Questions about first time snake
Hello, I just bought my first snake from craigslist on 8/24. He’s a Miami phase corn snake about 9 months old and about 14 inches long. The first owner had him for the past 4 months and appears to have taken good care of him and fed him regularly from 1 pinky mice up to 2 fuzzie mice on the most recent feeding on 8/17.
The day after I brought him home I bought a new 20 gallon long (30x12x12) Zilla terrarium, 2 hides, large wooden branch, artificial plants, digital thermostat, aspen bedding, background cover, water bowl large enough for snake to submerge itself in, and under tank heater.
I did some research beforehand and read some posts on this forum and plan not to handle him until I feed him on Thursday night (8/30) allowing for a full 5 days of time he has had in his new enclosure. For the past day I have even placed a blanket over the entire cage. Just fyi, I live in a studio so when I am home in the evenings it is quite bright in the room and I am not far.
When I first brought him home I felt that he was very anxious perhaps stressed as he was striking out on his plastic container every time my hand approached and even when I got him the first night he continued to do this. He has since stopped striking out when I am near him. After I setup the new enclosure he immediately burrowed into the aspen and didn’t move. At some point the day after he went into his hide on the cool side of his enclosure and has not moved out since from what I can tell. I am thinking he might again be stressed but I was hoping he might be more comfortable in his environment.
I’ve been reading up on the appropriate temperature and cool/hot gradient to keep in the enclosure. Right now I have the heater place below the glass on the bottom corner edge with aspen covering on top and the enclosure directly above. The water bowl is in the middle of the enclosure and another hide in the far cool side. The temperature probe is place just above the aspen on the glass closest to the heater, the temperature varies from (81F-85F). The hydrometer probe is place ¾ of the way up the glass in the middle of the enclosure with humidity ranging from (35%-57%) with most of the time in the 40s. The cool side temperature near the aspen is about 75.
Questions:
1. I feel like the UTH is to hot. I don’t currently have any temperature control and it just remains plugged in constantly. My snake hasn’t once appeared to have gone into that hide yet. I’ve tried to compensate by adding another 1 in of aspen so it’s about 2-3inches. What are your guys thoughts on this? How useful would a temperature control thermostat be? I seem to have read that there are ones you can buy that gradually increase and decrease power and not just turn the heater on and off. Basically for those that think it’s a good idea can you recommend a top of the line model and a middle of the road model? I had originally also bought a ceramic heating lamp but the temperature on the thermometer was around 91 F and I think that is way too hot.
2. At the reptile shop it was recommended that I feed him hoppers but he has never ate anything as big as a hopper yet and for a first feeding everything I have read suggests I should start conservatively. Would it be wise to go with 1 fuzzy the first 2 feedings? Also, it has been fed in the enclosure by the first owner both live and frozen. My preference is to feed frozen in the enclosure. I know there is a great debate about if it’s a good idea to do it inside or out.
3. I bought the exact same hide that the first owner had for him and only later am I realizing that it is quite roomy for him as he can fit in less than half the space when coiled up. Is this to large and should I buy a smaller hide? If I do should they both be exactly the same size? To compensate I put an empty toilet roll if it chooses to use.
Please tell me what else I should do or consider doing to make my new snake as comfortable as possible. Thank you.
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