Hello, i'm new here.

Hello everyone,
I am a new corn snake owner & new here too.
I have a 3 month old corn snake, he/she is very quiet & very handleable, likes to come out in the evening & have a drink from a shallow dish, although there is a water bowl in the viv, at the moment i am having a problem with the heating/lighting, i was sold a starter set up but it had a 40watt electric light bulb for the heat source, but the heat was way over 90, so got a heat mat which didn't heat it up enough, only got to 70degs, ok for night but not for day time. Today i have got a 25 watt bulb to use in conjunction with the mat/thermostat.
I am going to try feeding tonight, hope that goes ok!!
Marg.

Hi :wavey: welcome to the forum!

You should post pics of your new snake

Good luck with your feeding attempt.

Filardimarg2 said:

Hello everyone,
I am a new corn snake owner & new here too.
I have a 3 month old corn snake, he/she is very quiet & very handleable, likes to come out in the evening & have a drink from a shallow dish, although there is a water bowl in the viv, at the moment i am having a problem with the heating/lighting, i was sold a starter set up but it had a 40watt electric light bulb for the heat source, but the heat was way over 90, so got a heat mat which didn't heat it up enough, only got to 70degs, ok for night but not for day time. Today i have got a 25 watt bulb to use in conjunction with the mat/thermostat.
I am going to try feeding tonight, hope that goes ok!!
Marg.

Click to expand...

Hi and welcome. The corn snake doesn't need a light, unless you want a light to be able to see activities at night, and this would be a red light,. What size tank do you have if it's a 10 gall then I would use a red 25 watt. As for heat mat you need to check the temp on the glass directly over heat mat under bedding. If it reads 70 there your heat mat is not working properly. To control the heat of the mat you can use a simple dimmer witch.

A heat mat that only gets to 70? Are you sure?? I ask because usually they can get 120 without a problem. How are you measureing the temps?? Because if its one of those sticky kind or dial kinda, they are not precise enough... you need a indoor/outdoor with a probe, with the probe directly on the where the heat mat is.

If you're using a dial stick-on thermometer, it only measures air temperature. The mat could be way higher than 70 if you check it with a digital thermometer, unless it's faulty.

Haha, Cat-eyed-lady! Didn't read your post first!

Welcome and enjoy! :spinner:

Hi & thanks for the replies, I have fed him, he/she ate 1 "normal" size pinkie & 1 tiny little one, must of been the runt, I have called him Rio, & he went along my lap & pinched the very tiny one.
Now as far as the heat mat goes, I have the temp gauges that stick on the inside of the viv above the mat, it is round with a needle that show the temp, the heat mat is inside the viv & under the substrate, it is about 3/4 inches above the mat & substrate.


Hope you like him.
Marg.

Hello and welcome to the forum, That is a very beautiful snake.
I had a question about the heat mat though. Usually they are placed on the outside under the tank. The one I have said if it gets wet it could be an electrical hazard. Just checking, and good luck with your little'un

rsegerberg said:

Hello and welcome to the forum, That is a very beautiful snake.
I had a question about the heat mat though. Usually they are placed on the outside under the tank. The one I have said if it gets wet it could be an electrical hazard. Just checking, and good luck with your little'un

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Most of the heatmats that are used over here in the UK, which is where the original poster is from, are often used inside melamine vivs, which are the most common types of tank over here The instructions that come with them, show how to place them inside the melamine vivs, for best effect, although a lot of UK users place a ceramic tile or false floor in the viv, to protect the terminal from large liquid spillage.

Filardimarg2, those stick on dial thermometers are highly inaccurate and are only measuring the ambient air temperature in the viv. May I suggest you buy a digital thermometer with external probe, exoterra make them and are supplied in most reptile shops now, or you can order online at somewhere like Livefoods dot co dot uk, I've included a link to their website

http://www.livefoods.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=66&products_id=986

The best way to use this thermometer or one like it, is to place the probe on the bottom of the tank, directly on the centre of the heatmat, this will give the most accurate reading of the hottest spot your corn can get to. You may find, in fact I think you will find, that the heatmat does get hotter than the recommended temperature for the warm side and you will probably have to purchase a "mat stat", which is a thermostat specifically for heat mats. You can purchase one of these on the livefood site too

Hope that helps, and welcome to the forum

Best wishes,

Susielea said:

Most of the heatmats that are used over here in the UK, which is where the original poster is from, are often used inside melamine vivs, which are the most common types of tank ever here

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Thank you, I did not know that, I am not familiar with the melamine vivs either, perhaps we could get a picture of the viv?

Sure, if it's like the vivs I use it will look very similar to this.....

Mine have a glass bottom plinth, instead of the melamine plinth shown in the photo, that the sliding glass front doors run on. I prefer these vivs, as they can be stacked and still look good

Hope this helps with visualising them,

Thanks for the advice you have all given me, i have just ordered a thermometer that was recommended, so look forward to getting that. I do have a thermostat for the heat pad & it only goes up to about 83/84degs, 29c, i can't turn it any higher, (there are numbers after that but it can't be turned). I have an all glass viv, it came as a starter pack.
Sue, that picture looks very nice, my viv is only 18 inches long at the moment, snake about 12inches or so long.
Marg.

COo.oOL snake! Welcome to the forum.

Filardimarg2 said:

Thanks for the advice you have all given me, i have just ordered a thermometer that was recommended, so look forward to getting that. I do have a thermostat for the heat pad & it only goes up to about 83/84degs, 29c, i can't turn it any higher, (there are numbers after that but it can't be turned). I have an all glass viv, it came as a starter pack.
Sue, that picture looks very nice, my viv is only 18 inches long at the moment, snake about 12inches or so long.
Marg.

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Sounds like a good size for the little one for now, it must be about the size of the 45cm x 45cm exo-terra vivs......

http://www.888reptiles.co.uk/productsubcategories.php?category=Housing&subcategory=Glass Terrariums

If it is one of those in the link, you can quite easily put the heat mat underneath, but it's ok to put it inside as well, as long as the terminal doesn't get moisture on it (I'd be worried about it shorting out)

When you get the thermometer with the probe, you will need to fix it in place right over the centre of the heat mat, under the substrate and you'll get the best reading

If the dial on the thermostat won't turn higher, you may have a faulty one, I personnally have the Habistat thermostats and they all turn the full range. Wait until you get the thermometer to check the temperature, if it's not reading high enough, 84/85*F, directly on top of the mat and you need to get more power to the mat, then you may have to return the thermostat to the shop for a replacement, which shouldn't be a problem if it's faulty. Most good shops are happy to do this, hopefully it will be fine though

Hope that helps some more, but don't be afraid to ask other questions, that's what we're all here for. There's also a great search button at the top of each page, which has helped me a lot in my time here

Best wishes,

Well, i got the thermometer, what good servis, ordered last night & i got it this morning.
I am shocked, the temp on the little dial thermometer is still just over 70degs, but with the digital one it is 90degs, so thank you very much for that advice. I was going the right way to roast him. I still have another question though.....how do i reduce the temp for the night??
He is getting very brave, i found him wandering round the viv this morning about 8ish, never seen him out from under the hides before.
Thanks again for the advice, no doubt i will be after more advice at some stage.
Marg.

Sorry, having a blond moment there, didn't think what i was saying, i would have to turn down the mat temp, is that right?? Stupid me!!:laugh:
Marg.

Filardimarg2 said:

Sorry, having a blond moment there, didn't think what i was saying, i would have to turn down the mat temp, is that right?? Stupid me!!:laugh:
Marg.

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Hey don't worry, we all have our blond moments

The heat mat should only be covering about a third of the floor area of the tank, so there should be no need to turn the heat mat down at night, like you do for some other types of reptiles, your corn will choose if it needs to be on the warm side or the cool side (warm side ideally should be about 84*/85*F)

Corns are crepuscular by nature, meaning they are most active around dawn and dusk, although they can also be seen at other times too, it sounds like your little guy is settling in nicely if he's been out and about a bit

Best wishes,

Thanks for the reply,
I have named him/her Rio, & he has just started to shed, his eyes are blue, it started yesterday, i have been to the pet shop i bought him from to ask when he shed the last time & they said about 1 month ago, does that sound about right to you more experienced people??
Marg.

That sounds perfect for a young corn that is growing nicely

Best wishes,