New and super nervous?

Hello, everyone! I'm Nora. I'm from Minnesota, and the brand-new owner of a baby corn snake. Fair warning, I'm very long-winded, so this may be a long intro and the story of how I got my snake.

I've always been a huge fan of animals--I practically grew up on nature documentaries, and my family has never been without a cat in the house, kept a few beta fish (not together of course!), and currently has two dogs, and for awhile my family and I had a horse which we boarded at a facility near where I used to live. My family was never keen to have anything but the “normal” pets. As a result I don’t have a ton of experience, but I did get my reptilian fix by watching documentaries, handling the occassional geckoes, ball pythons, and beardies kept by family or friends, and handling the herps brought every year to the school I attended as demonstration animals to promote conservation. The highlight of my year was helping to bring the crates of animals back to the presenter's truck.

On Saturday 5/27, I picked up my first snake, a baby corn! I knew that I wanted a reptile and had been doing some research for the past few months as I would be able to get one in my new apartment. While visiting this week, my mother suggested we go to a pet shop to look at housing and supplies. While she got distracted with toys for her dog, I decided to ask to handle the baby corn snake. Even my mother (who doesn't really like snakes) came over and was charmed by the little guy. Since I knew I only wanted an animal with pretty basic care needs, and that the species I was looking at would need some of the same items for their setup, I decided to buy a habitat, heating, substrate, hides, and a water dish, and set it up before I made a decision on species or specific animal. Of course, with my (curiously attached to the lil noodle) mother's encouragement, we set up the enclosure, checked the humidity and achieved a pretty stable-seeming temperature gradient as advised in the online corn snake care sheets I read, and we went back on Saturday to pick him up. (I’m not sure what morph he is, and he’s unsexed, but I’m calling him “he” anyways.) I'll post a picture at the end, because he's a cute little guy!

But now that the excitement is dying down a little, I'm starting to have a ton of second thoughts! It wasn't really an impulse buy; I was already in the process of preparing for a reptile. It just happened a little more quickly than anticipated, and I can get very obsessive about planning so I think I'm probably more nervous than anything else? One thing that I realized is that all my experience with snakes has been with adults that are already used to human interaction, and they were never my own snake. I’m not worried about being bitten as he obviously can’t hurt me, but I AM a little worried about squashing the little guy when I pick him up, and getting through his first few feeds. It works out since I know not to handle him while he settles in and has had a feed or two, and I’m assuming these aren't uncommon worries, right? I’m also starting to notice some gaps in the things that I learned that I hadn’t thought of before I set up. I’ll be spending the next days reading more threads and books and probably asking questions!

I guess the main reason I joined and am posting is because everyone has to start somewhere, and what better way to learn than to ask people with way more experience than me? So it's nice to meet everyone, and I look forward to getting to know some of you, your snakes, and your advice! But without further ado, meet Ekans, my new baby!

Your little one is lovely! He does appear to have quite a bit of stuck shed on his tail though and that needs to come off asap or he's going to lose it. He might anyway, but it's for certain if it stays on. Place him in a small container with air holes and a washcloth that is soaked with tepid water. let him sit in there for 20 or 30 minutes and then let him slither through while you're apply gentle but firm pressure to help get it off. You can also try gently rolling it off with a damp q-tip after the soak.

Welcome and congratulations! That's one pretty baby!

One thing I learned very quickly was that no matter how much research I did, I still found that once I had my snakes there were many things I didn't know. Fortunately, I also found that almost every question imaginable has been asked on this forum, and a quick search will give you many threads to read through as each question comes up, and of course there are super knowledgeable people on here who have helped me through anything I couldn't find the answer to.

Some nerves are normal, but corn snakes are amazing and relatively easy keepers. You'll love being a snake owner!

Shiari said:

Your little one is lovely! He does appear to have quite a bit of stuck shed on his tail though and that needs to come off asap or he's going to lose it. He might anyway, but it's for certain if it stays on. Place him in a small container with air holes and a washcloth that is soaked with tepid water. let him sit in there for 20 or 30 minutes and then let him slither through while you're apply gentle but firm pressure to help get it off. You can also try gently rolling it off with a damp q-tip after the soak.

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He usually has been coming out of his hides about this time, so I'll see where he's at and then do that. I have a large, cleaned out yogurt container that should work alright. Will tap water be alright? I'm assuming after that that I should just let him be to settle in as usual, right? Will I have to wait to feed him? I was planning on doing that tomorrow. Will he be okay if it does come off, or should I try to get him in to a vet? Thanks for letting me know! He's so small I didn't even notice until it was pointed out!

noraandthenoodle said:

He usually has been coming out of his hides about this time, so I'll see where he's at and then do that. I have a large, cleaned out yogurt container that should work alright. Will tap water be alright? I'm assuming after that that I should just let him be to settle in as usual, right? Will I have to wait to feed him? I was planning on doing that tomorrow. Will he be okay if it does come off, or should I try to get him in to a vet? Thanks for letting me know! He's so small I didn't even notice until it was pointed out!

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Just a little update! It was stressful for both of us (but obviously mostly for him!), but I managed to wrangle the little noodle into a yogurt container with air holes, a couple very moist paper towels and a little chunk of moistened sphagnum moss, and let him sit for about half an hour as directed. When I opened the container again, the tip of his tail looked like he had gotten the shed off himself in there, but just to be sure I had him run through a moist washcloth a few times. Ekans was squirmy and scared and miserable about the whole affair, but when I got a pretty good look at his tail before putting him back in his cage and am pretty sure it's all off. There is a little tiny indent on the tail where I can tell the shed was, but hopefully he's no worse for the wear.

He was pretty traumatized so I think I'll let him be for a couple more days before I try feeding so he doesn't regurgitate, and I'll keep an eye on his tail just in case.

On the plus side, the sweet thing didn't try to strike once and I feel more confident that I can handle him without squishing him.

Thank you, Shiari, for letting me know about it and how to help him! I'm glad I joined here when I did

albertagirl said:

Welcome and congratulations! That's one pretty baby!

One thing I learned very quickly was that no matter how much research I did, I still found that once I had my snakes there were many things I didn't know. Fortunately, I also found that almost every question imaginable has been asked on this forum, and a quick search will give you many threads to read through as each question comes up, and of course there are super knowledgeable people on here who have helped me through anything I couldn't find the answer to.

Some nerves are normal, but corn snakes are amazing and relatively easy keepers. You'll love being a snake owner!

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Thank you! I think he might be a normal, but I really can't tell. But who says normal can't be beautiful? I'm more concerned about him being happy and healthy than winning any beauty pageants, anyways. And thank you for saying that! I knew that that would be the case going into this, but like I said I can be a little obsessive and it's hard for me to handle being unprepared. It's a good thing I joined, though! Shiari noticed that he had shed on his tail that hadn't come off and told me how to help him, so I just finished putting the little guy away a few minutes ago. While I'm sad that he must have been feeling bad with that stuck shed, now that I think the problem is solved I feel much better about having a resource to help me, and my ability to take care of common things that come up.

Thank you for the warm welcome!

Does he have a white belly? He looks like a very unusual cubed stripe. But only kind of.

Dragonling said:

Does he have a white belly? He looks like a very unusual cubed stripe. But only kind of.

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I have more photos of him that I took on my phone, but I picked the ones that were less blurry (he was moving and grooving and I couldn't move too much for a photo because I didn't want to spook him). Give me a little bit to pick out the ones that show his belly and then I'll post them here for you! I really don't know much about their genetics or anything, but I did think his little belly was interesting! I'll describe it here briefly before posting:

His belly from his chin to about a third of the way down his belly is completely white, and then he starts having a few bars of a few dark scales that get bigger down his body.

noraandthenoodle said:

I have more photos of him that I took on my phone, but I picked the ones that were less blurry (he was moving and grooving and I couldn't move too much for a photo because I didn't want to spook him). Give me a little bit to pick out the ones that show his belly and then I'll post them here for you! I really don't know much about their genetics or anything, but I did think his little belly was interesting! I'll describe it here briefly before posting:

His belly from his chin to about a third of the way down his belly is completely white, and then he starts having a few bars of a few dark scales that get bigger down his body.

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Here you can see that he's mostly white for a good portion of his body. I've usually seen corn snakes with more of a checkered pattern, so the pattern on his belly struck me as a little odd.

What a sweet baby! He's got a terrific pattern. Yes, corn snakes have checkers, but there are morphs that do not, like motley and stripe. One of my snakes is a motley an has no checkers. I'm not the morph expert Dragonling is, but it sure looks like he could be a normal cube to me. Very special IMHO.

It is not unusual for little ones to have trouble shedding their tail and their reaction to the soak is often just as you described. He will be no worse for the wear in the long run. The fact that the stuck shed slid off on its own is very promising.

And if you think having a pet corn snake is good now, it just gets better.

One thing you didn't mention is if you have your under tank heater on a thermostat or not. If not here's a reasonably priced one that many of us use.

https://www.amazon.com/MTPRTC-Contr...6211525&sr=8-1&keywords=jump+start+thermostat

Corn snakes are awesome. Be sure to read the care stickies here. Welcome and there is no such thing as a stupid question or writing too much about how wonderful your snake is!

P.S. Here is a page with pictures of cube corn snakes.

http://iansvivarium.com/morphs/?m=cube

DollysMom said:

What a sweet baby! He's got a terrific pattern. Yes, corn snakes have checkers, but there are morphs that do not, like motley and stripe. One of my snakes is a motley an has no checkers. I'm not the morph expert Dragonling is, but it sure looks like he could be a normal cube to me. Very special IMHO.

It is not unusual for little ones to have trouble shedding their tail and their reaction to the soak is often just as you described. He will be no worse for the wear in the long run. The fact that the stuck shed slid off on its own is very promising.

And if you think having a pet corn snake is good now, it just gets better.

One thing you didn't mention is if you have your under tank heater on a thermostat or not. If not here's a reasonably priced one that many of us use.

https://www.amazon.com/MTPRTC-Contr...6211525&sr=8-1&keywords=jump+start+thermostat

Corn snakes are awesome. Be sure to read the care stickies here. Welcome and there is no such thing as a stupid question or writing too much about how wonderful your snake is!

P.S. Here is a page with pictures of cube corn snakes.

http://iansvivarium.com/morphs/?m=cube

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Thank you. It's nice to know that he's got a cool pattern. He definitely does resemble some of the snakes from that link a little bit, and now I'm really excited to see what he'll look like when he's older!

Currently I have him on ceramic OT heat as I had heard bad things about snakes burrowing under substrate to lie too close to the heater, similar how to burns have happened with heat rocks. After a little more research (and lots of threads here!) I saw that that's uncommon with corns and is more likely with BPs, so I did a little research and purchased a UT heater and the thermostat you recommended. Thanks!

A few things I read have started to make me feel a little concerned about the safety of the ceramic heater, but I think he should be okay for a few days until the supplies arrive. He has a pretty good temperature gradient in a 20L, and since the cage is so big and I know he won't be comfortable with huge roomy hides, he has five snug little hides in there which are each at slightly different temps. He tends to like being right in the middle. I'm glad I'm switching to something safer and which should help keep the humidity in better, but at least I feel like I've given him plenty of safe options in the meantime.

He also seems no worse for the wear! He's been holed up in his favorite hide since his little spa treatment :laugh: I was going to wait another day to try, but since it has been about nine days since he is last estimated to have eaten (the person I talked to hadn't fed him personally but said the snakes had been fed on Tuesday the 23rd, and I got him Saturday and wanted to let him settle) I decided to try and see if he would take a feed, even though he might be a little stressed. I cut the top off a TV dinner cardboard box so I could feed in his cage without him ingesting a bunch of substrate. He darted to a different hide, which I gently picked up (it has a bottom for half of it) and set on the edge of the box so that he would have some privacy while eating and not drag the pinkie through substrate or stress too much about being handled. About half an hour later I needed to pass him to get to the kitchen, and both snake and pinkie were nowhere to be seen. He did strike and miss me me when I got close to move his hide, which he didn't do when being put in the humid container even though he was scared then as well, so I'm not sure if he was being grumpy, or if he smelled pinkie in the air. :laugh:

I think I'm being a little long winded, but it's exciting!

Very cool, one of the more unusual stripes I've seen.

Problems with snakes burrowing too close to the heat source and overheating or becoming burned can be solved easily by ensuring that the thermostat probe is against the glass rather than on the surface of the substrate. Fortunately corns are much better about self-regulation than some species, but it is good to eliminate as much risk as possible.

He sounds wonderful. Getting that first meal in a new home is a huge milestone! Congrats.

The smaller they are the more scared and bitey. By 6 months they are calmed down and by a year they are downright mellow (of course there are always exceptions).

There are always risks with any heating system, but they are necessary. If you monitor temps with probed and infrared thermometers and regulate with thermostats you make it as safe as possible. When I went into this I too was totally scared of accidentally burning my snake.

It is exciting. For me it never gets old either. Every time I handle my snakes it is with a sense of awe and wonder. They are beautiful and graceful. When they flick your face or arm with their tongue it is the neatest thing. Their strength and flexibility is nothing short of amazing. I never tire watching them consume prey whole that by any other measure is too big to fit in their mouths. Shedding is an amazing wonder that is always exciting. I find myself forgetting that they don't have legs because they so don't need them. They are perfectly made to be snakes and it is a privilege to be able to participate in the rhythm of their lives. It is one of the greatest gifts that life has given me.

Don't worry about writing too much. You are merely singing with the choir here.

Welcome. Sweet looking little baby you got there


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Hi Nora and noodle, congratulations on finding eachother! We just got our baby noodle, Zaya, a couple of months ago and this forum was incredibley helpful for us, so you are in the right place!

I'm curious, I see that you have a real snake plant in his terrarium, is this right? I've been wondering about putting real plants in Zaya's home. I have a 75 gallon planted fish aquarium and it bothers me that Zaya only has a fake plant. Do you keep Ekans' plant in a pot, or how do you have this set up?

To anyone, is there a list somewhere of cornsnake safe plants?

Good luck with your handsome boy!

Corning said:

Welcome. Sweet looking little baby you got there


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Why thank you! I can't wait till I can start handling him and he gets a little bigger. He's adorable now but I think I'll feel a bit more confident when he's not so tiny and squirmy.

Thanks, hope to see you around!

beckyhiker said:

Hi Nora and noodle, congratulations on finding eachother! We just got our baby noodle, Zaya, a couple of months ago and this forum was incredibley helpful for us, so you are in the right place!

I'm curious, I see that you have a real snake plant in his terrarium, is this right? I've been wondering about putting real plants in Zaya's home. I have a 75 gallon planted fish aquarium and it bothers me that Zaya only has a fake plant. Do you keep Ekans' plant in a pot, or how do you have this set up?

To anyone, is there a list somewhere of cornsnake safe plants?

Good luck with your handsome boy!

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Hello! Congratulations on getting Zaya, hopefully we'll see each other around a lot and get to see one another's snakes grow up.

And yes! I love plants, I currently have six. (I had 18 but had to leave some with my mother because I couldn't move them in the winter cold and she forgot them...)

I actually removed the snake plant before I fed him because I didn't want there to be any chance of him pooping in there, but I think I'll re-introduce some plants soon. He was also burrowing and hid in there pretty effectively! I personally plan to keep little pots in there so that it's easier to maintain his cage. The snake plant is in a 4 inch pot which I think should be your maximum, since it's easier to disguise smaller pots (if that matters to you) and because it is a significant amount of space to take up in a cage.

My advice as far as safe plants for snakes: Remember that snakes are carnivores, so there's not much risk of them eating it. However some plants have sap and spines and other things that are irritating to touch and can blister, which would obviously be especially devastating for an animal who's entire body would wind up in contact with it, so we still have to be careful. I looked online and kind of cross-referenced what is generally safe for animals (cats, dogs) and what was listed as safe for herps (in the case of my research, frogs/toads since they can absorb so many substances through their skin and a toxic plant could be fatal even if they don't eat it.) In many cases the advice appears to be that if it's generally non-toxic to cats and dogs it has a good chance of being okay, but proceed with caution. Better safe than sorry.

Snake plants are considered non-toxic and have nice big sturdy leaves that Ekans loved to climb on for the first couple days! A full-grown snake might not have such luck, but a juvenile or baby is fine. I would also recommend jade plants as they seem to be non-toxic and they're often sold in smaller sizes, mine is small but was able to support his weight and will grow with him. But whatever you get needs to fit in his cage, and should for a long time, so try and avoid fast-growing plants unless you don't mind swapping out a lot (which might make for interesting exploring to watch!) Apparently aloes are non-toxic and considered safe for babies, but they can have sharp edges which make me a uncomfortable since Ekans looped around the tips of my snake plant and then kinda slid a bit; I think he might get cut or scratched up with an aloe. Apparently some other succulents are good, as well, though.

However remember that it's not JUST the plant you have to worry about. My advice with plants is to research your fertilizer choice to make sure it can't harm him. Since you have a planted aquarium I'm sure you already know some of this, but I'll list it all in case anyone else might find it useful. Organic soil and fertilizer should be fine though, and that's what I've repotted most of my plants in, and depending on your substrate you can either mix that in or add a roughly 1/2 to 1 inch layer on top. My plants did come in a commercial mix which I'm sure originally had been fertilized with stuff I don't want him touching, but I've had most of these plants for 6+ months and have only used organic products on them so I feel comfortable that most of the product has been absorbed, washed out in drained water, or is diluted enough by the former and by being repotted that I think it's safe. I also added some substrate on top of the soil.

At this point I would strongly recommend a jade plant or a small dwarf variety snake plant, since they are considered safe, don't have a ton of stems for him to hide in, are pretty forgiving plants and don't need to be watered super frequently and won't mind the warmth, and Ekans seems to like them! Just be prepared to watch out in case your snake decides they're a prime poop location, because you might have to remove them.

But now that you've brought this up, I'm going to do a little more research of my own, because as he gets a little bigger and is slightly less adept at hiding in the pots, I'd like a more heavily planted setup. I'm going to try to find that herp-friendly list, if I find it I'll drop the list for you to take a look at!

Hey, thanks for replying. Right now Zaya has a plastic vine that she loves to climb into and another plastic branch thingy that has suction cups and that I've put up by the vine.

My substrate in aspen shavings so, of course, I would have to keep a living plant in a pot. There also is no special grow light over her terrarium, so I guess if we got a real plant I could remove it to get some sun every once in a while.

Zaya is really my 15 year old son's snake, but that really makes her mine in a way since I seem to do all the work! (I can't believe how cute corn snake faces are!) Anyway, he agreed to a small real plant just so long as I don't change around her home much to fit it in. She loves to climb and to burrow, so I thought it might be nice for her to have something living to climb into.

Even though we've had Zaya for a couple of months now, there are still so many things to learn, but at least we've got through her first shed and finally got her into a rhythm of eating. Until recently I threw out more thawed out pinkies than she ate! It takes a while, but they do start to settle in.

Thanks again, and I hope to see you around.

Nice! It's fun to watch them climb, though Ekans has been mostly grounded lately. I think that's because I woke up and when I changed his water, there was a surprise shed laying right outside his cold-side hide! I had thought his scales were slightly dull, but I never saw him in the blue and thought he was just hiding because he's adjusting to a new environment. I'm also surprised because he took a pinkie two days before I found the shed in his enclosure. But now that his first shed and first feed are done I feel a lot better that he's settling in.

Pots really work well! It's really fun decorating, and brings a breath of fresh air (literally) to the space. Not all plants have huge light requirements, especially snake plants. They wouldn't really need any supplemental light unless the cage is in a really dark area, but they would appreciate it. If money isn't an issue and heat is the reason you don't want you put a light over the cage, you might consider checking amazon for a small LED grow light. They emit very little heat for the amount of light they put out, so a small one used on the low setting shouldn't significantly raise the enclosure temperature.

Whatever you choose, I'm glad your son has agreed to a plant. And if you're going to be doing all the work, at least it's not a high maintenance pet!

Glad to know that you're finally getting into a good rythm. Ekans rejected the first pinkie I offered, but he ate the second one. I'm just hoping he'll keep eating well.

Best wishes! I'll see you around.