Basic Questions

rehj · Sep 15, 2007

Hello all,

My name is Ron, I live in Daytona Beach, FL. I have recently found a baby Corn Snake in my house, and I decided to keep it rather then letting him go back to the wild.

After doing some reading on them, and looking at pretty much every post that looked to be of interest. I have come up with some questions.

I went to a local shop that specializes in Reptiles, but some of the stuff they told me didn't quite match what I read on various sites.

1. I was told that what I have is a Red Rat Snake, and that is different the a Corn Snake... Everything I have read though says they are the same thing.

2. I picked up a live pinky for him to eat... how long should I leave it in there? I have heard 15 minutes, I have heard 2 hours, I have read over night.. what are your suggestions?

3. I need to find some temperature regulation equipment. I got a heating pad for the bottom of the tank (10 gallon fish tank my dad gave me) Thats on one side, I have a hide on each side, and a water dish on the cooler side. What should I get to help me monitor the temp / humidity? Is there a good place online to buy this stuff?

I'm sure I will come up with more questions later, but I appreciate anyone who can provide me with any answers! :cheers: cheers

Lennycorn · Sep 15, 2007

Rich in KY · Sep 15, 2007

Hi Ron, welcome to the forum. My first snake was also a wild caught corn snake. I will try to answer your questions in the best way possible.

1. Yes, a corn snake is also known as a red rat snake.

2. Leave the live pinky in as long as it takes, up to overnight. Make sure you give the snake plenty of privacy when feeding him. Also, since you just caught him, he may be stressed and may not feed. If he does't eat, give him 3-4 days before trying again.

3. For heating you should use a Under Tank Heater, a thermostat or rheostat and a thermometer. One side os the tank should be between 80-85 and the other should be somewhere in the 72-78 range. You also need a "hide" for him on each side. And he will need a water source.

Lennycorn left many good links for you to look at. If you still have more questions feel free to ask.

wax32 · Sep 18, 2007

Lots of good advice here. Welcome to the forums!

Flagg · Sep 18, 2007

As mentioned, you need a thermostat or rheostat, and a thermometer. Not just any thermometer, but a digital thermometer with e PROBE. Put the probe directly on the glass in the center of the heat mat, and regulate the temp at that point to 85 degrees.

To regulate the temp, use either a rheostat (lamp dimmer) or a thermostat. A rheostat is much cheaper but will have to be monitored regularly and adjusted as room temps change. A thermostat once set properly will account for changes in room temp and turn on and off the heat mat as needed to maintain the temp at about 82-85 degrees.

For an online source for a thermostat, cheapest reliable one is a ZooMed 500R which can be bought online for about $23 plus shipping. reptilesupply.com or reptiledirect.com are both good sources.

For the thermometer, you can get one marketed towards the reptile market at either of those places, just make sure it has a probe, and humidity measurement is nice to have as well. Or you can get an indoor/outdoor digital thermometer with a probe and humidity at WalMart in the hardware section for about $12. Just make sure to get one with a probe and not a wireless model. They seem to be phasing out the wired probes and my WalMart only carries the one model now, used to have about 4 of varying prices and features.

Basic Questions

rehj

New member

Lennycorn

Just see the truth

Rich in KY

Fortunate Fool

wax32

ALL YOUR BASE

Flagg

New member