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Afraid My Snake Will Fall And Get Hurt

B

BlackMamba

New member
I just my corn snake and it's been exploring the tank. It pooped in it's water bowl and now it climbed up the thermometer wire and I'm afraid it might fall and get hurt. Is it okay? I don't have aspen or anything, just a few paper towels on the bottom so it's not really cushioned.

Also, when I opened the box it was really scared so I tried to be gentle with the container and I just put it in the tank and opened the lid and put the top on the tank. Is it okay to leave the container he was shipped in, in the tank?

I would really appreciate some help!
 
Also, now that he pooped in his water I want to change it out but everyone said to try to not disturb him. Should I change it even though he's only been in his tank for like 30 minutes!?
 
I prefer not to have wires in the tank, but unless it's really a long fall he should be fine. No harm in leaving the shipping deli in there, and yes, change your water.
 
Well, it's a 10 gallon so I think like 12" tall ... I think he already fell once. He climbed the wire and started poking around the lid trying to get out I guess. Then I heard a noise and saw him on the paper towels. He's moving around and looks fine, but it just scares me because a 1 foot fall seems really bad to me.
 
He will be ok falling from that height and will do it many more times attempting a jailbreak. Like Chip said it's fine to change the water and the deli poses no problem either.
 
Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it. I feel a lot better. I'm just really excited and I like him a lot and want to make sure I do everything right. I almost had a heart attack when I saw him 12 inches off the ground.

He actually seems pretty active and cool. He got a little defensive but I haven't touched him at all. I just put the container with him in it in his tank, took the lid off and secured the tank. He was really jumpy in the container and when I walk by the tank though lol. Should I leave the container in there now that he's not in it or take it out?

Now he's laying on the glass under the paper towels on the warm side.

My warm side is staying steady at 83-85 degrees. I'm almost temped to turn it down a degree but it seems okay. Hopefully that thermometer is accurate ...
 
Nope it's at a good temp, I wouldn't turn it down either. Next time you do a water change you can snag the deli out, but it's fine to leave it in there. It's just like an extra hide and babies love lots of places to hide!
 
Chip, without wires, how else is the baby going to be able to reach the little ledge that they all love?

Babies also like those suction cup vines- and love to climb and hide in them. Is there a reason you don't have him on aspen? That cushions the fall a little. But I wouldn't worry about it.
 
Don't worry too much, about any of that :)
You seem nervous and excited! That's good though! Just try not to do what I did, and take your little friend out too quickly...
Like the books say, other than changing the water, leave 'em be for about a week! Sounds like s/he is getting comfortable already.
Congrats!
 
Thanks :) Yeah, he seems comfy. Hopefully he doesn't hide under the paper towel all day, but so be it if he does. Whatever makes him happy.
 
Nanci said:
Chip, without wires, how else is the baby going to be able to reach the little ledge that they all love?

Babies also like those suction cup vines- and love to climb and hide in them. Is there a reason you don't have him on aspen? That cushions the fall a little. But I wouldn't worry about it.
Click to expand...

I just have him on paper towels for now because I want to make sure he looks okay for a while. I've also heard that it's a lot easier to clean, cheaper, and little to no chance of substrate ingestion.
 
Paper towel is great, and yes definitely cheaper. I prefer using aspen chips personally, or shredded aspen - simply because it bothers me when they hide under the paper towel all day :p

I have aspen chips, lots of fake leaves, and hides in my tanks. I did paper towel for a while, but as I said, I found my young ones just hid under the paper towel 24/7 and I wasn't a fan of the look.

It's all personal preference though :) As for ingesting substrate, my adult just gets his food on a paper plate in his viv, and the little guys just have a deli cup/Tupperware container put into their viv with a f/t mouse in it. They go in and eat and then go hide to digest.
 
I'd say yes, it is very "normal" that he is hiding, regardless of where (papertowel or not). What are your cool and warm temps?
He could just like the warm side, or maybe the cool side is a little chilly for him. Either way, I'd expect him to be hiding for quite some time.

Hope that helps :)
 
NH93 said:
I'd say yes, it is very "normal" that he is hiding, regardless of where (papertowel or not). What are your cool and warm temps?
He could just like the warm side, or maybe the cool side is a little chilly for him. Either way, I'd expect him to be hiding for quite some time.

Hope that helps :)
Click to expand...

Last time I checked it was 79 on the cool side and 82-85 on the warm side. I don't know why the cool side isn't so cool, but idk what I can do about it. My bedroom is facing the sun so it's the warmest room in the house. My AC is set to 73-75.

Also, I didn't see him for so long I worried that he might have somehow escaped without me seeing when I changed his water. I lifted the corner of the paper towel, saw a tail, and put it back down :D. I hated doing it because I don't want to stress him any more then he's already been, but I had to make sure he was under there. I also took the container he was shipped in out of the tank because he hasn't gone near it since he slithered out so I figure he doesn't care.

One other thing. When he pooped in his water I dumped it and rinsed it out with hot water and wiped it with a paper towel. Is that good enough? What do you guys do to clean the water dish? I'm hesitant to use any soap or chemicals but idk ..
 
I have a stiff bristled plastic brush that I keep separate from my other dish cleaning tools, it is for the snake bowls only. I empty the bowls, scrub the heck out of them with the brush, then rinse and refill with RO water.

Changing the water without disturbing him is good, he will get used to your smell and know that every time the lid comes off he won't be someone's meal. It helps build the trust.

I am for the aspen too, they love to burrow and make tunnels under the shavings, and it is easy to spot clean.

For feeding, I put the mouse on a deli lid and put it in the viv, they know that when they see the deli lid that dinner is served! It helps keep the aspen off the mouse, and when they are done I just take it out and rinse it off. I handle them for about 10 minutes before they eat, weigh and measure them and then put them in the viv where dinner awaits.

All right, now we need pictures of your new baby! And a name!
 
I have another question: I just checked the tank and it looks like he did his business on the paper towel. Should I leave it or replace the paper towels? He's hiding under them and I don't want to scare the crap out of him and disturb him because everyone says to leave them alone since they were just shipped and are acclimating.
 
I would scrub the water bowl with soap if he has pooped in it. I would scrub his bowl with soap anyway. It's okay to leave the paper towel for now. He's hiding because babies hide. With paper towels, he can't just poke his head out. You might want to put another layer of scrunched paper towels on top, for him to burrow in. Your temps should be fine.
 
Nanci said:
I would scrub the water bowl with soap if he has pooped in it. I would scrub his bowl with soap anyway. It's okay to leave the paper towel for now. He's hiding because babies hide. With paper towels, he can't just poke his head out. You might want to put another layer of scrunched paper towels on top, for him to burrow in. Your temps should be fine.
Click to expand...

Cool, thanks. I appreciate the help. When should I change the paper towels? Would it be better to use hand soap, dish soap, or it doesn't matter? I'm probably worrying too much but I just want to make sure I do things right.
 
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