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Big Viv, Small Snake ?

M

MelRoxUrSox

New member
Hey I just bought a little hypo corn. He is about 4 or 5 months old. I haven't measured his length yet. When I bought him I also bought an Exoterra medium wide terrarium (24x18x18). I have it set up with 3 hides, a large stick, a fake plant, and water bowl. I am using a 100W red light bulb in the heat lamp.

The first couple days I had him he would sit on the top of the stick near the heat lamp and moved around his cage a bit. But the last two days he has been burried in the substrate (naughty little snake, making me think he ran away!). Is this normal? I am afraid that his terrarium is too large for him.

This is my first snake ever, so I really appreciate the help I have found on this forum so far and look forward to all of the advice to come!
 
A picture of the tank may help, but with 3 hides and 2 partial hides, that sounds like he has good clutter. More clutter is better for the small snakes-I used my dad's driftwood collection to make a bunch of 'undergrowth' for the snake to hide in. You might want to consider using cardboard from around the house such as used egg cartons, tubes of toothpaste, etc to create additional cover for him to hide in. Snakes like to hide-he'll spend most of his time tunneling or hiding from you, that's just his instinct.

I also have a hatchling in a big terrarium (mine's slightly bigger, actually!) and I was also nervous about the snake getting stressed. However, mine is eating healthily, has a favorite corner to tunnel in, and she sits on top of the cover when she thinks I'm not around. Remember, in the wild they wouldn't be in a terrarium at all. A big terrarium isn't bad, if they have enough cover.
 
Here are pictures of the terrarium. I had to rotate them to make them small enough.
 

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Ooh, love the croc skull hide :)

That said, I think it's advisable that you get more horizontal stuff. Having something for your corn snake to climb on is fine, but he needs stuff he can hide under. Having so much substrate so he can tunnel is good for that, but you should consider the exposed substrate 'open space' that should be covered up. You don't have to cover all of it, of course, but you should cover a lot of it.
 
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You've been given good advice, I'd be more concerned about your heat source.
I think your snake might be better served by a good UTH that is controlled by a thermostat. I've also had hatchlings thrive in the Large 36X18X18 Exo Terra with the floor covered in clutter and Sphagnum moss but always had an undertank heater.

Good luck you you and your new snake!
 
You can go to the dollar store and get some leafy vines to put along the back wall. Just make sure to check them over for sharp pokey parts before putting them in the tank. Also I agree with rrowdy on getting a heat mat (UTH) and a thermostat. You want the UTH to cover approx a 1/3 of the floor.
 
rrowdy said:
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You've been given good advice, I'd be more concerned about your heat source.
I think your snake might be better served by a good UTH that is controlled by a thermostat.
Click to expand...

I have heard a lot of negative things about UTHs. But I have also heard that heat lamps can dry out the air and cause shedding problems. I switched to a red light so that he wont be bothered by it at night.

But I have been considering a UTH. What brand do you prefer? What are your reasons for using UTH over a heat lamp?

Thanks for all the help!
 
MelRoxUrSox said:
But I have been considering a UTH. What brand do you prefer? What are your reasons for using UTH over a heat lamp?
Click to expand...

UTH is better for the snake because it doesn't dry out the air as badly, it mimics the way they get warmth in the wild and it's more energy efficient.

I use a Zoo Med undertank heater. I was having trouble with it when I first got it, but I've since resolved the problems and am now satisfied with it. To use the UTH properly, use it WITH A THERMOSTAT! This is important. Attach the UTH to the bottom, and as you do so stick the probe from the thermostat between the UTH and the glass. This way, the probe won't get dislodged from the warm surface and cause the thermostat to overheat the UTH. Use duct tape on the edges of the UTH so that it doesn't fall off. Then, you're good to go-just use a thermometer to monitor the glass on the inside surface of the terrarium over the UTH to make sure it's in an appropriate temperature range.
 
Twovultures said:
Ooh, love the croc skull hide :)

That said, I think it's advisable that you get more horizontal stuff. Having something for your corn snake to climb on is fine, but he needs stuff he can hide under. Having so much substrate so he can tunnel is good for that, but you should consider the exposed substrate 'open space' that should be covered up. You don't have to cover all of it, of course, but you should cover a lot of it.
Click to expand...

I cut up a cardboard box and made some new hides to take up some of the empty space. I have a background I forgot to put in, and will have to do that next time I clean the terrarium. Maybe that will make it not feel so open for the little guy.
 
You can see his little tail sticking out as he investigates his new hide ^^
 

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I have had my corn in a 90gal tank since she was 20g, and she's thriving, so I wouldn't worry about the viv being too big, as long as she has plenty of hiding places.

I also would suggest a UTH instead of the heat lamp, that way you can be assured your corn is digesting meals properly. Corns digest with the assistance of belly heat. I have the exo terra TROPICAL uth ( the temp maxes out at 90, instead of the desert version which can reach 120 easily and burn and/or kill your snake). I have a thermostat to ensure such issues are avoided.

If you use the lamp as your heat source, just make sure the surface temps on the substrate are proper for your corn. Also, make a moist hide for your snake when they go blue as the dry air may make for a difficult shed. For my small snake, I used a plastic container that I cut a small hole in the side and filled it with moist sphagnum moss. For my larger snake, I just add moss to it's rock cave for about a week when she's in blue.
 
Nice viv, cute tail ... :-} I second having a moist hide available. I keep one in my corn's enclosures all the time. I use damp paper towels. I change them out when I change water dishes every two days, then they are clean & not dried out.
Gives them an extra hide & they have a humid spot for whenever they like, since it's hard to keep humidity up with aspen bedding.
 
With the extra hides you've added I think you're good but like others have mentioned I'd probably consider switching over to a UTH and thermostat combination just because it regulates the surface temperature better which is what you should really be concerned with when it comes to non basking reptiles as they use the heat for digestion more than anything.
 
Hey I just bought a UTH and got it set up. I also stuck a thermometer prob under the pad and taped it in place. After about an hour the thermometer read 102 degrees!!! I quickly unplugged and made sure my snake is on the cold side of the tank.

I just bought the UTH so I dont know why it would get so hot!! Is it supposed to get so hot?

I bought the reptitherm UTH for 30-40 gallon tanks.
 
Alicia P said:
You can go to the dollar store and get some leafy vines to put along the back wall. Just make sure to check them over for sharp pokey parts before putting them in the tank. Also I agree with rrowdy on getting a heat mat (UTH) and a thermostat. You want the UTH to cover approx a 1/3 of the floor.
Click to expand...
Quoting myself here. You NEED to have a thermoSTAT or at the very least a rheostat. Uncontrolled UTH's can get very hot!
 
Ok. Where can you buy a thermostat? I phoned Reptitherm and asked them about it. They said that it's expected to get that hot on the pad and that I should put a carpet between the aspen bedding and the glass.
 
MelRoxUrSox said:
Ok. Where can you buy a thermostat? I phoned Reptitherm and asked them about it. They said that it's expected to get that hot on the pad and that I should put a carpet between the aspen bedding and the glass.
Click to expand...

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It's pure ignorance for Reptitherm to make a statement like that. With an infrared thermometer, I've measured temperatures on an uncontolled heat mat at 130 degrees.
They must be controlled and preferably with a thermostat.
You can use one of these. http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTP...9350832&sr=8-1&keywords=hydrofarm+thermostats
I have six of them and never had any problems.

Good luck!
 
Thank you! I just ordered that thermostat and it should be here on Tuesday. I guess I will continue using my heat lamp until then.

Thanks for all the help everyone!
 
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