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New snake owner with a few questions...

B

biddy000

New member
So, yesterday I got my corn snake. =] He is a normal with perfect checkers on his belly. I will take a few photos once he is settled in.

My questions are:
I got coconut bedding for a substrate, and its pretty moist. Its causing condensation against the sides of the tank. The humidity level is staying between 40-60%. I got some aspen bedding to switch him into. He is already in the cage though, so should I take him out and put the aspen in or wait till next week?

Also, i got a zoo med UTH, and a daylight lamp. I used the daylight lamp last night because the UTH didn't seem to be heating up. The warm side last night was at about 80F, but this morning it had dropped to 70F. I turned on the UTH and I'm hoping it will heat up by the time I get home. Is he going to be okay? I felt the substrate and it was a little warm. And also, I have a zoo med stick on thermometer. I will be changing that, but is it accuarate enough for a few days? I need to get more money to upgrade a few things.

Should I wait till next Sunday to feed him, or try this Sunday?

Thank you in advance =]
 
You should probably change the bedding as soon as you can. Corns don't need high humidity, and it may lead to respiratory infections/scale rot to live in such a moist environment.

The place you want to measure the temp is the place your snake will be... which is burrowed directly over the heat source. So the stick in thermometer will measure the ambient air temperature, but not give you any real clue about where his head pad is.

The headpads usually take a couple hours to heat up, so don't worry about that. I suggest getting a thermostat and a digital probe thermometer so that you don't have to worry about the UTH getting too hot. I measured one at 117 degrees directly on the glass!
 
Go ahead and change the bedding today. If your snake came in a delicup, go ahead and put him back in that. Otherwise, a temporary plastic bin with a lid will do while you change the bedding. It'll be really quick anyways.

And go ahead and stick with that UTH. I think that's what all of mine are anyways.
 
the zoo med is fine! just get a thermostat and a digital probe thermometer and secure probe to bottom of tank directly on glass in middle of uth.. good luck with your snake
 
Thank you both for your replies! And I will go home and change it out. He has his own tupperware bin, so he can sit it that. Is the thermostat I posted okay to get? Or should I get a different one?
 
According to the experienced folks, the Herpstats are really good, so I think that will probably do fine. The cypress looks nice but I thought, after I bought some, that it's really too humid for anything but shedding -- I might use it to cushion the bottom of a moist hide but that's about it -- so I've got some hanging around too.

The consensus on feeding is probably wait until next week. There have been lots of threads on that one since I joined, and everybody that knows anything always says "wait in order to avoid risk of regurgitation". If your little one is well started, skipping one meal shouldn't matter -- corn snakes don't always succeed when hunting in the wild, and I suspect baby corn snakes are less likely to succeed than more experienced hunters.
 
Thank you. What kind of heat should I use until I get the rheostat? Should I just use the light or the UTH?
 
I am NOT an expert, being a snake noobie, but I'll take a whack at your question. My ZooMed UTH runs over 100F without a rheostat, so I think that's too hot for your snake. Certainly, that's what all the experienced people & the books say. How cold is it where you are? If your home isn't cold, the light might keep your corn safely warm enough without the risk of cooking him. I would go with the light to avoid the risk of exposing your snake to way too hot of temperatures.
 
I would actually avoid the light. Corns need belly heat, not basking heat, because they are nocturnal. Heat lamps are still capable of burning a snake, and they tend to suck all the humidity out of a cage, leading to poor sheds.
 
Shiari said:
I would actually avoid the light. Corns need belly heat, not basking heat, because they are nocturnal. Heat lamps are still capable of burning a snake, and they tend to suck all the humidity out of a cage, leading to poor sheds.
Click to expand...

I stand corrected. I was just thinking about it until the t-stat arrives, and knowing that my ZooMeds run over >100F. Thanks Shiari for catching my less-than-accurate thinking!
 
Thanks for all the advice!
I am using the light for now until i get a rheostat tonight. I also have the heating pad on, which hasn't gotten that hot yet. I swithched out his bedding to aspen, and i like it a lot better. He seems too also. The humidity is now staying at 45%. I will be getting a few things at the pet store tonight. Here is a list of what I have so far:

10 gallon tank with locking lid.
Fake plant.
Water bowl.
Two hides.
Aspen bedding.
Humidity gauge.
Stick.
Light (temporary).

I am planning on getting a rheostat, better temperature gauge, a black light so i can see him at night, pinkies, feeding tongs, more bedding, moss, and shedding spray. Is there anything else I may need?
 
Remember with the heatpads... 80 degrees will NOT feel particularly warm to you. Our body temperature is almost 100. When the heat pads are at 100 degrees... it is comfortably warm to my hand.
 
It feels a little warm. I will check again. If it seems too warm, i can unplug it until i get the rheostat.
 
Sorry for the double post, but the bottom of the glass is pretty warm. He is on the cold side right now, so I am going to leave it on and turn off the light. If he burrows over there I will unplug it, because the top of the substrate is not hot at all.
 
You won't need feeding tongs corns just munch their food down no dangling required:) Your UTH shouldn't feel warm to you or it is probably too hot and from my experience the zoomed rheostats still keep the UTH too warm save your money and get a thermostat and a temp gun so you can accurately check the temps. Our hands aren't good indicator at all and a temp gun is relatively cheap and accurate:)
 
Update- I got everything! I got a Zilla rheostat, a digital thermometer for the warm side, and a plain stick on one for the cool side. His humidity has stabilized at 45%, and the heat mat has been brought down to 87F. The cool side is at 70F. Thank you to everyone who helped =]
 
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