New Owner here in Tucson

Hello,

Our family just got our first cornsnake (actually first snake at all) at a reptile show here about 10 days ago. My sons really wanted a snake. I was hesitant...thought I would never own one, but the people there convinced us it wouldn't be too hard so we gave in. Since my boys are 6 and almost 8, I knew we (my husband and I) would actually be the ones who truly have to commit and be responsible. Well we have fallen in love with the little guy. The kids named him Harry Potter (thus my user name). We knew absolutely nothing but are learning quick. We did our second feeding today. I am thrilled to have found this site and know we have a place to check when we have questions. I hope to upload photos in the near future.

Here is a question I am wondering now that we are loving the little guy. I teach Kindergarten and wonder if a cornsnake would make a suitable class pet??? I appreciate any input. I know I would be the primary care taker but would love to have something in the classroom.

Thank you,
Molly

HarryPotterCorn said:

I teach Kindergarten and wonder if a cornsnake would make a suitable class pet???

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A friend of ours has a pair of those little red-bellied frogs, that came from their preschool. They had to remove them because of the chance of Salmonella. I wonder if your school would be any different?

In any case, I'd check with the administration. They probably have a list of acceptable pets.

Theresa in Indy

Hello & welcome! What morph is the little one?

not sure what type

I am not sure what type of morph. I believe he is some sort of blood red. I attached a couple of photos of the little guy.

Molly

beautifull. I got snake no 1. 7 days ago. cant wait till he gets settled in and i can handle him more.

Welcome!

Welcome to the forums!

Thank you. I seem to becoming an addict here. I am soaking in so much info.

I think cornsnakes and kingsnakes make WONDERFUL class pets. I'm a VERY involved parent at my kids' elementary school and have had a snake in one teacher's class for the last 3 years. The kids come to her class after school every day to watch/hold the snake. They just LOVE them.

The school doesn't seem to mind the snakes being there... I know that there was some concern that first year when the snake got loose (only to be found a few hours later among the colored paper... LOL). BUT since that one incident, there has been nothing but GOOD spoken about the "snake at school".

One thing... I made sure that the teacher knows to have EVERY child wash their hands BEFORE and AFTER handling the snake. Things have gone VERY good and I don't see any problems in the future. I DO know that there are a couple of kids who have had their parents purchase a snake for them too... and I've helped a few out with pointers and ideas on how to best care for their snake.

The only reason I let the teacher allow the snake to be handled without me there is because I trust her. If I didn't then I would make the snake a "display only" snake.

Oh, BTW, Welcome aboard and CONGRATS on your new snake!!!

Just rememeber, you'll be itching for another QUITE soon. LOL.

And... one last thing... I live in East Mesa, AZ. Nice to have another Arizona resident on board too!

The_Thunderer said:

Oh, BTW, Welcome aboard and CONGRATS on your new snake!!!

Just rememeber, you'll be itching for another QUITE soon. LOL.

And... one last thing... I live in East Mesa, AZ. Nice to have another Arizona resident on board too!

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You are right. I'm already trying to think of ways to get another. I will probably have to find a way to restrain myself although having one as a class pet would be awesome. My kids want to get a female and breed them to have babies I am getting very curious about that and we may eventually work our way up to having a small cornsnake business but that wouldn't be for a while. I still have a lot more to learn.

It is definitely cool seeing Arizonans on here besides me. Any reptile show coming to the Mesa area or is it over and gone?

There IS a show coming up sometime soon. I'll post the details of it when I get back to Arizona... I passed you yesterday on my way to El Paso, Texas where I'm visiting family. I'll be back in Mesa Thursday evening.

The Phoenix Reptile Expo is November 20-21. Here's a link http://phxreptileexpo.com/

Well, there ya go!!! LOL. Thanks for chiming in, Breezy!

Wow, I have family in El Paso too. Been a while though since I went there. Perhaps our family will check out the Phoenix show.

Welcome to the wonderful world of cornsnakes! One of my yearlings is in a kindergarten classroom, and the kids love having him there. They don't handle him (mainly because he's still a small snake), but the teacher takes him out periodically and lets them touch him. I've had a snake in my daughters' middle school library for a couple of years, but this is the first year for a class pet. So far, so good!