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Cheap but effective ways to heat?

I'm sorry for being rude, but I am someone who thinks that giving the proper care to any of the pets we keep is the highest importance.

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source...heets&aq=f&aqi=g1g-m4&oq=&fp=ee36edbd3c16a1c5

There's a link, I searched google, any of the top results will give you perfectly fine info.

Aspen is what a lot of people use, maybe the majority. You make it sound like the towel isn't covering the whole bottom of the tank. They need a substrate that will cover the whole bottom of the tank. Not just an area for them to burrow. I guess I didn't mean "hold heat" as much as "provide insulation" against the bottom of the tank, like I said, it seems as if you don't have anything covering the whole bottom.
 
queztacoatl said:
I'm sorry for being rude, but I am someone who thinks that giving the proper care to any of the pets we keep is the highest importance.

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source...heets&aq=f&aqi=g1g-m4&oq=&fp=ee36edbd3c16a1c5

There's a link, I searched google, any of the top results will give you perfectly fine info.

Aspen is what a lot of people use, maybe the majority. You make it sound like the towel isn't covering the whole bottom of the tank. They need a substrate that will cover the whole bottom of the tank. Not just an area for them to burrow. I guess I didn't mean "hold heat" as much as "provide insulation" against the bottom of the tank, like I said, it seems as if you don't have anything covering the whole bottom.
Click to expand...

it covers the whole bottom except for where the water cup is. You can see in this picture the tub I keep him in (my arm is blocking the water cup from view):

picture.php
 
Alright, I gave his tub a makeover. Instead of using a full bath towel as substrate I replaced it with layers of paper towel and included a wadded up one as an optional burrow site as well as a small (as in the size of a brick) box and a small cup on its side. His water bowl is also in there. Better?
 
It certainly looks like you're making an effort to keep your lovely lil friend comfortable. Such a pretty little guy. I can certainly understand the inability to refuse bringing such a nice looking critter home. I almost irritated my wife by doing the very same thing today. One question . . . Since you aren't supposed to have such a pet in the dorms, what happens if you get caught by someone in authority who matters? What are the consequences for you and that lovely creature? I waited 13 years to get my first snake, and that's simply a result of not being able to provide a good living situation for them. Now, I can provide for my snakes. Not only that, but I have convinced my wife that snakes aren't so bad also. Took that long for both the more stable living situation and of talking to the wife about snakes once in a while. Anyway, I hope you have a good fall back plan other than turning the snake out on its own.

Good luck and happy snake keeping, ;)

Leim
 
Of course I'm making an effort! I love the little guy, he's so adorable! I've always liked snakes. I also ordered that corn snake book of amazon, I should have it by Monday. I am also having my cousins drive me to a nearby pet store this weekend so I can get him a heating pad. He's seemed to be just fine with the room temperature as it is, he's not had any trouble eating and he hasn't been lethargic, but I'll get a heater thing and a thermometer anyways.

I'd never turn him out! O.O I highly doubt that I'd get caught as nobody comes in my room other than my roommate and her occasional friend and I don't ever take him out of the cupboard or his box except for when I'm sure that my roommate is in class and/or wont be back for a while. But if I did happen to get caught I'd be the one punished, not the snake. They'd give me a day or two to find him a new home and I'd either send him to my house with my family or give him to someone in the Herpetology Club who has their own house. Most people in the club are older students who are experts on reptiles, so they'd be more than happy/able to take care of him for me.
 
There are some around here who have their way of doing things, and if you choose to do it any other way you are Forever Damned. Take their condemnation with a big grain of salt.

Depending on how stable temps are in your dorm, temperature control is likely going to be a concern. First thing to get is a good probe thermometer (a probe on the end of a long wire, connected to the display on the other end). Radio Shack has a few models if your pet store doesn't carry them. That'll let you see what the temps actually are in the snake's enclosure. Get the probe down at the snake's level - it doesn't really matter what the temps are mid-air. To add heat, you're looking for an undertank heater, or UTH. There are some itty-bitty ones that'll stick under one end of the shoebox you have, rated at 4 or 5 watts. That'll be plenty big enough for an enclosure that small. Another thing you'll definitely want is a way to adjust the output of the UTH. The cheapest way to do that is with a dimmer cord, a lamp cord with a dimmer built into it. If you go to Lowe's or Home Depot, go to the electrical department, and ask one of the people there, they'll be able to point you to one. They run $11 or so, and are rated up to 300 watts, so you'll be able to use the same dimmer as you increase enclosure sizes. To tune the temp, check it right down on top of where the UTH is, under the substrate, and adjust it with the dimmer. With the combination of a thermometer, UTH, and dimmer cord, you'll be able to tweak the temps just fine.

As for substrates, the paper towel route is a nice cheap and effective way to go. The snake isn't going to care. The hides you've provided will give him the security he needs. When the paper towels get soiled you just replace them. When you're at the pet store, you might take a look at the aspen. It's not very expensive, and it treats snake poop sorta like kitty litter would. You can just remove the small amount of aspen around the poop or sloshed water and toss it. The terry towel seems a really good idea to me, too, but you'll have to keep scrupulously on top of cleanliness, and probably have several in rotation. That could get to be a real hassle really quickly, I'd bet.

I can identify with having ...um... "contraband critters" in a dorm. Unless there's a full G.I. inspection, you should be able to keep things under control. One other consideration - is the cupboard mostly open or mostly closed? If it's always dark, that's not the best situation. Corn snakes do their thing around sunrise and sunset, and hunt by smell and sight, so they do need to be able to see.

Get to know the herpers in the Herp Society at school. I was pretty heavily involved in it at A&M back before the earth cooled, and several of them were very knowledgeable and helpful.

Let us see pictures as your snake grows! Good luck!
 
Thanks for that advice, that was really helpful! Now I know exactly what to look for.

As for the amount of light he gets, when I am in here alone I try to keep the cupboard door open, but when I am not in the room I keep it shut because I don't want my roommate to see him. So he gets some light but mostly dark. I am trying to think of better places to keep him hidden while not having to keep him shut up all the time. I think I may move him to under my desk, but I'll just have to watch my feet.
 
You could get a battery powered light for in the closet & turn it on every morning & off every evening. This would give your snake a better photo period.

I used to keep animals in my dorm room, too, but never without my roomate's OK.
 
I would do that but for the fact that my closet has no door and when the door to my room is open everyone passing by can see right into my closet. =/
 
golson1984 said:
If you dont have a door on your closet how do you keep him from wandering off??
Click to expand...

The snake doesn't live in the closet. In fact, there's pictures of the plastic tub the snake lives in earlier in this thread.

I have two snakes here at school. You need to tell your roommate. I know you're probably a freshman and got stuck with somebody you don't know (and I know that sucks), but I really think you're headed for disaster if your roommate doesn't know.

What if the snake gets out and your roommate, having no idea that it's a pet, stomps on it? Calls the RA? Runs screaming to maintenance?

I have one snake on my desk (10g) and one in a tub under my bed, but he still receives plenty of ambient light to create a day/night cycle. They're not allowed here either but my RA is lax and (for God's sake) some people keep cats in their room. I'm honestly not worried, but I have a contingency plan if I were to get caught.

Maybe you can try this: "Hey [roommate], are you like, afraid of snakes or anything? I kind of want to keep one as a pet here. If I get caught, you won't get fined or anything, and it's a harmless little species... they don't smell or make noise." etc.
 
Heh, well, I've already had him for weeks...I want to tell her but I'm afraid she's gonna freak and tell the RA. =/ She's never had a pet before, and when I have Animal Planet on TV she's always going "ewww" at animals eating things, so what she'd do if she knew there were dead baby mice in the freezer I don't know....
 
Daenerys said:
Heh, well, I've already had him for weeks...I want to tell her but I'm afraid she's gonna freak and tell the RA. =/ She's never had a pet before, and when I have Animal Planet on TV she's always going "ewww" at animals eating things, so what she'd do if she knew there were dead baby mice in the freezer I don't know....
Click to expand...

Oh God, one of those... Well, you just need some dirt on her then - LOL.
 
Yeah, when I started telling her about the Herpetology Club meeting with all the awesome snakes and lizards and saw her cringing I knew this was going to be more difficult than I first hoped. (Actually, telling her about the Herpetology meeting was my way of testing her reaction to snakes, lol)
 
Maybe its just me, but keeping an animal in a dorm with a roommate unaware is pretty disrespectful. You guys share space like it or not and pay the same amount to do so. I remember dorm life and it sucks but this room isn't just yours its hers too. Having to live with someone else means respecting their feelings even though I personlly think people that hate snakes suck you outta tell her instead of letting her accidently find out. She my kill it, rat you out, or set it free who knows, but maybe an introduction could avoid potential disaster. And the bonus could be she realizes snakes rock:)
 
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