Anyone in NJ or somewhere close, please read

[BMueller777]

I live in Northern NJ, exit 148 on the GSPW. I'm not really sure where to get a snake from and even what a good price for them would be. I don't want to get a crazy morph or anything like that but something simple, a common corn or a snow, the ghosts are my favorite at the moment.

If someone that lives in NJ or NYC or eastern PA can tell me where to get a corn snake that'd be great, I don't want to go to chain pet stores like PetCo, I don't trust them at all anymore, I've been to like 4 different ones and when I get things like fish I end up finding out almost the complete opposite of what they told me.

How much do baby corn snakes go for?

 

[Beothon Lover]

i have seen a baby normal corn go for $15 dollars.

If your ok with having a snake shipped to you, you can go look at the classifieds on kingsnake.com they always have corns for sale..and at good prices...it just the shipping that gets you..shipping ranges from $35 to $65 depending on where you live.

 

[BMueller777]

Thanks you

I'll go take a look at kingsnake.com and see what they have.

Do you have any pics of what a good simple tank set up looks like? Something simple and easy?

Do you know about the artifical grass for those indoor putting things for golf?
Is that simiular to astro-turf? Is it astro-turf?

 

[Nanci]

You don't need the reptile carpet- aspen shavings are preferred. MUCH easier to clean.

Here is a view of my adult corn Maizey's viv from the top. She has a warm hide on the left, cool hide in the center back, water bowl in the back right, climbing branch, and cool hide in the right front.

Nanci

 

[Nanci]

This is one of my favorites. My smallest snake lives in this 20L- but she has a ton of hiding places. Inez's viv:

 

[Nanci]

And I like this one, too- Addy's viv. She likes to climb a lot. She also likes to burrow a lot. This is a 10g- great for a small snake, but there just isn't as much room to work with.

 

[Beothon Lover]

A simple set up would be two hides(one on warm side, one on cool side), a water dish, aspen substrate(bedding), and a UTH(under tank heater) controlled with a thermostat or rheostat. thats how my tubs look..very simple not alot of hard work to clean or anything. If i can find my camera back i'll post a pic of one of my tubs so you can see what they look like.

I don't know about the astro-turf..i guess you could use it...but then your snake couldn't burrow.

 

[Lennycorn]

Look up Eddie1976 on this site, he from N.J. Vinman from NY but he deals in the high end morphs. Also a lot of member here are breeders that can ship to you too. But this is the start of breeding season pickings are slim right now if your looking for a very low end morph. A common, I think you mean normal, is out of the question in this state. Go for a snow, amel or butter.

For a simple tank, Well just use a 20L fish tank with an UTH, a good thermometer with as probe for the warm side and another for the cool side a water just big enough for the snake to take a dip in and two hides for each end and a hydrometer.
I also suggest aspen to astro-turf. I think it would be healthier for you snake.

Good Luck

 

[Lennycorn]

This is one of my favorites. My smallest snake lives in this 20L- but she has a ton of hiding places. Inez's viv:

He ask for a simple setup ...not a girly one... :sidestep:

 

[Nanci]

Snakes need enrichment!

Nanci

 

[Flagg]

Isn't there some weird law in New Jersey that makes it so only albino morphs are legal?

 

[BMueller777]

Whoa

This is an awesome forum, such good feed back from people. I was on another forum called: http://www.reptileforums.com but they take for ever to reply and what not even for very simple questions.

I going to set up a 55G tank most likely but what's the minimum tank size an adult corn can live in? If it's like a 20 gallon long that'd be awesome and I can just set the 55g tank for my fish like I planned.

Are Ghost Corns good starter snakes? They look so cool lol

What's a viv?

Do snakes like to burrow?

How deep does the aspen have to be?
How often does it have to be changed/clean?
How do you clean it?

The UTH (Under Tank Heater??) What about heat tape? Could the entire bottom be covered in it and set to a temp like 75-80*F 24/7?

Do I need to have the big silver light on the top of the cage for basking?

Sorry for all of the questions but I don't want to be ignorant and get the snake 1st and then ask questions 2nd. I think you guys would agree with that

Thanks a lot :wavey:

 

[Hypancistrus]

If it's like a 20 gallon long that'd be awesome and I can just set the 55g tank for my fish like I planned.

A 20 long is the bare minimum size suggested for adults. Hatchlings do fine in a 10.

Are Ghost Corns good starter snakes? They look so cool lol

I may be wrong but I think that morphs (color patterns) are just colors, and don't affect difficulty of care.

What's a viv?

Short for vivarium = snake or reptile home.

Do snakes like to burrow?

Some do, some do not. They are individuals. Mine does!

How deep does the aspen have to be?
How often does it have to be changed/clean?
How do you clean it?

I keep mine about 2" deep, and change it completely every other month. I do spot clean whenever and wherever he poops. I remove the litter, dust bust the remant pieces, and then wipe down the inside with vineger or mild bleach solution followed by water.

The UTH (Under Tank Heater??) What about heat tape? Could the entire bottom be covered in it and set to a temp like 75-80*F 24/7?

I think you will be okay with just a simple heat pad, instead of an entire heated bottom. You definitely want a cool end, and doing the whole bottom seems like overkill to me, but someone else will likely have more info on that and heat tape.

Do I need to have the big silver light on the top of the cage for basking?

Nope. They tend to dry out the cage and aren't needed for corns.

One more note... buy and read Kathy Love's Corn Snake Manual. It has all the info you need to be successful.

 

[Traci1]

Isn't there some weird law in New Jersey that makes it so only albino morphs are legal?

yep, because NJ has a small population of wild corns, they try to protect it by only allowing red/pink eyed corn snakes to be kept in captivity.

I guess that's better than Georgia where you can't keep corns at all! (unless that has changed?)

I wouldn't want to live in either state because of their corn snake laws! LOL!

 

[mbdorfer]

Keep in mind, you cannot legally keep normal corns in NJ.
You can have any of the red eyed albino morphs.
Check the laws as the fines can be fairly stiff!

 

[BMueller777]

Thanks

Thanks for answering all of my questions! Is a CandyCaneCorn illegal? Is that one albino? If I order one off line would they ship it to NJ? I'll be pretty mad if I can't get a simple snake because of a law.... Not like I'm trying to keep a Lion like that damn guy in NYC, right? lol

Guess I'm going to start reading up on Ball Pythons :eek1:

 

[Hypancistrus]

Thanks for answering all of my questions! Is a CandyCaneCorn illegal? Is that one albino? If I order one off line would they ship it to NJ? I'll be pretty mad if I can't get a simple snake because of a law.... Not like I'm trying to keep a Lion like that damn guy in NYC, right? lol

Guess I'm going to start reading up on Ball Pythons :eek1:

That sucks dude. Herp laws are ridiculous.

 

[Traci1]

Thanks for answering all of my questions! Is a CandyCaneCorn illegal? Is that one albino?

You'd be fine with a Candy Cane. It's an albino.

 

[Lennycorn]

This states what morphs the pet shops are allow to sell.
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/pdf/...petshop_app.pdf

But in other statues I read but since lost their link, it states only red eyes snakes are allow...Normals have red in their eyes???

 

[Maize411]

Awesome!!!

This is cool...you only live like 10 exits away from me on the GSPW...awesome...I bought my baby Maize at Petsmart for 40.00...Though if your buying one from a pet store make sure they are healthy looking...no signs of mites on them and make sure their at a good weight..also..ask to see their feeding chart..a Petsmart employee showed me Maize's and I was happy to find out she has never refused a meal (She still has yet to ever refuse a pinkie...heheh)..But yea..you can buy them from the "Pet Company" usually found in almost any mall...though they are pricey there...You can also find them in Petsmart and at Petco and if your familiar with Rt 1&9 you can find them at "Animals & Things"...I think you can anyway..that's what I've heard..but yes buying one from a good online forum is also a great idea..the previous owner would be able to give you a more better description of the snake's age, feeding habits and temper..stores don't always know that..(Heck petsmart was unable to tell me if Maize is a girl or not...(for now I"m assuming she is a female)..Plus if you were to get one from this site people really know their stuff here..Just make sure you do some research before buying the snake..I kinda went backwards and got the snake first...it cost me a great deal of confusion and a bit of money to finally get everything she needed...Now thanks to all the advice from this forum she is living happily in her tank..thank you everyone again from the bottom of my heart for helping me through my first snake ownership :0)... :cheers: but yes..Sorry this is such a long post..I'll be quiet now..and if ya ever want to since we live so close feel free to drop me an e-mail :0)