so hello all ^_^
yes, i am new to these forums & yes, i am a new recent owner of my first reptile/snake... a lovely Fluorescent Orange breed i've named Helios after the Titan god of the sun (though i'm not 100% certain of the sex of my snake).
he has a bright orange color with very nice red spots/saddles that have white almost silver-ish outlines, a white belly, & an orange spot on his forehead that looks like wings.
don't worry, once i get some pictures that don't require a flash that flushes out the colors i'll be posting them up. ^_^
and yes, for those that would ask, i did spend hours a night for several weeks trying to research all i'd possibly need to know & what type of snake was best for beginners before i went find my first snake.
i picked up the tank, a small uth with a "dimmer", a bag of aspen substrate, & a couple different thermometers & hydrometers to mess with the settings for a few days to get use to making heating needs my snake would require to be as happy as possible. (also got 2 hides, a tip-proof water bowl, a log for climbing, & some silk leaves for decor)
after bringing home the little one, i left him alone.. only changing his water daily. a week goes by & he's still shy but at night i can hear him cruising around the tank a little (i put the cardboard box that went around the tank when i bought it around the glass sides so he feels more secure).
once or twice a day i begin placing my hand in the tank to just let him smell me & get use to me... he rarely comes out from hiding but i do it regardless.
i get his first feeding in & he eats up in under 30seconds of me dangling the pinkie without any problems.
a few days later, he lets me pick him up with a snake hook to be held for a few seconds before sliding back into the habitat & into one of the hides.
a few days after that, i feed him again.. this time he eats just as readily as the first time.
then, this pass sunday, on my birthday no less, that night while he's cruising around his tank, i went to open it up & he didn't try to hide but actually came up to my hand, slide onto it & started to crawl up on my arm but decided to go back to his home.
since that night, now he is regularly coming to me to be held & explore.. i don't even have to use the snake hook unless he's not fully awake.
i couldn't be happier that he is becoming so use to me.. it's definitely a fun experience LOL
at first, my heart would begin to race & my hands would get damp thinking Helios would bite me for one reason or another or i'd do something wrong & scare him. but the more i handle him the better i'm getting at being relaxed, breathing LOL & enjoying having my new amazing pet ^_^
during several of my long research nights, many of my questions i'd ask Google would lead me to various sites for others who'd asked the same or similar questions but once i'd decided on getting a corn snake, this site specifically was the one that kept coming up. i felt it only right to join & though i can't list all the articles, threads, & responses, i do want to thank all of you for answering many of my questions.
thank you
now that i do have my snake & we've gotten past the first few steps of getting use to one another & a few feedings done, i've built a whole new list questions i'll be posting in a different thread later... ones i haven't been able to find answers to anywhere.
any way, now that i've got my little story out there & made my introduction, i hope to learn a lot more from this site & hopefully one day help others out with their questions.
thank you all!
.... now, time for me to go cook something to eat before i head to bed LOL
later!
yes, i am new to these forums & yes, i am a new recent owner of my first reptile/snake... a lovely Fluorescent Orange breed i've named Helios after the Titan god of the sun (though i'm not 100% certain of the sex of my snake).
he has a bright orange color with very nice red spots/saddles that have white almost silver-ish outlines, a white belly, & an orange spot on his forehead that looks like wings.
don't worry, once i get some pictures that don't require a flash that flushes out the colors i'll be posting them up. ^_^
and yes, for those that would ask, i did spend hours a night for several weeks trying to research all i'd possibly need to know & what type of snake was best for beginners before i went find my first snake.
i picked up the tank, a small uth with a "dimmer", a bag of aspen substrate, & a couple different thermometers & hydrometers to mess with the settings for a few days to get use to making heating needs my snake would require to be as happy as possible. (also got 2 hides, a tip-proof water bowl, a log for climbing, & some silk leaves for decor)
after bringing home the little one, i left him alone.. only changing his water daily. a week goes by & he's still shy but at night i can hear him cruising around the tank a little (i put the cardboard box that went around the tank when i bought it around the glass sides so he feels more secure).
once or twice a day i begin placing my hand in the tank to just let him smell me & get use to me... he rarely comes out from hiding but i do it regardless.
i get his first feeding in & he eats up in under 30seconds of me dangling the pinkie without any problems.
a few days later, he lets me pick him up with a snake hook to be held for a few seconds before sliding back into the habitat & into one of the hides.
a few days after that, i feed him again.. this time he eats just as readily as the first time.
then, this pass sunday, on my birthday no less, that night while he's cruising around his tank, i went to open it up & he didn't try to hide but actually came up to my hand, slide onto it & started to crawl up on my arm but decided to go back to his home.
since that night, now he is regularly coming to me to be held & explore.. i don't even have to use the snake hook unless he's not fully awake.
i couldn't be happier that he is becoming so use to me.. it's definitely a fun experience LOL
at first, my heart would begin to race & my hands would get damp thinking Helios would bite me for one reason or another or i'd do something wrong & scare him. but the more i handle him the better i'm getting at being relaxed, breathing LOL & enjoying having my new amazing pet ^_^
during several of my long research nights, many of my questions i'd ask Google would lead me to various sites for others who'd asked the same or similar questions but once i'd decided on getting a corn snake, this site specifically was the one that kept coming up. i felt it only right to join & though i can't list all the articles, threads, & responses, i do want to thank all of you for answering many of my questions.
thank you
now that i do have my snake & we've gotten past the first few steps of getting use to one another & a few feedings done, i've built a whole new list questions i'll be posting in a different thread later... ones i haven't been able to find answers to anywhere.
any way, now that i've got my little story out there & made my introduction, i hope to learn a lot more from this site & hopefully one day help others out with their questions.
thank you all!
.... now, time for me to go cook something to eat before i head to bed LOL
later!
