love's books last week. However, if I have indeed just repeated something, I may have missed it or even misinterpreted it. Either way I still have questions and help is always appreciated.

And btw … a proper hello ^^ http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35540

A small corner is all that's necessary for a heating pad. The cheap thermostat will work just fine. Corns are not that particular about temperatures and are quite hardy. I usually just attach the uth to a piece of glass from an 8X10 picture frame and then put it under the tank. The glass provides an extra layer to avoid heating too much and if you change tanks, the uth won't have to be peeled off, or worse, if you should break the tank (did it once cleaning) you'll still have a completely good uth. Paper towel or newspaper taped to the bottom provides excellent heat insulation as well. I don't even use a thermostat on any of my corns cages except for the gravid female who insisted on laying directly over the heat while ovulating. If your glass still gets hot enough to have too high a temp you can add layers of paper or use the thermostat. Looking forward to seeing your new "kid" when you finally get it!

Thanks. I'll do my best to post pics when I can though I dont have immediate access to a decent camera =X

I guess I dont have to worry too much about him being close to the top of the tank with like rubing against the mesh with his nose and stuff?

Shouldn't be much of a problem. My male has climbed and put his nose over every square inch of his viv in search of a woman and never had a problem. If it becomes one, remove the large branch and put something else in.