New baby owner :)

Dear Friends,

My name is Megan, and I recently aquired a baby corn snake from work (I work at Petco). I want to make sure his set up is perfect. So, I will tell you what I have, and then you can let me know ( I usually work with the small animals) Mythos is in a ten gallon aquarium with a screen top, an overhead uva/uvb light, an undertank heating pad and basking light (on the right half). The left half is left cool, and he has a hiding log that is in the middle of his house. Mythos is also in repti-bark, and has fake plants to hide on. His little thermometer reads at about 82-84 degrees, and his water dish is on the cool side of the tank. I have repti-safe in his water, which is a dechlorinater, and removes heavy metals, and adds electrolytes and calcium. So that takes care of his house

Otherwise, he is still little (he is maybe a foot, and little), and he tends to strike at me even if i wash my hands. He never did this at the store (I play with the babies alot). I got him on Sunday, and fed him tuesday. Do you have any suggestions?

Thank you very much guys I am a first time snake owner, and I appreciate the help.

-Megs

The size of the tank is fine for a little snake but you'll have to move up to a 20 gallon once your snake gets bigger. The temp is also fine and good going on the repti-safe. Make sure you have a hide in the warm end and in the cool end. Corns, because they are nocturnal, do not require UV light so you can save yourself some money by getting rid of it. A heat pad is all that is needed for most tanks. As long as the temp is somewhere near 85 degrees at the warm end, it's fine. Repti-bark is good but you may find that it gets a little pricey. Aspen is really good, it looks great and is really cheap.

Leave the little guy alone for a few days to settle down before you handle him again. He's probably just a bit frightened because of his big move. In time he should settle down and be a really friendly animal..

PETCO IS EVIL

i like petco.let him settle down for a while, then handle him gently and dont make any fast movements and he should get used to you.

Petco treats their animals horribly, and I'd never shop there. Supporting them means supporting animal cruelty.

http://think.100acrewood.net/boycott/index.asp

http://think.100acrewood.net/boycott/complaints.asp

You can't assume it's the same in every store- It's not like it's a company policy to treat the animals badly, just the ignorance of individuals.

Petco

Look, I know that some Petco's have gotten a bad rap. But I have worked at the one here in my town for almost 3 years now. I was a pre-vet student, and would not allow any harm to any of our animals. If there was an animal that was sick, I would immediately raise a stink until he was treated. Our Petco is actually one of the better ones around, and they are sending our manager to other stores to help them improve their animal care. The Petco where I live is very very good to our babies. If anyone is sick, or injured we immediately take them off the floor. If we cant treat him/her in the store, they go to our Vet in town ASAP. I know not all Petco's are as great as ours, but you can not say all Petco's are bad just because there is one crummy store you saw.

So please, do not judge me, or my animal care because I work at a Petco. I would never, ever put up with bad animal treatment. Heck, I take my Gerbils to the vet (spent $125 on alex for his tumor) I also came to this site to learn more about my corn baby so I can take the best care of him, and better inform others .

Plus, thank you to those who gave me advice about my set-up

Supporting that one "good" Petco supports the entire company, including the ones here in Ca that are being sued over moldy dead animals being left in tanks.

I don't believe there is such a thing as a good petco. I've never seen such a thing in the dozens I've visited, all the ones I've ever been to keep their rodents in horrible condition, on pine bedding, in unventilated tanks, fed crappy seed mixes, and males and females together. It's revolting.

A real animal lover would be ashamed of supporting such a company.

Read this about employees speaking about animal cruelty at their stores.
http://peta.org/feat/petco2/speak.html

*sigh*

I am sorry that you feel that way about the Petco's in your area. I looked at the website you attached, and some of it was false. For example, we keep our rats and such on carefresh bedding, along with our ferrets, rabbits, and guinea pigs, not pine. We do spend more on vet bills than what the animal is "worth". We always tend to sick animals before anything else. We cremate our animals (even fish) after they pass away, we do not freeze live animals.

But I do not wish to argue with you about this.People's opinions will always conflict. I AM an animal lover, and just because I work at Petco does not mean that I am not one. I was extremely offended by your statement that I am not an animal lover because I where I work, but that doesnt mean I will judge you. The store I work at is great, and I am sorry that the ones you have seen are not. Petco is responding to these claims, and trying to fix the matter. Infact, we have to take tests on animal care, and are required to attend training sessions. Again, I am sorry that you feel the way you do. All I ask is not to judge me for matters that I have no part in. I came here to learn, and be a better mom to my snake. Please do not let your opinion of where I work, impair your judgement of me.

<i>Originally posted by Morrigan </i>
<b>Supporting that one "good" Petco supports the entire company...</b>

Click to expand...

Sorry, but I do not think this is true. It's fine boycotting the stores that <i>do</i> treat their animals in the improper way but supporting the good ones won't do any harm. If no one shops at the 'bad' ones, they will get closed down and leave the good ones to do their business. However, if a majority of the stores turn out to be 'bad' ones then the whole company will probably close and you'll have a smile on your face.

HEY MORRIGAN!!!!!!!!!! voice your Petco opinions elsewhere.....Turtlez OBVIOUSLY cares about her animals or she never would've asked for advice here........this is a CORN SNAKE forum not a place to debate petco practices.............you shouldn't attack turtlez because she works there...perhaps she is making a difference there................I am sure RICH Z would agree that this is NOT the place to debate that......all you will accomplish is to scare away people who may really need help but are afraid of reactions like yours..........SERIOUSLY DUDE!!!!! SPEND YOUR TIME HERE HELPING PEOPLE NOT ATTACKING THEM FOR WHERE THEY WORK.............like I said, obviously she cares or she would be studying pre-vet and asking us for help..................

TURTLEZ............there are lots of people here that can and will help with advice....don't feel like you need to defend yourself against these kinds of attacks..........

Anywhere questions on animal care are asked is a reasonable place to voice concerns about animal abuse.

Obviously the Petco company has a problem because there are boycotts, lawsuits and petitions against them at the moment. Supporting a "good" Petco just gives the company money to continue it's practice of torturing animals in other stores.
Perhaps I wouldn't be so "Anti- Petco" if I hadn't seen dead animals in the tanks being eaten by the other animals because of a lack of food. Perhaps if the employees had said more than "yeah, we know" when I told them that many of their rodents were sick or dead, I wouldn't go around "attacking" Petco.

The person in this thread will know what I'm talking about when I say Petco's animals are far below quality.
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php3?s=&threadid=2972

Morrigan, you're using extremely faulty logic to arrive at your conclusions. Working at Petco does not make someone a bad person, nor does shopping at Petco equate to supporting animal cruelty. Indeed, there are bad stores out there. However, there are also several good stores in the chain

Also, you need to consider your source... PETA. PETA is a quasi-terrorist organization that has their own agenda that isn't as "noble" as they like to portray.

Turtlez, I wouldn't worry too much. As others have said, welcome to the forums. There are indeed a lot of folks here that are willing and able to assist with help or friendly advice whenever it's needed.

Welcome Turtlez

So sorry you got bashed here for where you work. There are some crummy pet stores out there-some of which are part of the Petco chain... and not many reptile savy employees.

I am glad you found this forum; forums can be a great source of information and friendship.

Congrats on your snake. I know that as you gain knowledge, the customers that purchase reptiles at your store will benefit as will your new pet.

Cheers!

I am sad

I can't believe this thread turned out like this.

A. She came her for HELP.
B. It's not your business to comment on where she works. That was NOT her question, and a simple "I don't like Petco" would have sufficed. Most of us are long time animal keepers and breeders, and honey you ain't telling anyone anything new.
C. Petco does have far below quality animals. And simply, you get what you pay for. Sadly you don't seem to understand why Petco was opened. It is not an education facility, it is a pet STORE. Read close, STORE. It was opened to make money.
D. No, just because this forum is about cornsnakes does not mean your relentless posts about a store that sells them, and bashing an employee belong here. And I bet this thread will be deleted minus the actual information this person asked for.

If you don't like pet stores don't shop there.
Instead of complaining and moaning about pet stores and trying to get them to stop why not focus your energies about educating people on HEALTHY herps and what they should look like. Not bashing someone for a choice of summer job. That is ridiculous and irrational. I hope your posts are removed. You didn't even bother to help this person, you just basically scared them away. Which means they will be less educated, and most likely see nothing wrong in buying ANOTHER pet from a pet store.

BMM

TURTLEZ

As for what you ACTUALLY asked.

You tank size is good. Ten gallon will last until your corn is larger.

I would replace the fake plants with hiding boxes. You can use upside down butterdishes with holes cut, or buy them at a pet store.

Also snakes do not require UVA/UVB light as they are nocturnal and any benefits from the lights are not needed with most snakes.

Your temp is right on.
Leave your baby alone for a week then try offering a thawed pinky! Good luck! And please post more often if you need help.

bmm

am so glad other share my opinion....I was VERY upset with the way Morrigan seemed to attack Turtlez...People who care about their animals don't take pre-vet classes, People who care about their animals don't seek advice from knowledgable sources...AND SURELY turtlez didn't come here to be judged. YOU MORRIGAN should be happy a person who appears to be contientous of the animals in her care. and just as ken said, PETA is not the most balanced source of info when it comes to ANYTHING about animals...they aren't someone I would feel comfortable quoting to other herpers that know the big picture

Again Turtlez, welcome to the forum....I hope you feel like the majority of us are not out to get you

Good to know that people on this forum are so concerned with animal welfare. This is the only time I've ever received negative responses for posting concerns over animal care. Petco should take better care of their animals BECAUSE they're a store. Being in a business doesn't give them the rights to abuse animals.

Additionally, I thought Turtlez represented herself, her store, and her beliefs incredibly well, while the rest of you simply attacked my opinions, and on the whole made yourself look uneducated and shallow.

Me again

Thanks so much everyone for your helpful hints about my baby Mythos. He does have a hide box, but it looks like a rotting tree stump. Its actually really neat looking, and its not made of scratchy wood (resin actually). Which is good because I dont want him to hurt himself He is only about 12-14 inches at the most, and very cute. I read the posts about using a T-shirt for him to get used to my scent, and it worked. He didnt S-curve at me today when I went to feed him. He did eat 2 pinkies, and he still seemed starved, but I dare not give him more. Would he be more hungry because he is getting ready to shed? He had caps on his eyes today.

And, Morrigan... I understand why you are upset. I know not all stores can be as good as mine, and it makes me feel bad to know that other stores may not be. I live in Minnesota, and we have some pretty strict laws concerning animals. I think more so then some states. I do have friends that live in LA that said their Petco wasnt great. I dont know why they would allow their employees to get so bad like your link stated. I would be fired in two seconds if they felt I was operating the way that link said the employees do. I just hope that whatever problems they have get cleared up in those stores. As for the link about the mites on the snakes at petco, sometimes the repti-bark has mites in it. It is rare that it happens, but it does. Just like bags of dogfood are bad sometimes. The snakes probably didnt come that way. But the Repti-bark can be washed and dried (even though I would toss it). If we ever see mites, we immediatly bleach out their house, dump the bark, and treat the babies with repti-rinse as a preventative.

But, I dont think we need to argue about this anymore I have no harsh feelings. It isnt right to judge people based on their opinion. That would be silly. Anyways, I hope we can still get along Morrigan. I am glad you care about animals so much. I think that goes for everyone here too. Why would this site exist if we didnt?

-Meg

Yeah

Um yeah o.k. Morrigan

*LOL*