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How to tell when snake is comfortable with new home?

M

MatCat

New member
Greetings, new snake owner, got a 2 mo old corn I just got in yesterday morning, I am curious to know what to keep an eye for to tell when she is comfortable and ready to eat and such, she is super hidey right now and seems to be mostly sleeping (though I did notice she was active early in the morning for a short period of time).

Also how long will they typically hang out on heat source vs cold side? I noticed since this morning she has been sleeping basically on the edge of the heat mat zone (thermostat set to 83, IR temp reading confirms).
 
Usually the standard is waiting a week to feed and handle after bringing a new snake (especially a baby) home. You can help make her comfortable by providing lots of hides and ground cover. Fake leaves from the dollar store and toilet paper tubes cut in half make great hides for baby corn snakes. Hiding a lot is completely normal, even after they've settled in.

Usually they will only move to the warm side after eating to aid in digestion, unless your cool side is really cold. But at 83 degrees, it's not a concern that she's staying on the warm side.

Once you've given her a week to settle in, you can try feeding her. And then don't handle her for 2 or 3 days after she eats.
 
hypnoctopus said:
Usually the standard is waiting a week to feed and handle after bringing a new snake (especially a baby) home. You can help make her comfortable by providing lots of hides and ground cover. Fake leaves from the dollar store and toilet paper tubes cut in half make great hides for baby corn snakes. Hiding a lot is completely normal, even after they've settled in.

Usually they will only move to the warm side after eating to aid in digestion, unless your cool side is really cold. But at 83 degrees, it's not a concern that she's staying on the warm side.

Once you've given her a week to settle in, you can try feeding her. And then don't handle her for 2 or 3 days after she eats.
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Yeah I have her in a exo-terra 36x18x12, a bit large at her age but I have tons of stuff in there, a cork log, a half log, an egg shaped small hide, a few fake plants, a really long fake firn vine that is wrapped all over thte place, so she has a LOT of hide and cover options :).
 
She spent the last 24 hours pretty much in the same spot, she moves aound a little within the area she is in, but really seems to have just slept for 24 hours mostly, is this normal for a baby snake getting used to a new home? I am sure I am being overly worried about it but just want to ask :).
 
In my experience, baby corn snakes often throughly explore a new environment, generally in the evening or early morning. Is she in blue?
 
hypnoctopus said:
In my experience, baby corn snakes often throughly explore a new environment, generally in the evening or early morning. Is she in blue?
Click to expand...

I am not sure to be honest, this is pic I got from today, you tell me hehe :)
IMG_20200612_175609268_HDR~2.jpg
 
IMG_20200613_085824497~2.jpg


I am started to get a bit worried in that she has not left this spot in 4 days now, she adjusts her body a little bit, responds to me shining a light in there, or gentle touches through the paper towel, but she has not left this spot in 4 days, her eyes have certainly cleared up since she came so I am sure she is in blue ready to shed, but is sitting in the same spot for 4 days normal for a baby that just got shipped / rehomed / in blue? I have no idea its just concerning that she has not moved at all (from the cave / spot).
 
4 1/2 days now without leaving this spot, I wish I could find someone to actually talk to its disconcerting for this for days and I can't find anyone to actually talk to me about this :(.
 
If she is getting ready to shed I wouldn't be worried that she hasn't moved much. One of my snakes I typically don't see for 2 weeks. He will go into hiding a few days before even actually turning blue.
 
She looks like she's in blue. The clear stage happens right before they shed, so it should be soon now. Hiding while in blue is completely normal, don't worry!
 
I woke up today to not be able to find her anywhere! looked around and she decided to hide under a different part of the tank! Atleast she moved, problem with paper towels on a snake this size is they hide like easy in these paper towels and become hard to find! I am glad she finally decided to move in some way, hopefully she is getting ready to finally shed so I can feed her :).
 
Hey MatCat -

It's hard to be patient, for sure. However, your snake does appear to be in blue. You can introduce a moist hide with either damp moss or a damp paper towel to encourage shedding. I wouldn't start to worry until after your snake has shed. That said, I have had snakes that hide all the time, it's simply a defense.

-Tonya
 
IMG_20200616_124044642~2.jpg


Her color has really popped since shedding! So now my question is, should I try to feed her tonight? She arrived deep in blue last Wednesday, and finally shed last night, is that long enough for her to get acustomed? Should I give her time now that she has shed to explore her home for a few more days now that she can see properly before attempting to feed? Or just try to feed her tonight.
 
Do you have a wet box for her ?
Its a box with a hole in it filled with moss, I use old butter boxes or tupper ware... - they need it to diggest and when they get ready to shed - my older ones are often more then 5 days in this wet boxes...
when its ready to shed, they need a higher humidity and because they don't see that many when they are blue, they don't move ;) no worry please, but don't 'overload' your small tank, this can be to much for them, also they love to dig,... maybe another ground... aspen or something similar ?
 

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I actually have an atomizing humidifer that can raise the ambient humidity in the entire viv, during shed I had it set to 70%, I have it off now, though I am going to control it with a Pi to maintain an average humidity which will have a 'shed' mode that will go up when she is in shed. There is also of course water bowl big enough for her to soak in if she wanted as well, I purposely have the humidifier setup to keep one of the hides extra moist if she so chooses to use it. I am an EE and design electronics for a living so automated viv stuff is a piece of cake for me, keep an eye out for my tank setup, will do a thread in DIY.

Also on bedding yes I already have aspen to use, BUT I wanted to use paper towels for a few weeks just to monitor her and make sure everything looks happy and healthy with her stool movements and all that, so soon she will get proper aspen :).
 
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