First Corn

[HerpDreamer]

I am about to get my first Corn Snake. I was looking at all the color morphs and variations and I was wondering, Are there any behavioral differences related to color? I am very interrested in BloodRed, Lavender, Blizzard, and Reverse Okeetees. :o

I currently have a plastic shoebox type enclosure, what type of heating element would be safe for that type of material? I don't want to melt the plastic...:confused:

Would AstroTurf be good for Corns? Or should I think of a different type of substrate? Also, After I bring home my baby, How long should I leave it alone before I start getting it used to being handled? I want it to grow up completely O.K. with me handling it since I want a snake I can carry around the house with me with minimal "defence" behaviors and minimal bites.:cool:

[SilverTongue]

Well they are all usually anti-social but never mean. I have a snow corn that defise all the norms for corns. She is VERY social and all the time out and about day and night. I have heard that most albinos are nippy beacues in nature they would be the first to die, so it is like a defence system. I have also heard that most bloodreds are nippy why I dont know. But then I have heard others never had problems.

I use indoor/outdoor carpet in my cage and currently have that covered with aspen. You have to make sure that the cage doesnt get too hot because the fumes from the plastic can do a lot of dmg. Hope this helps;)

[Neil]

I think you should buy and read the Corn Snake Manual before you buy your snake, it will answer almost all your questions and, after reading it, you'll know for certain if you can handle one as a pet. I'm not trying to pick on you- I just think that it is better to read up on a particular animal (any animal) before buying one because it will make both you and the snake more happy.

If you use astro-turf or carpeting as a substrate be aware that it isn't good in terms of habouring bacteria and needs to be washed and dried completely- regularly.

When it comes to heating corns, most keepers will agree that a heat mat is best. Hook it up to a thermostat to make sure you don't overheat the plastic container.

[Simon]

Well about the morphs. There are some differences, but mostly they are calm animals and most will not know a big difference. I have heard that hypo okeetees and bloodreds are more aggressive than others. But from what I have experienced before and the corns that I have, they are the same. Each little snake will be a bit more aggressive compared to adults. With more handling, they become more docile...

Well...I don't know about the enclosure that you are using. But right now what I am using for my corns are Sterilite storage boxes which are 28Quarts big. These are very nice to use and even adults could fit in these, which in turn saves a lot of space too. The heating pads that I use are called "flexwatt heat tapes" which works very well with these storage boxes.

For substrates, I personally use aspen. Some people would prefer to use other things, such as newspaper, paper, and other substrates. But I think that aspen is the best.

Once you get your corn snake, try not to handle it for at least 3 days so that it gets used to the new environment and wouldn't be as stressed. Try to offer it food after 3 days or so.

Hope this helped.
Just wondering...how come you posted this message two times?

Good Luck and Happy Herping!

[kris (UK)]

if you ask more questions on this forum then you will find out loads! i did and i am just about to get my second corn. I would strongly reccomend you buy the cornsnake manual by bill & kathy love... you can order from amazon or from their own site, http://corn-utopia.com . . . . its not a bad price to buy and it has just about everything you will need to know about cornsnakes and breeding them ect ... ect .... its really easy to digest aswell so its not difficult to understand!! :)

KRIS