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some questions I would like cleared up

3

3mpi

New member
Alright, Im a fairly new corn owner. my charcoal is about 6 months old now. I got him from a breeder in SD when I was on a vacation and brought him back. He seems to be faring pretty well so far but I want to clear up some things ive seen mixed oppinions on.

First things first. I have a 50w exoterra heat glow that Ive been using since I got him. Since its colder up here now Ive been leaving it on all the time. I read in some places that the red and blue bulbs wont interfere with their day and night cycles and other forums have said regardless of bulb you need it on/off for 12. Hes usually in his hide and when hes not hes generally burrowed under his substrate. is it ok to keep this lamp on all the time? temp is usually around 85-87*F in the hot end.

secondly, In regards to feeding ive been told never to feed them anything bigger than the largest part of their body but read that 1.5x is acceptable. I was also told never to feed them twice in one sitting. Right now Im feeding him 2 small pinkies once a week until I run out of smaller pinkies(about .75x the size of the biggest part of him) and he seems to be ok with that. Is this ok?

I have also read that fuzzies contain more nutrients than the pinkies do. when should I be able to move him off the pinkies and up to smaller fuzzies. Ive never weighed or measured him but hes ~22'' long atm as hes slightly longer than his 20T when all sprawled out.

And lastly, I dont have a hygrometer in his tank but have read that they should be around 50%. I doubt its anywhere near that but he seems to be pretty happy and has always had full sheds with no issues, is humidity something I should worry about at this point or should I just leave it? If need be, I just got him a exoterra snake cave that he loves... should I just put of the moss that came with it in or leave it.

Thanks in advance
 
3mpi said:
First things first. I have a 50w exoterra heat glow that Ive been using since I got him. Since its colder up here now Ive been leaving it on all the time. I read in some places that the red and blue bulbs wont interfere with their day and night cycles and other forums have said regardless of bulb you need it on/off for 12. Hes usually in his hide and when hes not hes generally burrowed under his substrate. is it ok to keep this lamp on all the time? temp is usually around 85-87*F in the hot end.
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Most on here would recommend a UTH (under tank heater) for heating instead of the lamps- Corns need belly heat to digest properly. To regulate the temperature, you'll want to hook the UTH up to a thermostat.
I don't know for sure, but I've heard that a day/night cycle is good- but I keep my snakes in a room with uncovered windows so that they can get the cycle from natural daylight so I don't really worry about that.

3mpi said:
secondly, In regards to feeding ive been told never to feed them anything bigger than the largest part of their body but read that 1.5x is acceptable. I was also told never to feed them twice in one sitting. Right now Im feeding him 2 small pinkies once a week until I run out of smaller pinkies(about .75x the size of the biggest part of him) and he seems to be ok with that. Is this ok?
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Corns can eat up to 1.5x the width of their body- If you can get a scale and weight your snake, many here (myself included) use the Munson Plan as a guide: Here's the link to it: http://cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50106. 2 pinkies is fine and I'm actually doing the same with one of my small ones because she weighs enough to move up to fuzzies but she's lean and I worry about everything! So I've been feeding her 2 pinks for each feeding until I'm ready to move her up to fuzzies. (or can find fuzzies small enough)

3mpi said:
I have also read that fuzzies contain more nutrients than the pinkies do. when should I be able to move him off the pinkies and up to smaller fuzzies. Ive never weighed or measured him but hes ~22'' long atm as hes slightly longer than his 20T when all sprawled out.
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Again- refer to the Munson Plan. I don't know the exact reason- (probably due to nutrients) but corns do seem to have a growth spurt once they are on fuzzies.

3mpi said:
And lastly, I dont have a hygrometer in his tank but have read that they should be around 50%. I doubt its anywhere near that but he seems to be pretty happy and has always had full sheds with no issues, is humidity something I should worry about at this point or should I just leave it? If need be, I just got him a exoterra snake cave that he loves... should I just put of the moss that came with it in or leave it.
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50% is generally recommended for humidity and I personally like having the hygrometer in my tanks because like I said earlier, I worry about EVERYTHING!! lol but if your snake is having perfect sheds with no retained eyecaps or tail tips, then I think you'll be fine.

Good luck!
 
First off Congrats on your new pet! They are so much fun to take care of and to watch grow!

I use the Exxo Heat glows....I keep them on 24/7 for Cyrus. As for the lights I used to use the red bulb and left it on all the time. After it burned out I replaced with the heat glow! I like those better. Corns are natural borrowers and hiders, no cause for alarm there.

When feeding your little guy make sure the food is NO BIGGER then 1.5x the largest part of their bodies. You should be able to see a buldge in their tummies for about 24 hours after they eat! I have attached the Munson Plan feeding schedule for you to look over. This is what I have chosen to use only because it has taken ALL the stress and worry out of feeding.

-When they're on single pinks (2-3g), I feed every 5-6 days. (Snake = 4-15g)
-Double pinks (3g x 2) every 5-6 days. (Snake = 16-23g)
-Small fuzzies (5-7g) every 6-7 days. (Snake = 24-30g)
-Regular fuzzies (7-9g) every 6-7 days (Snake = 30-50g)
-Hoppers (9-12g) every 6-7 days (Snake = 51-90g)
-Weaned (14-20g) every 7 days (Snake = 91-170g)
-Adult (20-30g) every 7-x days (Snake = 170+) See below.

Note: Adult females are fed more frequently than adult males (especially following brumation). Adult females are fed every 7-12 days; adult males are fed every 11-14 days.

As for your last question I am still to new to answer a humidity question. I can say that my humidity levels here in Denver are never quite high enough, but Cyrus always sheds fine too. I do however, give him a bath everyday after he is out of blue up until he sheds (which is usually 3 days) so he gets 3 baths.

Hope this helps.....if anyone else comes along with more/better advice I would probably take theirs as I am a newb to, but these are the things I have picked up along the way!
 
Thanks for the quick replys. Found the sounds of things I don't think I will worry to much about the humidity unless charkie ends up having problems with shedding. Since he's never had an issue I don't see a need to complicate things. However I still plan on getting a hygrometer tonight.

Thanks as well for the feeding info. I will deffinately be picking up a scale tonight. Is there anything you would recommend??? Ill try to get some pics up tonight. Maybe I can learn something I don't know about my little guy
 
3mpi said:
Thanks for the quick replys. Found the sounds of things I don't think I will worry to much about the humidity unless charkie ends up having problems with shedding. Since he's never had an issue I don't see a need to complicate things. However I still plan on getting a hygrometer tonight.

Thanks as well for the feeding info. I will deffinately be picking up a scale tonight. Is there anything you would recommend??? Ill try to get some pics up tonight. Maybe I can learn something I don't know about my little guy
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My scale is very similar to this one... and I got it site to store so didn't have to pay shipping... http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10098024
 
I have a problem with humidity in my house so I mix in reptile bark with the aspen. The bark holds the water longer so my weekly misting last longer then they would on just aspen. Just a thought.
 
Thanks for all the help guys... I actually ended up getting that exact scale tonight before I even saw these posts! and after all was said and done he weighs in at 27g. I'm kinda scared to try a fuzzy just because he seems kinda small compared to the monster fuzzies they had at the store so Im going to try feeding him two monster pinkies tonight and see how he does. if he downs them no prob up to fuzzies next week!!
 
I should also ask this because Ive never fed him anything this big haha. I usually feed him in a separate container and then once hes downed them I take the lid off and lower it into his tank, let him make his way out of his own and take it out. Is this ok with these larger amounts of food or should I leave him for longer to prevent a regurge?
 
Once the mouse is in the middle of his body you can go ahead and put him away like you normally do. If he has been fine with it so far you should not have any problems just move slow and make sure you are breathing also.
 
so from the looks of things Ive been underfeeding the little guy for a while... downed both of the large pinkies with no problems. Getting him out of his feeding tank was alittle bit of a pain, hope he didnt get too stressed. I guess time will tell if he keeps them down or not.
 
He will catch you and the plan above is a guideline to help owners out. I have used it for the most part for my boy but I have not followed it step for step and he is over a year old and weighs 326grams. Its a great guide and should help you with your feedings. Trust your snake though, if he has a hard time getting it to go down or there is a regurge just slow down and take it easy. There is no reason to rush him into growing
 
If you're still worried about it, you can cut slits in the fuzzy... This is said to help them digest faster- and definitely made me less worried when I moved my Normal up to fuzzies...
 
Ok Last few questions I hope... So after feeding him the two large pinkies there was almost no lump after 22 hours. I noticed he had pooped in his hide so I took him out and cleaned everything. I was wondering what the rule of thumb is for handling after feeding? Is one day ok or should I wait longer? As well, if he is going to regurge will he do it after afew hours or after a day? I plan on feeding him the last two 3g pinkies I have and then move him up to some small fuzzies I got!!

And on another note, the feces in his hide was like really dry looking with a little bit of normal looking stool. Is this normal or a sign of dehydration? I change his water every 2 days or so and I always see him drinking so Im just curious?
 
1. Rule of thumb is wait 48 hours after feeding to handle.
2. He is fine , you see him drinking, don't you.
Normal poop.
 
the feces in his hide was like really dry looking with a little bit of normal looking stool. Is this normal or a sign of dehydration?
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Just means that it had been there for a while and had time to dry up a bit before you found it. It's always wet when they pass it. Nothing to do with him being dehydrated, so don't worry.
 
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