Hello from Pennsylvania ^_^

[GillianC]

Hey! Obviously I'm new here, so I figured I'd introduce myself just a little bit. Only relevant information of course!

I've had a corn snake (Damian) since I was 12 (provided that's only five years). My sister didn't really want hers (she has a fear of accidentally killing pets), so now I have hers (Dehlia) too. Well, last year the two of them decided to mate, and from that clutch I have nine juveniles. One of them died as it was hatching, so my mom allowed me to purchase another juvenile to make it an even ten. Turns out my snakes mated again, and I have two more from that clutch, as well as another group on the way! So currently I have fourteen corn snakes: thirteen normal and one anery. I know someone's going to bite my head off for this, but I do keep my juveniles together. Currently I have them divided into two cages (mainly by size), but I'm hoping to separate them further into three cages (cages is such a harsh word, really) of four so that they have more room.

I absolutely adore snakes, but my corns especially since they're my babies. ^_^ So, hello everyone!

 

[chia44]

I'm going to now sit back and enjoy the show. Good luck buddy, cuz you are probably going to get more than you wanted.

Oh, btw, welcome! I'm confident you will learn a lot here, as I have!

 

[Tim66/corns]

Welcome GillianC! And we are all her because we love corn snakes and all snakes for that matter.
And know I will not bite your head off? DYK why because that would be cannibalism. And that would not be good. I am saying it this way to let you know your young snakes can & could do the very same thing. Just very friendly advice because I want you to learn here and have fun. And we all make mistakes in the beginning. But just because you have not had a problem in this area does not mean you will not in the future. You need to look long term for your pets. First I would separate the parents. And as far as the babies go. They to need their own individual housing. So you need to ask how many you have time to take care of and to afford to feed and maintain them in a healthy way. They each should have their own 20 gallon tank first of all by adult hood. 10 gallon tanks for yearlings is fine for now. Next you should just pick what ones you like the most and sell or find appropriate homes for the rest. 10 or more 20 gallon tanks is a lot of space. And I know your thinking they like each others company but they really do not. They may sleep all together and seem to behave. But they are more than likely competing for the choice spot in the tank. Also eventually if it is not happening already there will be bullying and a lot of stress you might not be aware of. And then you have to deal with if someone is sick. Who is it? And the fact they are all together I am sure you do not have them seperated by sex either. The last thing you need is more of them producing on you. Not to mention the strain and health issues a young underage female can exsperience. So I would have to say again keep the parents if you like them and only as many babies you can enjoy and afford to take care of properly and rehome the rest. Take this as friendly advice because I want to help. But know that you know what can go wrong it is up to you to be the responsible pet owner who loves their snakes and wants what is best for them. So enjoy yourself her and you will meet some great people who are very open to helping folks who care and want to do right by there animals.
So WELCOME again and enjoy yourself on this great forum!

 

[GillianC]

I am aware of the cannibalism issue, and I am a bit weary of it. I just don't have the space to individually house all of my juveniles at the moment. I plan to separate them further as they get older, though. I feed them as often as I can (which I usually try to keep around every two weeks, I try to feed them relatively large portions), never together so they don't try to eat the same mouse, and I clean them out virtually as soon as they've soiled their bedding. The parents have been separated, and they'll stay that way now because we really don't want them mating and it's easier when we feed them. Thanks for the advice! ^_^

 

[Bharmonika]

Rubbermaids are a good and inexpensive way to house your hatchlings. We would love to see pictures of all of your snakes.

 

[tstephe3]

Yes, I agree, the rubbermaids would be a great way to seperate all of them. You can stack etc. You just have to find a way to heat everyone. Which I'm not sure of. I'm sure someone would be able to help you in that area. Maybe post something in the husbandry section.

Oh, and you should try to feed your babies every week.. That would be better for them.

 

[Hallie]

I'm going to agree with what has been said about Rubbermaid or Sterilite tubs being the best way to house numerous babies. I keep my itty bitty babies in those plastic sandwich sized containers that Glad or Ziploc make. Then they move to plastic show boxes as they grow, then to sweater boxes, then finally to their adult sized tubs when they are around 2 years old. Just make sure they have sufficient heat, of course.

I'm also going to agree with Trent. Babies need to be fed more than every other week, and they should not be fed 'relatively large' portions to make up for the sparse feedings, no more than 1 1/2 times the girth of the snake. Check out the Munson Plan (run a search for it) for a good feeding guide. As an example, my babies, up until they are about a year old (and 100 grams) get fed every 5-6 days, the younger ones every 4-5. The only snakes in my collection that get fed every two weeks are my adult male corns (and even some of them get fed every 10 days) and two of my boas.

But anywho, enough of me going on and on (I like to talk....), welcome to the forums, I'm sure you'll find lots of good information! Always nice to see fellow Pennsylvanians around here!

 

[carnivorouszoo]

I am aware of the cannibalism issue, and I am a bit weary of it. I just don't have the space to individually house all of my juveniles at the moment. I plan to separate them further as they get older, though. I feed them as often as I can (which I usually try to keep around every two weeks, I try to feed them relatively large portions), never together so they don't try to eat the same mouse, and I clean them out virtually as soon as they've soiled their bedding. The parents have been separated, and they'll stay that way now because we really don't want them mating and it's easier when we feed them. Thanks for the advice! ^_^

From what I understand babies need to eat more than ever 14 days! If you are going to keep this many snakes I recomend setting up a mouse colony. Feeding the mice is way cheaper than buying frozen or live for all of those snakes each week. Get some pictures and share them with us! Rubbermaids are deffinitely great for keeping snakes. I am looking at some and drawing up plans for making a rack

 

[GillianC]

I had been feeding them every week in the beginning, and my dad has a mouse colony but he has about 50 snakes of his own (at Lehigh University, not in the house) to feed so I have to try to avoid taking from him. I'll definitely try to feed them more often though! I am currently keeping them in plastic sweater boxes since I have so many in each, and I've been keeping them next to the heat lamps I have on top of my other animals, which I've made sure keeps them warm but not overly so. Thanks for all the advice and such!!!