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help a beginner!

Tango_Sprite

Tango_Sprite

New member
I have just bought my first 2 corn snakes who are 3 month old and they are currently in the small viv you get with the corn snake starter kits. My question is i have put some artificial plants across the back of the viv as i read in the hand book babies like to feel snug and secure, is this acceptable in a small viv? and is there such thing as "too much".? As this is my first 2 snakes as much information would be highly appreciated. I have read as many books and websites as i can find but would certainly like hands on information. thanks.

snakes are approx: 14 - 15 inch in length
viv is approx: 18 x 10 inch

Also they are hidden away a lot, and not really laid down the warm end, is this normal too?

Thanks again :)

will post a picture if this is of any help.
 
It is normal for them to hide alot and they will go to the end of the cage that has the temperature that suits them so don't expect them to stay on the warm end. You are about to get a bunch of advice about housing two snakes together. This is not a good idea. It is best to have separate containers for each snake.
 
Thanx for the reply, i heard things about 2 snakes in one viv but the person at the local reptile place was adoment they would be fine. he showed me a viv with 2 adult snakes in and told me they had been like that since they wer baby's, this was the reason he insisted i bought 2 females and not males.

BUT i WILL save the money and get another seprate viv now you have mentioned it :) and thank you for the advie.
 
Hello and welcome to the hobby! It's a lot of fun! Smaller vivs are fine for the babies. You will eventually need around a 20 gal tank to house them as adults. Put heat on one side of the tank, recommended in the form of a heat mat, that is thermostat controlled. The mat should cover 1/4 - 1/3 of the bottom, of one side of the viv. Nominal temps are between 85F(warm side) - 75F(cool side). You can fluctuate safely up to 70F-90F. Try not to go over 90F.

Lots of hides and substrate to dig into. On both sides of the viv and maybe one in the middle. Plants are good for them to crawl in.

AND

You have already been given good advice on the cohab thing!

Welcome again and good luck!

Wayne
 
ive got everything in the tank as advised by you nice people lol the only thing is the temp on the warm side is 80F and its also 80F on the cold side, i have a heat mat under 1/3 of the viv and im a little confused as to why both sides are the same temp, yes the info on 2 snakes being housed has been taken and i will rectify this ASAP as i dont want harm coming to these gorgeous snakes :)
 
What sort of thermometer are you using? The stick-on dial ones aren't accurate at all. A heatmat without regulation is more likely to be much hotter than 80 if you measure it with a digital thermometer.
 
It is hard to measure the temperature accurately. The best way is to bury the thermometer in the substrate right over the heat mat. That is the temperature the snake will experience when buried there. Then do the same at the other end. The snake is not interested in the air temperature around the cage.
 
i'm not sure what thermometer it is, im sorry im new to this lol its not the stick on long strip ones, its a round dial one (exo terra) ii says on the front. ive got one at the hot end and one at the cold end and they are both reading 80 and 80 or 80 and 78, the snakes have been in there hides all afternoon and i dont want them to overheat, will they find coldness no matter what if they need it?
 
Those measure just the air temperature. You can find digital thermometers with probes for under $10.
 
If they get too hot they will move on their own as long as there is a cool end for them to move to. Your thermometers are fine but it they are up where you can read the temperature then you are measuring the air temperature. Try buring them in the wood shavings for 30 minutes and then look at them and see what they say.
 
The dial ones can be wrong by up to 10 degrees either way. My nephew has one that always reads 75 degrees, even when my infra-red thermometer (I take it over to check regularly) shows a temp of 85 degrees.

If you don't have a thermostat on the heat mat, then they can get well over 100 degrees. I'd recomend buying a decent thermometer and a thermostat at the same time.

The snakes will only find a cool area if there's one in the tank. Having said that, most of mine spend all their time at the cool ends, so don't be worried that yours aren't near the warm end. Probably for the best until you can be absolutely sure what the temps are.
 
They were in petco. Petco often doesn't care either way. The one near me had an emaciated garter snake they claimed was perfectly healthy because it was eating.
 
1. 90% of pet stores don't know anything about snakes.
2. No such thing as too much plants/hides/etc
3. Housing 2 snakes together is animal cruelty.
 
I don't know Stars, that seems kind of harsh. I have a Cal. King that is best friends with my snow corn. He follows it every where it goes. I've had them together since last night and they seemed really happy. Very active.
 
iam going to rectify this but as this is my first snake i had no idea untill i got the advice on here, they both rest/sleep (whatever they do) both in the same hide, they will NOT go into seprate hides, if one goes the other goes.If one changes hides, the other follows.

anyway im not trying to justify my error and lack of research on the housing subject and like i said i will rectify this asap.

thanks for the advice all of you, i'm learning fast with your help :)
 
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