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1st time snake owner

M

Muddypuddles

New member
I am the new proud owner of a cute lil corn snake,pet shop employee says he is a boy but I dont know whether to go along with that or not. Anyways,I would love any and all advice for taking proper care of him. I am not sure what "kind" of corn snake he is,again pet shop employee said he was an Okeetee? He is mainly brown,with dull coloring. She also said they change color as they age,is that true? http://www.cornutopia.com/Corn Utop.../Okeetees, yearling + hatchling - CAPTION.jpg

he looks like the smaller of the 2.
 
Yes, they change colour as they age. However, I would not trust a pet shop. Why don't you buy a corn from a respected breeder ? Then you will get what you pay for and most likely the price will be much cheaper. Furthermore you take less risk to get a sick snake.....
 
From what I have read in the forums,they eat pinky mice when they are young(mine is 25 days old). Is it correct that I feed once a week and not to feed him in his tank?
 
Capt O said:
Yes, they change colour as they age. However, I would not trust a pet shop. Why don't you buy a corn from a respected breeder ? Then you will get what you pay for and most likely the price will be much cheaper. Furthermore you take less risk to get a sick snake.....
Click to expand...

I looked around for local breeders but I didn't have any luck.
 
Correct on not feeding in the tank. As far as feeding TIME do a search for 'munson plan'. Not a set in stone thing...just an idea. I am new too so feel free to let others chime in. Although once a week isnt a bad thing (I believe the munson plan calls for shirter feeding intervals at first). Based on my limited experience getting them to feed regularly is more important than getting them to grow.
 
I'll try to cover as much as possible... The munson plan is a great guide for feeding, but don't think it is set in stone. Every snake is different so yours might wait a little longer between feeds, if he eats fine each time then follow the plan until it stops working, then just use it as a guide. As far as feeding in the tank, its more owners choice if you do, but if you do then please set the pinkie on a paper towel so your little one doesn't ingest any substrate and get impacted. Also be sure to get a digital scale that will measure in 0.1g intervals because weight is a better indicator of food size needed instead of days/weeks/months old. There are plenty of extremely knowledgable (sp) people on here so do a search and you can find most any answer you will need. If you can't find it there then feel free to post it.

And welcome to your new addiction. :D
 
i too am a first time corn owner (getting her tomorrow) and i am getting a little nervous now.I dont want to make a mistake. Corns are pretty easy to take care of right. is there any thing i really need to know .I have ready alot of care sheets and books but i am still nervous. Please advise
 
As long as you have a warm side of the enclosure (82 to 85 F) and a cool side (around 78 F), have water available at all times, at least 2 hides, an escape proof cage, and suitable subtrate (corns don't do too well on sand) you should be ok housing wise. Humidity should be around 30%, ok that is what mine are at and have good sheds. I feed once a week, I have one lil 09 that will eat more often but I tend to forget to feed on his special days and fell in the habit of just feeding him with the others. I just made a chart to have a more obvious visual aid for feeding schedules, which I need since I haveo ne now I have to feed every ten days instead of once a week. Deffinitely have a scale so you can watch the snakes weight.
 
Excellent advice from carnivorouszoo. Just to confuse matters, I don't worry about the humidity at all for mine and I've never weighed a snake in my life!
 
I was told here and read a lot about how having a scale to weigh your snakes is a good idea. Also had my vet tell me weighing can help catch illness early on. Just a thought :)
 
I guess it's horses for courses. Not everything on here works for everyone and some of the advice is optional.

Personally, I disagree that weight loss is an early way to spot a health problem. Corns don't lose weight fast - by the time a Corn starts losing weight, any illness is likely to be well-advanced.

I tend to rely on experience more. I once took a snake to the vet because I knew se was ill, but the vet couldn't find anything wrong (I knew the muscle tone had changed drastically just by handling her). A week later, she developed the symptoms of scale rot. No weight loss.

I lost one to advanced cancer last year. By the time the tumour produced a visible lump, the cancer was inoperable. The snake lost no weight at all and continued to eat until the last two weeks of his life.

But in the end, it's whatever works for you. A Corn certainly won't expire from being monitored closely.
 
Gotch Bitsy, I guess it depends on what the vet is looking for. Mine says parasites are the most common thing he sees and by telling his clients to weigh at home he can let them know for sure they are not feeding right. I just called for clarification, lol!

Also, while I may type something and it sounds as if I mean this is the only way to do it, please don't take it that way! Many things can be done in a few different ways and still be right. The only exception I can think of would be the temps right?
 
I'm sorry but no, I don't have a need for moist hides. I had one whose viv got to having humidity around 60% and started to see brown spots on her lower body, vet said might be scale rot and to lower the humidity. I added some vent holes and after 2 sheds the spots were gone. No problems since. Pretty sure from what I have read humidity is supposed to be more like 30-40% not 50-70%.
 
Im not the most knowledgeable about it but I would say 30-40% during normal times, but 50-60% humidity once they go into blue would sound about right. My humidity stays around 55% +/- 2% and I've never had any scale or mouth rot issues, so I haven't had the need to change it. I would suggest keeping it lower to avoid the rot issues, since this is a 1st timer we are informing and they might not spot any scale rot as quickly as someone knowing what to look for. And just give them the moist moss hide tip when it comes time for a shed. JMO
 
Thanks for all the advice.
So I ended up getting a Zilla UTH,30-40 gal size,my tank is a 20 gal but they didnt have the size for it. Temp is 85 and 75 on the cool side,humidity is 40 . But is it normal for the UTH to make a light buzzing sound? Almost sounds like a cricket. I used the 4 tabs for the corners,even tore a business card and put under 2 of them because the cord was being squished by the tank. I have about a 1/4 space between the tank and the table it is on. I just am worried about something shorting out or catching on fire...yea I know paranoid LOL
 
I've never heard a sound coming from mine.... are you sure its not coming from your light fixture? I know I have heard them buzz before. I'm not saying its not the UTH and I've just never heard it because I do have a 4 year old running around so its not that easy to pick out small sounds. Are you running the UTH on a dimmer or a thermostat?
 
oldsnow said:
I've never heard a sound coming from mine.... are you sure its not coming from your light fixture? I know I have heard them buzz before. I'm not saying its not the UTH and I've just never heard it because I do have a 4 year old running around so its not that easy to pick out small sounds. Are you running the UTH on a dimmer or a thermostat?
Click to expand...

Nope not on a dimmer or thermostat. Its coming from the UTH,I unplug it and the noise stops. BTW Im originally from a city near you...Anderson.
 
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