Hi everyone! New to the site. We just purchased out first ever corn snake baby yesterday. I have a couple questions if any would be so kind to respond? We got him set up in his new home. Our house overall can run on the cold side. We did install a under tank heat mat on one side. Inside the tank is a eco mat covered with aspen bedding. That area is currently registering at 90 degrees. I have plans to go buy a temperature controller for that today. At first our little guy went straight for the hide above that source. This morning hey is curled up on the far cold side of the cage that is only registering at 60 degrees which I know is too cold for him. We do have an above cage day blue lamp. I have read conflicting reviews on whether snakes need the day lamps. I've also heard that day lamps could do more harm than good to snow/albino varieties. Wondering if anyone has information regarding that? Was thinking it could help to raise the overall cold side of his cage a bit to recommended ranges? Also the breeder told us that it has been about a week since he's been fed. We purposely did not attempt to feed yesterday since we just brought him home, but since its already been a week since they last ate wondering if it is too soon to attempt a meal today?
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Motley snow acclimation questions
- Thread starter jaimeh761
- Start date
Caryl
BrightHope
Welcome to the hobby and to the forum! Congrats on your new baby! It sounds like you're going to a very responsible keeper.
Let me try and address your questions. The under tank heater (UTH) is exactly the right thing. Corn snakes need belly heat for proper digestion and for general health. Usually 80°-85°F is the target. Your snake will move about from the warm areas to the cool areas to thermoregulate. Seeing him in the cool side doesn't necessarily indicate a problem. His body doesn't immediately change to the new temperature. He'll probably relocate when he feels the need. (If it helps, think of him as a cup of warm milk. If you put a cup of warm milk on a cool counter, it does cool down but it takes time. The reverse process is also true.)
You didn't say how or where you're checking temps. You need to measure where your snake would potentially be, so against the inside bottom of the viv. A thermostat for the UTH is an excellent idea. I try to keep my babies around 85°F. 90°F is getting into potentially harmful territory if they can't escape it, though since your baby is able to move to a cooler area I am confident that he's fine. Don't worry.
There's no need for a basking light for a corn snake, nor do corn snakes need any type of UV light. There's some discussion that the eyes of snakes without melanin (like snow and amel morphs) may be damaged by UV lights. It sounds like you've read some of those discussions. Is err on the side of safety and not use your day lamp.
Most snakes love to burrow around in aspen. You might not need the ecomat beneath the aspen. Those are great when they're kept clean, although cleaning then can be a challenge.
As to your baby's initial acclimation, the general wisdom is to leave him alone - no handling, no feeding, no bothering - in his viv for a minimum of 2-3 days, and up to a week. Don't worry, your baby won't starve. Healthy hatchlings can go several weeks without eating with no ill effects. Of course a weekly feed is the usual best practice, but that's on hold when they relocate. It's super important that your snake feels secure and doesn't refuse feed or even regurge, which is serious in younglings. Give him time to settle in before you feed him. Believe me, I know how hard it is to wait, but you'll have years to enjoy your new snake. Waiting these few days is a small sacrifice compared with that.
I hope that's helpful. You're doing the right things for your new baby. Congratulations again!
PS - We love pictures!
Sent from my LM-X210CM using Tapatalk
Let me try and address your questions. The under tank heater (UTH) is exactly the right thing. Corn snakes need belly heat for proper digestion and for general health. Usually 80°-85°F is the target. Your snake will move about from the warm areas to the cool areas to thermoregulate. Seeing him in the cool side doesn't necessarily indicate a problem. His body doesn't immediately change to the new temperature. He'll probably relocate when he feels the need. (If it helps, think of him as a cup of warm milk. If you put a cup of warm milk on a cool counter, it does cool down but it takes time. The reverse process is also true.)
You didn't say how or where you're checking temps. You need to measure where your snake would potentially be, so against the inside bottom of the viv. A thermostat for the UTH is an excellent idea. I try to keep my babies around 85°F. 90°F is getting into potentially harmful territory if they can't escape it, though since your baby is able to move to a cooler area I am confident that he's fine. Don't worry.
There's no need for a basking light for a corn snake, nor do corn snakes need any type of UV light. There's some discussion that the eyes of snakes without melanin (like snow and amel morphs) may be damaged by UV lights. It sounds like you've read some of those discussions. Is err on the side of safety and not use your day lamp.
Most snakes love to burrow around in aspen. You might not need the ecomat beneath the aspen. Those are great when they're kept clean, although cleaning then can be a challenge.
As to your baby's initial acclimation, the general wisdom is to leave him alone - no handling, no feeding, no bothering - in his viv for a minimum of 2-3 days, and up to a week. Don't worry, your baby won't starve. Healthy hatchlings can go several weeks without eating with no ill effects. Of course a weekly feed is the usual best practice, but that's on hold when they relocate. It's super important that your snake feels secure and doesn't refuse feed or even regurge, which is serious in younglings. Give him time to settle in before you feed him. Believe me, I know how hard it is to wait, but you'll have years to enjoy your new snake. Waiting these few days is a small sacrifice compared with that.
I hope that's helpful. You're doing the right things for your new baby. Congratulations again!
PS - We love pictures!
Sent from my LM-X210CM using Tapatalk