10 days till we get our guy

[firesnake13]

:dancer:
My daughter is getting a cornsnake for her birthday. She has wanted a snake since she could ask, now she is old enough to hold it safetly. We are very excited! Our local herp shop (best in no. cal) has a sweet amel jouvenile so we are getting the setup friday and the snake when the setup is stable. (temp, humidity, not cats, ect.)
soooooo....
Any tips? What threads would you recomend? I have been researching but there will probably be things I haven't thought of or haven't found in the threads. We will post a pic as soon as he's ready to be handled.
Thanks all!
also, we have 2 cats, so cat tips are good since we can't keep them out of the room. We are getting a cat-proof cage tho, and please save the lectures, We take pet care very serously here and she will in no way ever be actually resposible for the snake or unsupervised with the snake beyond watching it in it's locked cage. :santa:
thanks! and thanks for all of the research help up to this point! this site rocks :D

[Joni Garcia]

Hi... I'm from No. Cal too. Congrats on the upcoming arrival of your new snake. How exciting!!! It's nice to see a new-to-be corn owner doing homework and searching the forums. There's so much good info here and lots of people to help.

As far as thread recommendations go, Joejr14's FAQ Development Forum has lots of great info in it.

FAQ Development Forum (http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=46)

If you don't have it, Bill and Kathy Love's book is a super source of info.

Corn Snakes - The Comprehensive Owner's Guide (http://www.corn-utopia.com/Corn%20Utopia%20on%20the%20Web/-%20BOOKS%20POSTERS%20herp%20for%20sale%20Cornutopi a%20corn%20snakes%20cornsnakes.htm)

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Sorry I can't help you with the cats... but I do have a Shih Tzu too :D

[Lennycorn]

Hi and welcome.

Just to start you out, you can scroll down to the jump forum section and open up the FAQ Development forum. That should get the ball rolling.

Good luck to you :cheers:

[BeckyG]

HI and welcome to the forum. There is no need to get defensive. Many of us on here own cats and other pets. My cat has never bothered my snakes, and they have gotten used to her presence. The best tip I can give you is to make sure you have the wire mesh top to your cage rather than plastic or nylon mesh. Cats can be taught to leave the snake alone. Although my cat has never shown aggression towards my snakes she often hears me admonish, "Don't sniff my snake!"

[firesnake13]

:rolleyes:
well, the guys at ebv said it was unnecessary to monitor the setup first, so we now have a beautiful Prince Charmont in my daughter's room. He is in a 10 gal that will soon be replaced with A really big cage as soon as I find one that He won't get through the doors (and get the $, boy this was expensive!)
Sorry about getting defensive about lectures, It' just that everytime we get another pet, we get lectured by total strangers about how little kids shouldn't have thier own pets 'cause they can't care for them and they are nat toys and they get bored, ect, ect... and well, here its not that way at all, and I am in charge of pet care, so sorry about the grouchies.

Anyway he is between 1 1/2 to 2 ft long, and looks like the amel that was posted to this thread. How do you post pics?

Soo, we have all the goodies, right now he is chillin' on the cool side, has been since last night (is that ok?) the temp on warm side is 85-ish w/ a good thermometer and heat pad and rheostat. (that pad was hot! can see why everyone says to get rheostat - thanks!) checking cool side w/ therm as I type.
we haven't held him yet, but when we put his transport bowl into his cage the first time we both touched him super quick. so we are counting down the days.
as for the cats - thay hunt everything here so we are monitoring them closely and the cage is set up in a cat unfriendly spot that is very hard to climb and is covered on three sides w/ background.
sooo, we are excited and monitoring temps and movement very closely. we have the book too.

but, how long can he be on the cool side? I don't want to touch him to see if he's ok since he isn't ready but I haven't found that addressed in th book yet.
thanks all! :cheers:

[firesnake13]

becky - your snake looks just like ours! same size too! how cool is that? thanks, we are ordering the super heavy duty mesh ans put bells and crumpled paper on top of cage for now. our boys are into watching "snacks" be it caged or out the windows, so I worry for now.
thanks!

[Lennycorn]

Congrat's on your new pet.
The snake will move to where ever he likes. He is new to the Viv so he might be shy and stay put and/or not know there is a warm side yet. They like to explore at night. So let him do what he wants for now.

Good Luck to you :cheers:

[firesnake13]

thanks lenny, I checked the temp tonite and he was cruising so that's a good sign. Can't wait to feed him monday. i read all the faq's and the book so I feel pretty confident. The shop says to feed in cage tho. So what's the best way to keep him from ingesting aspen? I was thinking of a paper plat or a shallow plastic container. what do you guys think?

[Lennycorn]

thanks lenny, I checked the temp tonite and he was cruising so that's a good sign. Can't wait to feed him monday. i read all the faq's and the book so I feel pretty confident. The shop says to feed in cage tho. So what's the best way to keep him from ingesting aspen? I was thinking of a paper plat or a shallow plastic container. what do you guys think?

Some here feed in and some out of Viv. This is what I call the grey areas, on this topic and others. You have to figure out what works for you. I would think that the folks that have a large collection would feed in the Viv for a convinces of time. And if you decide to do so try feeding in a paper plate or towels. But there is still a risk eatting aspen. I prefer to feed out side the Viv. This make me handle and look at the general health on my snake. I actually use a brown paper bag for now to feed in and I feed at night in a dim room. But any plastic type of container with a secure lid and vents will do.

Good luck and let us know how your doing :santa:

[BeckyG]

becky - your snake looks just like ours! same size too! how cool is that? thanks, we are ordering the super heavy duty mesh ans put bells and crumpled paper on top of cage for now. our boys are into watching "snacks" be it caged or out the windows, so I worry for now.
thanks!

That is cool. Mine is a yearling amelanistic named Sunset. She is a bit bigger than that now, as that is an old picture. It is still one of my favorites of her, though.

Actually, I misunderstood you earlier. I thought you were expecting lectures about having cats and snakes, which I see nothing wrong with as long as you take the proper precautions. But I also see nothing wrong with little kids having pets, so long as the parents realize that they, not the kid, will be the one responsible for taking care of that pet. You seem to fully understand that, so just blow off the lectures--especially the ones from teenagers who seem to think they know everything. :cool:

[firesnake13]

We are counting down to Monday's attempted feeding on a paper plate. I will let you know how it goes. Once he is eating reliably in his viv I will change him to another container for feedings but the shop says to feed in viv to minimize changes and that makes sense. He is on "hot fuzzies" so it will be fun. I will let my daughter watch w/ binoculars from the hallway so he isn't disturbed. also, he has a pad (i stuck it on per directions & now kicking myself) and a blacklight on a rheostat. I've read here that a light can dry them out, but temp varies in our house, so I feel more comfortable if he can choose to be warm on his branch and not just in his hide. SO.. should I mist? or just wait till he's shedding to give a shedbox and mist?
I was also thinking of getting a UV light instead of the blacklight during the day since most animals do benefit so despite the lack of evidence, I'll assume he will fell better w/ it.
And the shop says they like smaller enclosures and big cages aren't necessary since they are "hiding" animals that feel more secure in a not too big cage. To wait about a year then go up to 20 gal. And since he's a pet, he'll get alot of exersize with us. what is the concensus? I was thinking of a really big viv after march, but I don't want him to be unhappy or too much change too soon.

and....
how do you load pics? I can't figure it out. :shrugs:
And what is the definition of sunglow verus regular amel? the book says no white spots, is that true? he is yellow orage and orange-red.
thanks all!I promise to run out of questions soon! :crazy02:

[Lennycorn]

Feeding in or out of the Viv is up to you. Just don't believe everything the pet shop saids. The rheostat is for the (UTH) under tank heater. To help control the temps. You should also have a thermometer with a probe resting on the substrate under the hide which should be above the UTH. To get proper temps 80-85 warm side 70-75 cool side. You don't need to warm up any branches. Don't want to dry him up. Your OK with the tank and when you do move up just make sure you have lots of hides. Paper towels rolls work well too.
Just keep on reading on other tricks of the trade

Good Luck :santa:

[firesnake13]

Thanks Lenny, everything's on rheostat to keep even temp and he actually has a 30 watt lightbulb now just for light during the day. We will put tubes in when he gets a bigger Viv since he tunnels so much already. So far he ignores his hides. :shrugs:

But as he will be fed tomorrow, we thought we would give him a quick acquaintance session tonite. I wish I knew how to post pics, you guys should see the grin on this little girls face! She even kept trying to kiss him but he wasn't interested. Time for another salmonella chat. :rolleyes: He wanted back in the Viv so we let him back in.
Tomorrow we will pet him again afterschool (5 min timer)then feed him at bedtime so he can digest in the dark, undisturbed by kissy little girls for a couple of days. :crazy01:

Will keep you all updated. :cheers:

Oh, and Lenny, thanks for the warning re: shops. most are not so great but this one actually supplies alot of zoos including breeding endangered herps. SF zoo head herp lady actually recommended them to me. They really know their stuff. Actually, for those that don't have a decent shop nearby, they do answer the phone and e-mails if you have questions, and they ship too. (obviously)
check them out East bay Vivarium, Berkeley (ebv online) :wavey:

Thanks all, pics coming as soon as I figure out how!

[2i2_D3gr33s]

Long term, for posting pics, you'll want to open up an account at a picture hosting site, such as photobucket.com. Then you can upload all your pics, and just copy and paste the Img box (3rd one down) into your post, and it will make any pic show up here. For now, I believe that you can upload pics directly into your post, but they have to be smaller than a certain size (not sure what that is, I haven't tried) and you can only post 5 pics per post. Anywhoo, looking forward to seeing the new guy and his setup.

[Lennycorn]

Glade to hear you have a pet shop that cares about the animals it sell and know what they sell too.
Funny. This hobby started with my twelve year old girl too. But now I'm more into it.
Salmonella Kathy Love(Get her book) stated (I think) that in all the years she been breading she never heard of a case of it, but someone just posted a few weeks ago that they might of gotten a case from a snake. Wash hands and countertops. And when you get your other snake...Oh you will... wash you hand between handling them. Ha!
The post pic thing I can't help but you could scroll down this page and look for the little red section Jump forum and check out "How do I"
Something might help there. Got to go, wife callin'

[firesnake13]

:cheers:
Our guy ate his mouse! Now he is hiding somewhere in there digesting away happily. I think that is a great sign since we fed 5 days after the shop so I wasn't sure if he would eat or not, but he did. We have been staying away and will continue to do so for a few more days. Still working on the pics! Thanks for all the help and encouragement! :santa:
It won't let me upload pics, it says it's too big, sorry. :flames:

[firesnake13]

Came home tonite and found a perfect shed! :crazy02:
I think we have a mellow sweetie here. Threads say snakes are grouchy and don't eat before shed and this guy did, and less than a week in a new home. What a great snake. I took the shed out as quickly as I could but prince wanted to play so it took a bit. We can now be counted in those that talk to thier snakes since we patiently explained to him he had to digest first before he could come out. SO cute!
my daughter is taking the skin to show and tell tomorrow. this is the best birthday present ever!
I think he's going to be ok. :)
oh, and he is 2ft 5 in, so does he need a big viv now? coan you get used and bleach it?

[BeckyG]

Not all snakes are grouchy when in shed. Neither of my corns has seemed the slightest bit irritable, but my king snake gets really jumpy. All three will eat in shed, though. Yes, you can get a used tank and use bleach water to sterilize it. That is perfectly ok, so long as you rinse thoroughly.

[wertan10]

how do you start a thread? :poke:

[measley]

Long term, for posting pics, you'll want to open up an account at a picture hosting site, such as photobucket.com. Then you can upload all your pics, and just copy and paste the Img box (3rd one down) into your post, and it will make any pic show up here. For now, I believe that you can upload pics directly into your post, but they have to be smaller than a certain size (not sure what that is, I haven't tried) and you can only post 5 pics per post. Anywhoo, looking forward to seeing the new guy and his setup.

I use www.imageshack.us It's a free photo hosting site, you just go there, upload the picture you want to post and you will be given links for 3 different types of post (something like email, message board and something else). Just copy and paste the one you want and it will show up as an actual photo in the forum.

Welcome to the hobby and I can't wait to see pics of your little girl and her birthday present!!

[RobbiesCornField]

One thing you want to note with the cat: Make sure the viv is HARD to get to for him/her. When I had a cat, he used to sit at the head of my bed (one of my boa tanks was on the nightstand), and press his paws up against the glass. This made my girl go bonkers and start striking at the glass. I would suggest, however, keeping the cat out of the room when you're feeding. Just a suggestion.