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Corn cob

I am a student, but what I meant is that I;'m not going to get into an argument about basic hygiene parctices, lol :p
 
no of course it isn`t better lol... exposing yourself to mild doses of nasty bugs is good because it allows your body to build up natural resistance to full scale infections.
or something
not that i`d recommend licking your snake just to get a mild dose of salmonella
but you know what i mean... being terrified of potential infection by letting your snake crawl on the dining table is a bit silly when you handle the animal anyway... just remember to clean the surfaces down afterwards and all is fine.
 
No, I just think its unhygenic, esp as you have children over. No matter if you clean down surfaces or not, it's recommened by all vets, microbiologists etc etc that the best way to reduce risk of infection from reptiles is to follow a strict hygiene routine. And I doubt allowing them on food surfaces is part of that.
 
But anyway, it doesn't really matter. I doubt I'll be having dinner at your in the near future, lol ;)
 
Lol, I doubt we'd have gotten on...I would have had to house train you! i'm one of those OCD people and things have to be super clean! :rolleyes:
 
House train!
House train!
the cheek of it!
this place is pretty damned tidy as it is!
oh, well, never mind, if you dont want me then i can handle it :(.
anyway,i would have had to train you in certain things too no doubt so i guess we should just let it lie..put it down as another opportunity lost ;)
 
only for you my dear ;)

anyhow.. back to the corn cob topic..
been to my local supplier to chat about substrates..
he claims to have been using corn as a sunstrate for 10 years without suffering any ill effects at all, and he typically has 20+ snakes in stock and suplies this corn stuff to all his customers.
having said that, i`ve asked him to get some aspen in for me and he is getting some in shortly.
Oh, and he`s getting a light guard in for me as, just like in one of the other threads, i have a lamp inside the tank and its unguarded , and removing the lamp from the tank is not an option for me, so i`m invested in a guard as chione has started trying to climb again.
There, Rachel, i hope that satisfies you.. always my aim to satisfy :D
 
hey, I was only saying...no need to keep on with the comments!

Ps does your supplier keep geckos on corn cob? I was looking into getting some for them but have been given conflicting stories about how safe it is.
 
Substrate

I just want to throw my two cents in on substrate. I have tried different things for my cages from paper towels, lizard litter, reptile bark (cr@p imo) and aspen shavings. I have found that aspen is the best for me. I looks nice and easy to clean and i can get it very cheap where I live I get a bale that is 9 cu. ft. compressed to 3 cu. ft. and it only cost me $12.00 I have 5 cages of various sizes and it last me about 2-3 bedding changes per cage. You have to watch because some pet stores sell it at a very high markup I was paying $40.00 a bale until my small town local pet store started ordering it for me. So check with your pet stores that keep a lot of mice and things what they use and see if you can a better deal on a bale.

All of my post are my opinion and what I have encountered in the 4 1/2 years I have been raising cornsnakes
HOSS
 
Well, just as I was about to chime in

it looked like a bloody singles bar in here mates! :p

First. Bravo to Shakey!

You wouldn't believe the flogging I got on these forums for suggesting we may be weakening our animals with such sterile enironments. I use all sorts of substrates, mostly newspaper and aspen, and feed right in the cages. I've never used corn cob and probably wouldn't, but I'm not about to curse it either.

It's funny how people tell you that an incubator temp shouldn't fluctuate (when a mass of eggs is usually laid in a pile of mulch OUTSIDE) or that a large tank will make a hatchling feel lost (I feel terrible for all those hatchlings crawling around in the wild ;) Granted, we have a much higher survival rate than mother nature, but c'mon! Some aren't MEANT to live. Every year I have hatchlings I freeze or use as milksnake food because they just won't take off (always refrigerate them first) whereas so many keepers will force feed and go to other great lengths for a likely genetically weak animal to live only to breed! :mad:
 
Re: Well, just as I was about to chime in

elrojo said:
it looked like a bloody singles bar in here mates! :p


Erm, right. Not sure my fiance would be happy with that :eek:

Anyway, as for weakening our animals immune systems... That could be the case but surely because they have been captive bred (and obviously I can only talk about CB's as I don't get wc's) they have been subject to 'sterile' conditions since birth (as have many generations before them) so it would be a bit irresponsible of us to expose them to the elements, as such. Just a thought, I don't go overboard on the sterility thing, but neither do I let their habitats fluctuate too much.
 
Uh...yeah....corn cob bedding

This reply is a little late I 'spose but I think the real fear in using corn cob beding is the fact that it absorbs so much moisture. Mold growth is very prevelant if it gets wet. And it swells up...so that being understood...your snake ingests a few "kernels" while taking down a meal and not only you have a great "bed" for infection but your little guy might have a problem passing it as well. I have no doubt you have used it sucessfully, Blito as you have been extra careful with it but generally a good idea to stay away from it for most amateurs! ;)

Quigs
 
There shouldn't be a problem of ingesting it if you feed out the tank (which imo, is the best way to go about it)

ps welcome! :D
 
i think the main thing is that its like any other substrate - fine if used in the right manner.
As stated i`m rather careful in that i dont feed the snake in its tank, i spot clean the substrate frequently, i replace it when it starts to get damp... so yes i`m careful but then again it pays to be careful with any substrate, as they all have their pitfalls..

still waiting to get my hands on some aspen though .... no where round here stocks it and i refuse to pay the delivery charge from a web-based retailer....
 
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