I have learned so much

I put a post up last week about a new corn that I purchased from a local reptile show. Listed as a sunglow motley and I received reponses from some on this site that although it was a beautiful snake it was def not a mot because of the belly checkers. When I purchased it I just took for granted what the container said. (boy have I learned so much more since then) I have since then lost that snake and I only owned it nine days. Cried buckets for hours (seriously)

I have since then learned that the "reptibark" that I also purchased at the show was probably the culprit. The bark was not commercial but rather a big "homemade" bag. Everything else in the tank checked out. My UTH is controlled by a stat with the probes under the warm hide. The warm side is a nice consistent 83 and the cool side is a nice consistent 77. The humidity is at 58 (it is summer up here in Michigan so I know it is slightly high, hoping it is okay) The cool side and humidity is also detected with probes on the substrate.

Anyway I want to thank everyone on this site for the wealth of knowledge that you put out here and taking the time to do so.

I have two new babies coming in tomorrow from SMR, a sun mot and a butter mot (don't worry I have two separate houses for them) Ran around like crazy these past few days duplicating the 10g zilla aquarium and both houses now running stable. (figured since I was already paying for shipping and could ship more than one for the same shipping price...well heck I might as well get two (I know this is a "sickness" that others here can relate to) Anyway in the meantime I find I have spent the past few days staring into the empty houses "wishing" something would be in there..I know they are coming and I totally promise to leave them alone for the first five to seven days...promise...

Anyway just wanted to introduce myself and tell you about my new ones coming in.

Oh and btw I have switched to aspen..still crying

And please if you think there is anything wrong whatsoever with the sounds of my setups please let me know.

Everyone here is absolutely the best. :wavey:


Kad/Sharlene

I'm so sorry you lost your first snake, but it's great that you're back in the saddle and willing to try it again. That's really a shame about the substrate, but it also might have been a fluke thing and the snake was ill when you got him. You'll likely never know for sure, but Aspen is definitely the way to go.

Your set ups sound fine. Just make sure they are absolutely escape proof. If you've been around here for any length of time, you've probably seen at least a few "escape" stories...some can end tragically.

Welcome to the family. Glad to have you with us! :wavey:

Hi Sharlene,

I'm so sorry to hear about your little sunglow . Usually stuff you find at reptile shows is legit, it's horrible to think there's shady stuff being sold even there. Aspen is definitely the way to go.

Your incoming corns sound like they'll be beautiful, and well loved. Good luck with both of them!

Wow... My condolences on your first snake. What a shame.

BUT, just like the rest of us, you've found a wealth of knowledge and support here and armed with that, your next two should grow up and live long happy lives. So glad that you didn't "quit" after the first try and found it within you to continue on.

Welcome and KUDOS!

Welcome to the forum! Sorry to hear your first attempt at corn keeping didn't go so hot. Stick around a while and you'll learn more than you ever thought was possible!

PS. You can't go wrong with a SMR animal...

Hi! Welcome to the community!
I am so sorry about your first...I have lost a few and it's never easy.
But my first is alive and well at 14 years old.

I know allll about the "sickness", I've had it for some time now!
We here all understand although we are more enablers than a support group, i'm afraid

Good luck with your 2 new babies. This is the start of a wonderful new life for you! Congrats

Awe, I feel you you buddy...
I lost my first 2 snakes..
I got them both from the same petstore, and I'm sure that was the problem..
But now I have my lil Spiker-poo and she is doing wonderfully!
I hope you have better luck from now on!

Welcome and very sorry to hear about snake #1. I cried like a baby when I lost my first as well..and with the subsequent losses as well. I have learned the hard way and through here that pet stores are not the place to buy snakes and that is where I bought 4 corns and a king from. We still have one living corn from the pet store, all the other corns were sickly things that could not be saved. It was hard but I learned a lot the very hard way and would not have learned anything except to give up if it was not for this forum and the great people here!!

You have the "sickness" and it only gets worse!:bird:

Look forward to seeing you around. By the way a great feeding guide line can be found here http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50106

Tisha

Thanks to everyone for making me feel welcome. Just when I thought everyone would be mad at me for making such a big mistake with the substrate (even if that is what it was, cause I really just do not know) but nonetheless I have felt so guilty with that first one I couldn't and still cannot really think about it. It was a hard jump to commit to more when I felt so guilty but I just kept going through the motions and convincing myself to keep pushing forward with purchasing my two new ones. Once I hit the final paypal button I knew it was done :smash: Less than twelve hours to go until they are here. I keep looking at their housing and everything looks stable and great. I have other loved ones here. Three rescue dogs, three cats, 25 hermit crabs, three fiddler crabs, one tree frog and one crested gecko, so I know for sure that I can provide a great home it's just weird losing one, especially this snake for some reason. My guess is because my whole life (so it seems) I wanted a snake and then took the plunge and then lost that darn snake. It just seemed so doomed. But, alas, all I can do is trudge forward through that sadness and welcome the new ones tomorrow which I will admit I am totally looking forward to. I am totally nervous that I can do the right thing, only because I thought I was doing the right thing before, but I promise I will do my best and who can really ask for more than that.

Thanks again...everyone here is just so great and I appreciate your support

Kad/Sharlene

I can totally relate, I lost my first snake too. His name was Wylie. I felt the same way, totally nervous about getting the second snake but today Flash is alive and well, and will be 2 years old in Sept. I just got my second snake today and I am still a bit nervous, hoping he will do well for me and grow up well and beautiful just like Flash. I got Flash from Don at SMR as well. I just got my Miami from ArpeggioAngel. Anyway, welcome!

My 10 yr old wants me to tell you he is also sorry to hear of your loss and feels bad for you.

Sounds like your two new snakes will have a wonderful home. Best of luck.

Thank you all again for everything and well wishes. I will post pictures up when they are done "adjusting" I done the random peeks at them but haven't disturbed them since they got here which was Wednesday. I will say when I put them in their houses the male sunglow spent the next few hours exploring the whole tank, I mean every inch of it before he settled down in his warm hide and crashed. The female butter went immediately for the warm hide in her cage. Personality differences already...I love it.:dancer:

Kad/Sharlene