A few questions

Hi! Im new to this forum, I just found it recently in searching for questions about cornsnakes on the net. I apologize if this isnt the proper place for such questions. First off, I know im a horrible person for doing such, but i purchased a snake from a petstore. The guy I purchased it from though was quite nice. He owns three snakes himself and abundance of spiders(he showed me his black widow, its gross) and he said outright that with the prices at the petstore, it isnt adopting its manhandling people. I badly wanted a cornsnake though, and we didnt have breeders neer me that i could get to. So I purchased what we think is an albino cornsnake. I named him/her(I dont know what it is, but it has no male spike thingies on the end of its tail, is it to young?) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Here's a picture of him.

Here

He lives in a 20 gallon tank, which is all I could afford at the moment. Substrate is NOT cedar, but some thin wood shavings that absorb it well and smells nice at least. I gave him a rock like cave thingie to hide in, and a rather large water dish that i clean basically every day for him. He also has a heating pad on one side of the tank, but tends to prefer to just hang out in his hide in the middle of the tank. The first few days, he was burried and hiding under the substrate, i believe this was normal, I didnt touch him touch much except to feed him. Here are a few questions.

Recently amadeus pokes his head out of his hide and just...watches me. Is he actually watching me or just hanging out? He seems better when i pick him up, and even curls around my fingers or my neck(he seems to like trying to get in my shirt x.o; it tickles so much) You can see how big he is in the picture, so im guessing he's a month or a few old? Give or take. I even got my mother to hold him! Now those who have iffy moms will know how hard this is. She squealed so hard, but she held him at least. He tends to not like my sister(seven years old) and attempts to preform flying leaps to get away from her. Is disliking people normal? Will he bite her?(he bit me but thats because i had to get him out of my shirt adn it was squirmy, didnt hurt)

next question. His water dish holds tap water, bad? Im not a very rich person, purchasing bottled water every day would dip into my funds. Do i need to by clorine tablets or something for him?

Cleaning. I was going to use a kity litter scooper to get the first inch of substrate out of his tank and put new stuff on, then clean the entire cage once a month. Good, or bad? What do i use to disinfect the cage? Is buying store brand things proper or no?

I recenty just fed him(he eats every monday) and i put him in a high box away from his cage to eat. He eats baby pinkies, defrosted(i boil them for about ten minutes till they arent frozen) but when i attempted to pick him up, he began rattling his tail at me and drawing back. I didnt feel like getting bit by a just fed snake!! Is this behavior normal, did I pick him up to quickly perhaps?

I picked Amadeus because one, he was a neat color(i like lighter, white albino type things) and because he wasnt as hyper when i held him at the pet store. Is his lack of moving around so much bad...? Im just a scared mom and I dont want him to get hurt ^^; I apologize for my very long post. Also, I havent seen him go in his water dish, except once. Does he do this when im asleep or does he not like the water?

Your post was long so i just skimmed it instead of reading it all. It is a snow corn snake, you can not tell if a corn is a male or female from spurs. You are not a bad person for buying from a petstore. Make sure that the wood chips you are useing are asphen and not pine.

Its aspen ^^ Snow cornsnake? Allright, thank you that helps a lot. And I was told purchasing most pets from petstores isnt a very smart idea. considering they never tell you much about the pet

do not boil the pinkies, that will cook them and they should not eat cooked mice, as long as you could drink your tap water it should be fine for your snake. and i would just spot clean the tank as needed, if you want to use a kitty litter scooper that is fine, he might bite, but it will not hurt, and prolly not even bleed

So with the pinkies, should I just let it defrost at room temp, or use a hair dryer for it?(If my mom finds out im so dead)

Amadeus said:

Its aspen ^^ Snow cornsnake? Allright, thank you that helps a lot. And I was told purchasing most pets from petstores isnt a very smart idea. considering they never tell you much about the pet

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as long as the petstore keep them in good conditions you should be fine, a lot of people first snake come from a pet store.

Amadeus said:

So with the pinkies, should I just let it defrost at room temp, or use a hair dryer for it?(If my mom finds out im so dead)

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i normally just soak them in the warmest water i can get out of my sink ( tap water)

The snake you have is a snow corn, which carries the recessive traits for amelanism and anerytherism. Buying a snake from a pet store doesn't make you a horrible person. I've bought two from pet stores, and they are just as healthy as the ones I've gotten from breeders. I also have a third snake that I adopted from a co-worker, but he got it from a pet store.

I'm not sure what you mean by male spike thingies on his tail. If you are talking about spurs, corns don't have them. The only way to know for sure what sex you snake is is to have him probed or popped. ONLY experienced folks should do this as you could injure your snake doing it.

If your tank is a 20 long, it will be ok for the rest of his life, though you may want to get him a bigger one when he is older. I'd suggest you get him more hides, though. Two is the minimum, and more is better. At his age, toilet tissue rolls work great, and are easily replaced when they get soiled. One thing you didn't mention that is an absolute necessity is a digital thermometer with a probe and a way to regulate your heat mat. They will get way too hot if you don't have a thermostat or rheostat on them.

Whether tap water is good or bad depends on what is in your tap water. Many people give their snakes tap water with no problems. If you let it set out for 24 hours before giving it to the snake, the chlorine will dissipate. However, if you have chloramines in your tap water, they won't.

Your cleaning schedule sounds fine.

Do not boil the mice. Feed them raw. I thaw mine in hot tap water for about 15 minutes. Rattling is normal for hatchlings. What you can do is to put the feeding box back into his tank and let him crawl out when he's ready. YOu know not to handle him for 48 hours after feeding, right? You don't want to cause a regurge. If you're worried about him not drinking, put his water dish next to the wall of his tank. Since they tend to cruise the perimeter, he'll be more likely to find it. Also, they are not like mammals and don't need as much water. He'll drink when he's ready, and most likely when you aren't looking.

Good luck with him, and any more questions, feel free to ask.

I dont care if its a male or a female, just you know, properly naming it and all lol. I have no plans of breeding him/her, I dont feel like taking care of babies till I know i can properly take care of one.

I added another hide for him, at the moment just being fed he's sleeping it off i think. As for the themostat, I will pick one up the minute i can. I have anormal reptilian heating pad taped to the bottom of his tank on one half side. The only way I can think of to regulate that is to turn it off if it gets to hot.

I dont touch Amadeus for two days once he ate yes, I dont feel like getting him sick or anything. Its tempting to touch him, trust me, but ill wait. The water dish is set about an inch(theres two inches of substrate give or take, a bit more on the warm side) under the substrate snug against the wall.

Thank you for answering my questions ^^ I apologize for being annoying lol. As for the themostat, is there a specific kind i should look for, or just anyone?

Amadeus said:

So with the pinkies, should I just let it defrost at room temp, or use a hair dryer for it?(If my mom finds out im so dead)

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Try putting the pinkie in a ziplock baggie, with as much air pressed out as you can before you seal it. Put it in a bowl or coffee mug, weigh it down with a spoon and pour hot tap water over it. Most tap water is between 115F and 145F, so it isn't hot enough to cook the pinkie, but will bring it up to body temperature within five to ten minutes.

I used to use a similar technique to heat feeding syringes when I was hand feeding birds, and it works like a charm.

Amadeus said:

I dont touch Amadeus for two days once he ate yes, I dont feel like getting him sick or anything. Its tempting to touch him, trust me, but ill wait. The water dish is set about an inch(theres two inches of substrate give or take, a bit more on the warm side) under the substrate snug against the wall.

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You might just want to put the water on the cool side, just to keep that side, well, cooler, and so the water doesn't get too warm. I don't know any other benefits, but most people I know just keep their water dishes on the cool side.

Thawing mice is simply, I just take a mini plastic container, put the pinkie in with an inch or so of hot water, and let it sit for 10 minutes. I've done this about 8 times so far with my new baby corn and he gobbles it up without hesitation every time.

Good luck with Amadeus, he/she looks beautiful.

Directly in water?

Alsoknownas said:

Thawing mice is simply, I just take a mini plastic container, put the pinkie in with an inch or so of hot water, and let it sit for 10 minutes.

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I've seen several posts advising to put the pinkie in hot water to thaw it. I think putting it directly into water, without a barrier (I use a ziplock baggie), makes it less desirable to the snake. You are diluting the smell and the taste. Does anyone else use the "Boil-In-A-Bag" technique?

(Before you start screaming at me in ALL CAPS, I am not recommending BOILING water: "Boil-In-A-Bag" just seems the closest analog (c: )

I was told i could thaw the mice by puting it in a ziplock and boiling it on low for a few minutes. Ill just do the cup thing for now on though, seems loads easier because mom had a fit when she found out I used her pot.

I just wont tell her im using her cup now.

Amadeus said:

I was told i could thaw the mice by puting it in a ziplock and boiling it on low for a few minutes. Ill just do the cup thing for now on though, seems loads easier because mom had a fit when she found out I used her pot.
I just wont tell her im using her cup now.

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ROTFLMAO Stop by a thrift store and pick out a mug of his very own (c:

Definitely a snow corn! And quite a beauty! You can be very proud of him!
Enjoy your new snake!

Thank you ^^;;

I will purchase a cup, and go get some cleaner for his cage and a themostat thing as well. Getting the mother to actually hold him for longer then a escond is harder though.

jaxom1957 said:

I've seen several posts advising to put the pinkie in hot water to thaw it. I think putting it directly into water, without a barrier (I use a ziplock baggie), makes it less desirable to the snake. You are diluting the smell and the taste.

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Not true. It doesn't dilute the smell or taste any more than taking a bath makes you smell less like a person. I thaw all pinkies and fuzzies directly in hot water. My snakes have no problem taking them.

BeckyG said:

Not true. It doesn't dilute the smell or taste any more than taking a bath makes you smell less like a person. I thaw all pinkies and fuzzies directly in hot water. My snakes have no problem taking them.

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Actually, taking a bath does just that, which is pretty much the point of bathing.

jaxom1957 said:

Actually, taking a bath does just that, which is pretty much the point of bathing.

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Yes, but if I'm right, you use soap when you bathe with which to cleanse & cut through the "smell", which you don't use when you're warming up a mouse...and usually, when something is warmer, the scent becomes more intense. I've tried warming up my mice both ways, and they seem to take it either way...however, I think that they like the mice better when they've been directly in the water because then the mice seem to be a bit more moist and they seem to take the mice in a bit easier. I can't say for sure, as I've only been feeding snakes for a months now, but that's just been my observation with my lil'guys.

Cegninedorf said:

Yes, but if I'm right, you use soap when you bathe with which to cleanse & cut through the "smell", which you don't use when you're warming up a mouse...and usually, when something is warmer, the scent becomes more intense. I've tried warming up my mice both ways, and they seem to take it either way...however, I think that they like the mice better when they've been directly in the water because then the mice seem to be a bit more moist and they seem to take the mice in a bit easier. I can't say for sure, as I've only been feeding snakes for a months now, but that's just been my observation with my lil'guys.

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I doubt if it matters to 99 out of a 100 snakes. It might make a difference to a non-feeder, and is something else to try and get them to eat. Less messy than braining, etc. I'll keep using the bagged technique. It works for me, just as no bag works for you.