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Home Alone?

MaxxOwner

MaxxOwner

First time Corn Owner
first time corn owner question.

I have a 6 month old corn. He is in a professional snake viv that is pretty much escape proof.

We need to visit our family for the holidays from Dec 26-29th. It is 4 hours away. I don't have anyone to watch my snake for me.

Will he be okay home alone for 3 days. His feeding is on Dec 28th so he'll be late for a meal when I get home.

Also, I have a light on his cage that I turn on during the day and off at night.

If I leave him home alone should I leave the light on 24 hours a day or off?

robert
 
I think the snake will be all right, and corn don't even need the light. Light is more for the owner than anything. Just make sure to give him fresh water and make sure the temp stay steady and you should be fine. Feeding a snake a little off schedule is not going to hurt it either.

Enjoy your Christmas :santa:
 
It is a bit risky and I would try not to do it but if you do then you should take a few precautions. First your best option is to buy a cheap electronic timer for your light and set it up a night before you go so you can make sure it works properly (I have had experiences where I have left it on the wrong setting and come back at 3 in the morning to find the light still on)

The main problem is that the snake should have a fresh supply of water and if the snake goes to the toilet in the water bowl it can cause a lot of problems so it is important that you leave two separate water bowls in in case the worst happens.

If you do these two things your little guy will have a very happy peaceful time.
 
I would advice a timer too! Costs a dime and very easy to use, also when you're home again. If you stay late or go to bed early, your snake won't find out! Switching will take place at the same times everyday which is better, 'cause I do think hours of exposure to light effect a snake. Or doe it get daylight and is the lamp switched according to day light hours? Replacing the lamp light with a heat pad would work great in that case.
 
Like I said, for three days he will be fine. Corn snake are nocturnal!
I would be more afraid of leaving cheap electrical devices "on" around your snake when you not home. He'll be fine without it. And you want, put two water bowls in.
 
I've got to agree with Lennycorn on this one. He's only going to be gone three days. The snake will be alright. Just leave the light off, make sure the temps are stable, his water bowl is full, and don't worry about him. It'll also be OK if his feeding is a day late. When I got my first hatchling, I left for a three day Cub Scout campout that same afternoon. I returned three days later to a perfectly safe and healthy snake and a nearly perfect shed. Healthy snakes are much more resilient that some folks give them credit for.
 
We have been gone longest i think was like 5 or 6 days. (we have timers for all our lights) all the snakes were fine...
 
I'm a newb, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but...

I think a corn snake would be fine for more than a week on its own WITHOUT water, light, or food. I'm gonna even go out on a limb and say that I don't think my own snake would be any worse-for-wear if I left him without additional heat for a week.

None of that would be ideal for the snake. And there's no reason to leave it without heat or water. But these are corn snakes, not baby sparrows. I'm just trying to make a point.
 
It is only 3 days. Top off the water with fresh and turn off the light. He will be fine with ambient light. They are nocturnal so he will be fine. Sometimes my corns don't eat during shed and they go an extra week without food by their choice. Your snake will be completely fine. :santa:
 
I use electronic timers for all my lighting in both my vivs and fish tanks. It means a regular cycle for the corn and is much more confenient. I see no reason why they should be unsafe. Although the snake might not suffer but I know my snake drinks everyday and finding an old marg tub to put extra water in is easy and means the snake is not likely to run out of clean water.

Although what I am saying may not all be necessary they are the best methods to keep the snake healthiest.
 
shrimply said:
I use electronic timers for all my lighting in both my vivs and fish tanks. It means a regular cycle for the corn and is much more confenient. I see no reason why they should be unsafe. Although the snake might not suffer but I know my snake drinks everyday and finding an old marg tub to put extra water in is easy and means the snake is not likely to run out of clean water.

Although what I am saying may not all be necessary they are the best methods to keep the snake healthiest.
Click to expand...

The topic of the post is..... leaving the snake alone for three day with the light on 24-7 and being three days late on feeding the snake.

Not what devices is being used to create a regular cycle of light which will produce a "healthier" snake.
Enlighten me, what type of light produces this affect.

But that another post.
 
I was talking about the what was best for the snake while they were away and the ways they could best keep their snake healthy while they were away.

I mentioned the timers as somebody suggested that they were unsafe whereas i disagree and think that they are a very important piece of kit and essential in this situation so the snake experiences no changes which could confuse or upset it.

:-offtopic As to the best kind of light I never mentioned this or at least didn't think I had, maybe we managed to confuse each other there. It is quite possible that UVA an UVB lighting are the best for your snake although this has never been proven. And I believe it makes your snake look absolutely stunning. If only I had the money. :awcrap:

These are my views and maybe we will just have to agree to disagree :cheers:
 
The snake will be fine. Leave the light off. I have kept hundreds of corns without a light for many years and they are fine. Normal daylight in the house is sufficient. A corn snake is not going to die if fed a day late. Also, the water will be fine also. Just change the water before you leave. Enjoy the holidays and don't worry about your snake. He/she will be fine.
 
Is the light the only method of heat?? If so, just switch to a night glo light, change the water before you go, and you should be set. The snake will not starve in 3 days, rest assured. As long as it has heat, and water, it will be fine in the time you are gone.
 
Maxx has a heat pad on the right side of the tank (side wall) that is on 24 hours a day. He has a paper towel tube that runs the back length of the viv. He can move from one end of the tube to the other to regulate his heat (70 on one end, 80 on the other). He does a good job of moving from one end to the other as needed (he stays on the hot end for a day or two after a meal).

The light (I was told) is for Vitamin D that they cannot get from sunlight coming in a window. I was told the snake would "sun itself" in this light to get the vitamin D it needs. I turn it on when I get up in the morning and off when I go to bed at night.

I was planning to leave this light off, leave the heat pad on, fill up two water bowls and feed him a day late when I get home...
 
He'll be fine.

I've left mine for the best part of a week before without problems.

Any more than that, my sister will pop in and top up their water for me.
 
MaxxOwner said:
The light (I was told) is for Vitamin D that they cannot get from sunlight coming in a window. I was told the snake would "sun itself" in this light to get the vitamin D it needs. I turn it on when I get up in the morning and off when I go to bed at night.
Click to expand...

Let me guess, it was a pet store employee who told you that. No, snakes don't need any kind of supplemental lighting. They get everything they need from the food they eat. Your snake will be fine, just enjoy your holiday and the time with your family.

shrimply said:
I mentioned the timers as somebody suggested that they were unsafe whereas i disagree and think that they are a very important piece of kit and essential in this situation so the snake experiences no changes which could confuse or upset it.
Click to expand...

Since when are timers essential for a snake's well-being? Or even important? I'll bet Don Soderburg, Rich Z, or Kathy Love don't have timers on each one of their snake's enclosures. Ambient room light is more than sufficient for snakes. Any additional lighting is for the owners to see the snake with. I seldom turn my snakes' lights on at the exact same time each day, and from time to time I forget to turn them on at all. My snakes certainly don't seem upset and confused. They always know when it's daytime or nighttime.
 
I think they are important if you have lighting. My argument was never that snakes needed light but that a snake that has brighter lighting and then looses it could get confused.

My snakes work by their timed lights and not by the light from outside. Well one of them does the other couldn't care what time of day he comes out.
 
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