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How Did You Acquire Your First Corn Snake?

I was deathly afraid of all snakes..!
My son was given a pair of Beardies, 8 mos
later we were in a Reptile shop getting crickets
for the Beardies. My son was watching the guy
feed the baby corns and mentioned how cool they
looked. I started looking too, and shocked everyone
by holding one of them. The guy said they were
having a sale too. So... $25 later I had a Normal Striped Motley.
That was 4yrs ago and I haven't looked back....
 
I don't quite remember what got me intrested in reptiles, but I always like creepy crawly things. I started looking at forums and different websites at all the different snakes and i decided that i wanted a corn snake, so i just went to the pet store and got one :D Nothing special, i guess. I'm pretty sure that's how many people got their first corn snake...
 
Well, I have always been an animal lover. I watched Animal Planet all the time and did volunteering at the Carolina Raptor Center and dog rescues. One time in the 5th grade we had a couple of anoles (now I know what they were but I didn't back then) and every weekend someone got to take them home to care for them. After my weekend I asked my mom if we could get a lizard, but that idea was quickly shot down. We had 5 dogs, 7 cats, and a few hamsters in my house but nothing non-mammal because that was out of the question. Before college I never really thought of reptiles very much as pets, or at least not ones to be desired, just strictly wild animals, untamable and probably too difficult to care for. But then when I went to college, when I was all alone and friend-less, I decided to go sign up for all animal-related clubs I could find. The Herpetology Club was one of them, and by far the most interesting because it was the only club I went to where people brought in their animals. It was totally unexpected, and extremely fascinating to see all these snakes and lizards being handled by everyone and actually not minding. I never saw snakes as the sort that would put up with such attention. After that meeting I went back to my dorm room and (after gushing for like 20 minutes about how AMAZING that meeting was to my not-so-enthusiastic roommate that I had barely said 3 words to before this) immediately started researching reptiles as pets. I found that corn snakes make the best starter reptile, but I didn't actually plan on getting any until I got this random email (totally unrelated to anything that had happened before) about baby corn snakes for sale for $15. The person had amels, anerys, and snows. I immediately responded to the email saying I would take one, and told her to surprise me with what kind. She brought me a little amel I named Drake a few days later, and I kept him in a shoebox sized tupperware under my desk until my roommate kicked him out. I sent him to live (as mine still, I didn't give him away) with a friend who then sent him to live with Brandon aka Snakewhisperer, and that not only started my fascination with herps but also my relationship with Brandon (who is now my fiance) :p
 
A member here had a drop-dead gorgous male Okeetee for sale in a local website, along with some other snakes. He was SO beautiful, and I have always been fascinated by snakes, but had never before been owned by one. After talking to the seller and spending a couple of days researching, here, it seemed as if he would be an easy enough pet to provide proper care for, so we bought him. And I am so glad! I absolutely LOVE Fiesta and the other corn snakes who call our house their home. What's next? I'm thinkin' a BRB and a MBK....
 
Daenerys said:
Well, I have always been an animal lover. I watched Animal Planet all the time and did volunteering at the Carolina Raptor Center and dog rescues. One time in the 5th grade we had a couple of anoles (now I know what they were but I didn't back then) and every weekend someone got to take them home to care for them. After my weekend I asked my mom if we could get a lizard, but that idea was quickly shot down. We had 5 dogs, 7 cats, and a few hamsters in my house but nothing non-mammal because that was out of the question. Before college I never really thought of reptiles very much as pets, or at least not ones to be desired, just strictly wild animals, untamable and probably too difficult to care for. But then when I went to college, when I was all alone and friend-less, I decided to go sign up for all animal-related clubs I could find. The Herpetology Club was one of them, and by far the most interesting because it was the only club I went to where people brought in their animals. It was totally unexpected, and extremely fascinating to see all these snakes and lizards being handled by everyone and actually not minding. I never saw snakes as the sort that would put up with such attention. After that meeting I went back to my dorm room and (after gushing for like 20 minutes about how AMAZING that meeting was to my not-so-enthusiastic roommate that I had barely said 3 words to before this) immediately started researching reptiles as pets. I found that corn snakes make the best starter reptile, but I didn't actually plan on getting any until I got this random email (totally unrelated to anything that had happened before) about baby corn snakes for sale for $15. The person had amels, anerys, and snows. I immediately responded to the email saying I would take one, and told her to surprise me with what kind. She brought me a little amel I named Drake a few days later, and I kept him in a shoebox sized tupperware under my desk until my roommate kicked him out. I sent him to live (as mine still, I didn't give him away) with a friend who then sent him to live with Brandon aka Snakewhisperer, and that not only started my fascination with herps but also my relationship with Brandon (who is now my fiance) :p
Click to expand...

This is probably my favorite story on this :)

Isn't it funny how things work out?
 
DaGiant said:
I was deathly afraid of all snakes..!
My son was given a pair of Beardies, 8 mos
later we were in a Reptile shop getting crickets
for the Beardies. My son was watching the guy
feed the baby corns and mentioned how cool they
looked. I started looking too, and shocked everyone
by holding one of them. The guy said they were
having a sale too. So... $25 later I had a Normal Striped Motley.
That was 4yrs ago and I haven't looked back....
Click to expand...

It seems like all it takes is holding one once to turn the tide :D
 
Daenerys said:
Well, I have always been an animal lover. I watched Animal Planet all the time and did volunteering at the Carolina Raptor Center and dog rescues. One time in the 5th grade we had a couple of anoles (now I know what they were but I didn't back then) and every weekend someone got to take them home to care for them. After my weekend I asked my mom if we could get a lizard, but that idea was quickly shot down. We had 5 dogs, 7 cats, and a few hamsters in my house but nothing non-mammal because that was out of the question. Before college I never really thought of reptiles very much as pets, or at least not ones to be desired, just strictly wild animals, untamable and probably too difficult to care for. But then when I went to college, when I was all alone and friend-less, I decided to go sign up for all animal-related clubs I could find. The Herpetology Club was one of them, and by far the most interesting because it was the only club I went to where people brought in their animals. It was totally unexpected, and extremely fascinating to see all these snakes and lizards being handled by everyone and actually not minding. I never saw snakes as the sort that would put up with such attention. After that meeting I went back to my dorm room and (after gushing for like 20 minutes about how AMAZING that meeting was to my not-so-enthusiastic roommate that I had barely said 3 words to before this) immediately started researching reptiles as pets. I found that corn snakes make the best starter reptile, but I didn't actually plan on getting any until I got this random email (totally unrelated to anything that had happened before) about baby corn snakes for sale for $15. The person had amels, anerys, and snows. I immediately responded to the email saying I would take one, and told her to surprise me with what kind. She brought me a little amel I named Drake a few days later, and I kept him in a shoebox sized tupperware under my desk until my roommate kicked him out. I sent him to live (as mine still, I didn't give him away) with a friend who then sent him to live with Brandon aka Snakewhisperer, and that not only started my fascination with herps but also my relationship with Brandon (who is now my fiance) :p
Click to expand...
That is so sweet. Seriously.
 
I have been interested in reptiles all my life. I had wanted to get a snake for a long time, but my mother for some reason didn't want to. Eventually, one day when I was about 12 we were going to the pet store to buy some betta food (this was one of the better pet stores in town). We planned to just be in and out, but it turned out to be much longer than that. I took a moment to look at the reptiles and mentioned, like I often did when at pet stores, that it would nice to have a snake. I then asked if I could hold one of the snakes and they suggested the corn snake. Snake care was discussed for a while, and eventually my mother agreed that I could have one as long as I would do the work. Me and my brother had enough money together to afford the snake and everything necessary so then we went home with the snake. Now, my mother loves the corn and takes care of it and my other herps when I am sick or out of town.

Unlike many of the people here, my reptile collection never expanded so quickly. Now I just have the original corn snake, a western hognose snake, a leopard gecko, and I am going to be getting a pair of pygmy chameleons this summer. I did have another corn snake at one point, but that one got mites and died after a month or so. That experience made me MUCH more careful about cleaning items before they go into the snake tank. I did attempt to treat the snake and it actually seemed to be working, but one morning I saw her laying dead in the tank and covered in mites.
 
What a fun thread!

My first corn was a birthday present from hubby and children. I've always loved animals of all sorts. I grew up in southern Indiana and we had some acreage. Though I totally enjoyed the local herps my mom was totally terrified of them. Dad caught a garter snake for me in elementary school for show and tell. It was in the house overnight. I thought Mom was going to have heart failure. She was convinced that it was going to kill someone. Hey, that's just what all snakes DO, right? Mom's fear level was way beyond scared; I think she must truly have been phobic. Needless to say, Leonard-the-garter-snake went back to the fields and I had no more snakes growing up.

Time passed. I went to college, got married, had kids. We always had a menagerie but somehow never a snake. When the triplets three and I was pregnant with our youngest child, we went to a herp show at the local college. The presenter had a stunningly beautiful Okeetee corn and I fell in love. From that point I dreamed aloud about getting a corn snake but for a variety of reasons it didn't happen for a long while.
A very long while. Two of the triplets attend different colleges in the same city. They discussed it with my husband, chose Yohsong for me from a Petsmart there and brought him home for my birthday in 2008. Within a month I'd chosen three more from Kathy Love and was delightedly making breeding plans. Last year I hatched my first baby, and look forward to many happy years of corn keeping.
 
My first (and only snake...so far), Eve, I got from Petco. I was very apprehensive but the people there really seemed to know what they were doing, and having done as much research as I possibly could, took her home. It's been great so far.
 
I got my first snake shortly after I broke up with my then-fiance. Ceduke dragged me out to a petstore, and I brought home Lia(m). Thus, I heartily and joyfully blame her for this addiction. :p
 
Shiari said:
I got my first snake shortly after I broke up with my then-fiance. Ceduke dragged me out to a petstore, and I brought home Lia(m). Thus, I heartily and joyfully blame her for this addiction. :p
Click to expand...

Lol Cathy told me about that, aren't you so glad she introduced them to you though :D
 
My love of reptiles began at an extremely young age, probably 3-4, I would catch little brown anoles in the yard, keep them for a few days, and then my parents would let them go when I was asleep (my dad actually once wrote a note and said it was from, "Lizardy's" mom! lol!)
Then I sparked my interest in turtles, got two, and began with...snakes.
I asked my mom numerous times, but she said 'no, no no no!'
She never hated snakes, was never afraid of them, and held one without hesitation at the zoo, but she didn't want one in her house.
Then...the day before Thankgsgiving...we caught...a garter snake. Didn't expect that did ya?
We thought it was "poisonous" (as if there's such thing as a poisonous snake anyway!) so I wasn't allowed to touch it, but then we identified it and I held it with GLOVES, lol.
The day after...we found and caught...Muscles :) And he bit my finger. I hated him. I was really stupid. I had bonded with Nippy and didn't want anyone but Nippy.

One thing led to another and I now no longer have Nippy, insteaed have a royal/ball python, and Muscles is happily residing in a small, cozy tank, as my favourite snake :)
 
I always loved snakes, always wanted a snake. Met a few in the wild, and carried many many garter snakes that one of our cats brought in out of the house and back to the field he got them from when I was in my early teens. But I was always poor, never had a car, didn't know about f/t feeder mice, et cetera, so I never got one.

I fell in love with corn snakes in the late 90's or early 00's via internet-- I wanted a bloodred. But all the above reasons not to get a snake still held. I was just accustomed at this point to not even trying to go after anything I wanted in life. (Blah blah angst, but it's true.) But about a year after we got married, I was discussing my slithery longing with my husband once again, and he suggested I go for it. So I found a rescue in my area (because I am like that), applied to adopt, went in and came out with my beautiful Whisper. Whisper is a snow, which I did not expect, but I love her to death anyway.

I couldn't get the rescue out of my head, so the next night I e-mailed and volunteered to come in and help with cage cleaning. And I still do so twice a week, and it brings me great joy. A month or so later, I picked up Worm, whom I'd fallen in love with. A month or so from *now*, after they've had their first sheds and eaten a few times, I will be bringing home a hatchling born at the rescue. And very soon after, I will be getting a little bloodred het charcoal female from Drizzt80. I'd be getting more, but my husband is less than thrilled with my ideal rate of acquisition. It's all right-- there's always next year!

I also intend to expand beyond corns a bit. I WILL be getting a BRB. I don't know quite when, but it will happen, and it won't be too long. Beyond that, it depends on what I can get my husband into. I will make a snake-lover out of him yet!
 
Uh.....Mom & Dad went on vacation to Peru and stayed with a native Indian tribe for a week. One of the gifts they brought back for me was a necklace made of boa constrictor vetebrae bones. ( I swear it had a spell on it! ) I've been snake crazy ever since.

Okay, I was never really all that scared of snakes. But you gotta admit the first story is way cool right?

Devon
 
I got my first corn snake, Scout the Aztec Reverse Okeetee boy, as an online order from VMSHerps - not a very interesting story, LOL. That's because my first snake was a ball python, so I guess I'll tell that story instead! ;) I had always been fascinated with snakes, and owned a few lizards growing up... but as much as I wanted a snake, I thought it would be hard dealing with the feeding & so forth.

Then when I was managing a library in the East Bay (CA), we hired somebody from East Bay Vivarium to do a reptile show for the kiddos. That re-ignited my love of these animals, especially after speaking with the owner after the show. He told me to stop by the store for "more information," which I did about a month later, and came home with Delilah the normal ball python. My roommate offered to help with the feedings, one reason I decided to go for it, but of course I ended up doing 100% of everything. A few more BPs followed shortly afterward, and then I decided to delve into something non-python... Scout was the first non-python, and now I have 8 others (corns and a hognose). :)
 
I have always loved playing with anoles I found outside, and used to buy salamanders from walmart a bunch. The poor salamanders never lasted because i didn't know how to take care of them properly.

My interest in seriously keeping herps started about a year and a half ago on a family vacation to destin, florida. We went to one of the little surf shops and they were selling baby turtles. We brought home three of the little guys and i was determined to keep them alive. I did some research online and discovered these were yellow-bellied sliders. One wouldn't eat and another wouldn't swim and both died soon after. But the last was absolutely bats**t crazy with an iron will to live and still resides in an aquarium on my desk.

Turtle-turtle is his name and I love the little guy (even though he makes a good show of how much he hates me, lol). He is what got me interested in keeping pets that were not so furry as our dogs and hamsters. I can't really play with or handle a vicious attack turtle, so I went looking for things i could hold.

On a college trip, we found this nice little pet store, and of course I was instantly drawn to the reps. The girl working there was really fond of the corn snakes and let me hold one. I guess I was used to the typical pet snake being a ball python that just lies around, so it was a lovely surprise when the little corn hatchling started cruising around my arms and fingers. I absolutely fell in love, and made my goal for the next year: I would acquire one of these snakes.

I did all the research and had a viv set up months before i got one. I went to a reptile show and picked up a beautiful little male amel I named Felix. I love this little guy to death and always look forward to meeting him when I get off of work each day.

I now plan on getting a male Western Hog once Felix outgrows his 10 gallon. And if I had the time and space I would already be building a rack for a ton more. But for now I am doing my best to combat the reptile fever and be content with my little Felix.
 
I got my first corn because I visited Carol with Shiari and saw her big bubblegum snow male, and HAD TO HAVE ONE!
 
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