first timer has some questions

[robeyeshua]

gonna get a corn - very excited - been doing tons of reading, but have a few questions still that i want some opinions on please - enclosure will be a standard 10 gallon aquarium for now - everyone agrees for the most part that it will be sufficient for a young snake - will use uth, tank will be located on shelf in large walk in closet of my bedroom - have all the basics covered, so, here goes??
1. what are the light - not heat - requirements? - reason i ask is cause i'm not crazy about those ugly heat lamps - i can buy an aquarium cover for it that would work and would have built in lights that i would switch on/off with a timer - just wondering - all the breeder's setups show the snakes in tubs - they can't be getting much light in there, h'uh? - or i could build a cover - solid and heavy and just let external light come in from the room, but closet light would have to stay on - i even think i saw one setup with Christmas tree lights???
2. don't laugh - but if i feed in a different tub and then shouldn't handle - how do i get the snake back in - or is it really ok to feed in it's enclosure??

 

[danielle]

Don't forget a thermostat to control your UTH btw. Lights are optional really, but they tend to dry out the cage and would need to be regulated for heat output as well so I wouldn't bother. Normal room lighting is sufficient Feeding in or out of the tub is up to you, but gently putting them back in their cage is fine and won't cause a regurge just be brief and gentle and they'll be fine. Some young ones won't eat in the cage, and I have a few weird ones that won't eat out of it, but out is best to avoid them eating aspen

 

[Stars]

Most people 'pour' the snake back into the enclosure if the feeding tub isn't too large. Also, if you're careful, you can offer the meal on like a sandwich container lid and just put it in the enclosure. I don't care what people say, most breeders do this. But never put the meal directly on the aspen/substrate because they may swallow the aspen with the meal if it 'sticks' - this is called an impaction.

Regarding lighting, I would recommend /against/ using any lighting around the enclosure as it can with your heat setups and stress the snake. Ideally you just want it to know the difference between day and night, so even minimal light in the day is fine - sunlight. Unlike some reptiles, corn snakes do not have UVB/UVA requirements and could even do just fine in complete darkness 24/7, but /some/ sort of light cycle is recommended with all animals including humans.

Danielle, you probably sell a lot of thermostats from your posts on this forum! But yes they're pretty much essential.

 

[Stars]

Oops it censored the F word lol... I meant lighting around the enclosure (lamps) can /mess/ with your heat setups.

Also the ideal temps are 75f cold side and 85-90f warm side (1/3 of the tank).

cheers

 

[Emily1188]

Oops it censored the F word lol... I meant lighting around the enclosure (lamps) can /mess/ with your heat setups.

Also the ideal temps are 75f cold side and 85-90f warm side (1/3 of the tank).

cheers

People here tend to recommend more like 80-85 for the hot side. 90 is pretty hot, and while I have heard it recommended occasionally, I would stick with 80-85.

 

[Stars]

For digestion, 90 is healthier, although both are completely safe, specifics don't matter. Most corns never hang out on the hot side, including mine, so 90 is ideal for theirs. But no, 85-90 is not in any way dangerous. 100 is dangerous (for extended time periods). In fact, a lot of people keep their cold sides at 80. My specifics right now are 75 cold and 88 hot.

 

[funnynonsense]

Hey robeyeshua.

When are you getting your little guy? Do you have the setup already? It would be great to see it.

As Danielle mentioned it will be cool to move it from the feeding container to the viv after feeding. You could do what Stars said about the container lid, but some snakes are a bit vigorous is their feeding, and are are all over the place. It probably won't eat nice and neatly from the plate, so the risk if swallowing some bedding is a little higher. That being said, I feed in the viv. But I use newspaper, so no risk there.

I think its cool to use a normal florescent light in the day. I did this, but then took out the light after a few months. I found the extra day light put the corn into hiding. So I actually saw more of her without it.

O yeah cool side 75-80 and warm side 80-85. It works this way, and well. No need to fix it if it ain't broke.

Can't wait to see your little guy. If your unsure of the enclosure or how to set anything up just ask. There are loads of knowledgeable people around here.

 

[Shiari]

...- this is called an impaction.

Actually, impaction is not the ingestion of non-food materials, it is a blockage of the gastrointestinal tract. It is, however, typically caused by the consumption of non-food.

 

[robeyeshua]

thanks - and a few more questions

thanks for all the info and dialogue - will be getting him real soon - need a few more days to get viv ready - gonna keep it simple and inexpensive for now , at least til i set up a 20 long for his later years - 10 gallon @$17 - bought a cheap water dish - have a nice hide from beardie habitat - will use tube and sock trick for other side - shredded newspaper for substrate - only lack buying uth which leads to these questions
1. doesn't someone sell a uth with built in t'stat??
2. how much will a small uth actually raise temp on floor of tank if you use medium or heavy substrate - never used one before - my rooms ambient air temperature is around 68 in cold weather and 72-75 in sumer months
3. best supplier/brand for uth??? - and size needed for a standard 10 gallon fish aquarium - th'x

will certainly show pictures when it all comes together

 

[Tavia]

www.bigappleherp.com has UTH's with a built in 'stat, I think just a rheostat, they just came out not too long ago & I haven't heard whether they are good or not. That place also has some that I really like, called Dragon's Lair, I have 3 of those. But Zoo Med does some that are pretty good & are easier to find, most pet stores have them. UTHs come in all different shapes, but one should only cover about 1/3rd of the floor. I just bought a rheostat at Home Depot for $11, it seems to be working well. One thing I do like best about the Dragon UTHs, is that they don't get as hot as the Zoo Med one. So I don't worry about my rheostats failing with those as much as I do my Zoo Med one. Without the rheostat the Zoo Med can get up to 120 & without the rheostat the dragon ones can still get around 100 to 110 degrees, which would still fry the snake, but it takes it longer to get that high & hopefully that would give me more time to notice that something was wrong with the rheostat. Hope that helps some.

 

[Emily1188]

For digestion, 90 is healthier, although both are completely safe, specifics don't matter. Most corns never hang out on the hot side, including mine, so 90 is ideal for theirs. But no, 85-90 is not in any way dangerous. 100 is dangerous (for extended time periods). In fact, a lot of people keep their cold sides at 80. My specifics right now are 75 cold and 88 hot.

I would really love some research supporting your statements that 90 is "healthier" for digestion. Have you even owned your corn snake long enough for it to eat twice?

Please point out where I said 85-90 degrees was "dangerous". I simply said it was "pretty hot", as most people here (myself included) recommend 80-85 degrees. I don't believe 90 is dangerous, however, I do believe that in a colder house (like the OP has), it's enough to put the snake in a situation where it has to choose between too cold for digestion and uncomfortably hot.

 

[bitsy]

2. how much will a small uth actually raise temp on floor of tank if you use medium or heavy substrate - never used one before - my rooms ambient air temperature is around 68 in cold weather and 72-75 in sumer months

Most UTHs I've used, suggest that the substrate over the position of the UTH should be no deeper than one inch. Basically, you may need to slightly alter the way you use your substrate to ensure that it doesn't "over insulate" the UTH and prevent heat reaching the surface of the substrate. I use wood/bark chips to that depth and I've never had trouble getting a temp in the mid-80s on top of the substrate at the warm end.

Personally, I think that ambient temps are a bit of a red herring with Corns. They hang out on the floor of their tanks, so that's the critical place to get temps right. Even measuring the air temp higher up in the tank seems a bit of a waste of time, unless they have lots of climbing equipment and decide to spend the majority of their time up higher.

I'd also aim for a max temp at the warm end of around 85-88 degrees. That gives you a few degrees of "wiggle room" before hitting 90 degrees, which I've always used as my danger point. If I ever find 90 degrees in any of my tanks, I start checking that the stats are still working!