First time snake owner. Loving it!

Hello, Everyone.
Two days ago my boys and I bought a one month old corn snake. Until then none of us had ever held a snake, and I had a somewhat irrational fear of being near them, however I have always been extremely fascinated by them. We went home with a Viv setup that the reptile store owner suggested: 10 gal, ceramic heat emitter, digital thermometers for each side, what looks to be bark shavings(not aspen), and two hides.
We were told that it would be unlikely that Slinky(my boys named him) would eat for a few days even though it had been 7 days since he last ate. However, being a new snake owner and being curious I thought I would give it a go. He ate two F/T pinkies, and it was awesome!
As I expected he has been fairly non existent in the open areas of his viv for the last 36 hours. Hoping it has been long enough by this afternoon so that we can take him out and hold him.
I do have a question if anyone would be so kind as to answer.
We were told that Slinky is a regular run of the mill albino, but I am unsure as he looks as if he might have another trait in him. Can anyone confirm this? (See attached picture).
I look forward to all responses, and also to becoming part of the community. We are very excited to start this journey with our new family member.

Welcome to the forum and to entering the world of snakes!

Very pretty Amel you have! (Also referred to as albino).

A couple things. The ceramic heaters are not the best heat source, but they can work ok.
You will need a thermostat, with any heat source, to prevent it from getting too hot.

If your baby is only a month old, two pinkies is probably too much for him.
My babies don't get two pinkies until they are about 17 grams, and that is at about 6 months old.
They can regurge (throw up) food if they get more than they can handle.

Your baby should be good with one pinky, every 5-7 days.

Make sure not to handle him for a few days after he eats (especially after this feeding).

Originally Posted by MysticExotics

Welcome to the forum and to entering the world of snakes!

Very pretty Amel you have! (Also referred to as albino).

A couple things. The ceramic heaters are not the best heat source, but they can work ok.
You will need a thermostat, with any heat source, to prevent it from getting too hot.

If your baby is only a month old, two pinkies is probably too much for him.
My babies don't get two pinkies until they are about 17 grams, and that is at about 6 months old.
They can regurge (throw up) food if they get more than they can handle.

Your baby should be good with one pinky, every 5-7 days.

Make sure not to handle him for a few days after he eats (especially after this feeding).

Thanks for your response. Yes, I have heard that the ceramic heaters are not preferable, however I was not aware of this until after I left the reptile shop and had already set up the viv. I have ordered a rheostat that I plan on plugging the lamp into to control the temperature better. So far the temps have remained good on the warm side (~83*) and around 70-75 on the cold side. I have been manually turning off the lamp if the temp goes above 85. I did find it kinda odd that Slinky has been mostly on the cold side of his viv, although my wife said that she saw him on the warm side this morning in his hide.
Thanks for the info on the pinkies. I will keep a close eye on him until he digests the food. He seems to be doing well so far (the lump is almost gone).
Based on your information I will give him another day or so to attempt to handle him.

Another question, is it possible that Slinky is a Hypomel?

Originally Posted by MysticExotics

If your baby is only a month old, two pinkies is probably too much for him.
My babies don't get two pinkies until they are about 17 grams, and that is at about 6 months old.
.

I forgot to mention that Slinky is already 14 grams. Is that not normal for a month old corn?

Without being an expert - that sounds a little big to me - but maybe your snake is just very long! That weight is possible. Are you sure your snake is only 1 month? A picture that can provide some scale (such as him in his viv) might help.

He is very cute though! Congrats on the newest addition.

Originally Posted by jagodzinski

Without being an expert - that sounds a little big to me - but maybe your snake is just very long! That weight is possible. Are you sure your snake is only 1 month? A picture that can provide some scale (such as him in his viv) might help.

He is very cute though! Congrats on the newest addition.

I was told that he was hatched on July 24th. I used the Serpwidgets snake measurer and he came out at 19.5". It was the reptile store owner who told me that he was, in his words, "about 14 grams". After he poops I will weigh him myself on my digital food scale and provide an update.

Aw, we share a birthday. What a cutie! Grats on your new addition! I love a nice amel.

Originally Posted by Haight

I forgot to mention that Slinky is already 14 grams. Is that not normal for a month old corn?

Hatch weight for my babies has been 4-9 grams. I'm not sure how big the largest hatchling is, but at one month old, they would have had to feed several meals in 3 weeks (minus one week to wait for first shed) to put on that much weight, and I'm not sure it's possible to power feed that much in that short of a time (to get that fast of growth).

Originally Posted by Haight

I was told that he was hatched on July 24th. I used the Serpwidgets snake measurer and he came out at 19.5". It was the reptile store owner who told me that he was, in his words, "about 14 grams". After he poops I will weigh him myself on my digital food scale and provide an update.

If the baby is 14 grams I'm pretty sure he is older than one month old.

I usually move my babies up to 2 (small) pinkies at about 16-17 grams, to prevent regurge. Munson Plan says 15 grams to move up to 2 pinks.

Originally Posted by MysticExotics

Hatch weight for my babies has been 4-9 grams. I'm not sure how big the largest hatchling is, but at one month old, they would have had to feed several meals in 3 weeks (minus one week to wait for first shed) to put on that much weight, and I'm not sure it's possible to power feed that much in that short of a time (to get that fast of growth).



If the baby is 14 grams I'm pretty sure he is older than one month old.

I usually move my babies up to 2 (small) pinkies at about 16-17 grams, to prevent regurge. Munson Plan says 15 grams to move up to 2 pinks.

I spoke with the breeder again today when I went in to buy more pinkies and he confirmed with me (via his log book) that my amel was certainly hatched on the 24th of July. I asked him again about the weight and he said that it was his son (who looks to be high school age) that weighed and recorded the snakes the day before I purchased him, and that it was possible that there could have been an error. Upon checking the weights of the rest of the clutch and noticing that my amel was 3 grams heavier than the next one he said that an error was most likely the case, however he has seen a month old at that weight before.
I know that before I got him he had 3 meals, one of which the breeder said was two "small" pinkies. I'm new to this so I'm not sure how much smaller a small pinkie is than a normal pinkie, but there it is. Starting to sound like he might not be as big as I've been led to believe.
No worries here though. He seems to be doing well with the pinkies (no regurgitation), and I will plan to weigh him once he defecates. Are there any other signs other than regurgitation that could indicate that he is having problems digesting the two pinkies?