Is Big Really Better?

[Bliss in Ignorance]

Hey,

Alright lets get straight to the point... I have had my Reddish Albino Cornsnake for 1 day now. Once i got the enclosure and everything set up I put him/her in there (before i forget... how can you tell the difference between a male and female?). He/Her started rubbing and pressing his/her head against the glass pretty hard (well not very hard but for his/her size it was pretty hard) anyone know why that might be? and i know your not suppose to feed them immediatly but the pet store i got him from said he was scheduled to eat the day i got him so i decided to feed him and he eat with no fuss at all. He now is hiding in 1 of 3 half coconut shells i have placed for him. He's been there the entire morning. I'm wondering if this is all normal and i should not worry or is the tank maybe to big for him? He is in a 30 gallon special made aqarium (cause it would be very bad if he got out into the main hall of the barracks... it's escape proof)... he (im guessing he is a male) is about 6-9 months old and is not very big (sorry i don't have a measurement, he got done eating and i read your suppose to leave them alone for 2 days). Could this be the problem?

Any advice good or bad is welcome (just trying to be a better owner)

P.S. When i leave Germany (in about 1 year) does anyone know if you can ship snakes over seas? Because i would very much like to take him back with me (we've already sorta bonded).

Thanks

 

[Nanci]

He's probably rubbing the sides of the cage looking for a way out. He will hopefully stop that when he figures out that's where he lives now.

After feeding, it's usual for the snake to go into hiding to digest for one to three days. You also shouldn't handle him for 48 hours after feeding.

The correct name for your snake is Amel- amelanistic means without black.

Do you have a heat source, an under tank heater (UTH) for him? His warm side should be about 85F. In a tank that big, with a small snake, I'd make sure he has lots of hides and maybe a fake vine and a climbing branch. He'll be more comfortable and confident if he feels he is always close to a hiding place. Also, it's good for him to have things to do- stuff to climb on, a nice water dish in case he wants to take a dip.

I don't know about getting him back to the US. My best guess would be arrange for a US dealer who is at a reptile show in Germany to bring him back over here for you.

Nanci

 

[Bliss in Ignorance]

Mellowed Out

Yeah,
He's mellowed out alot and is now hiding in a coconut shell that i have for him (1 of 3... 1 on cool side, 1 on warm side, 1 in the middle). He ate to 2 pinkies yesterday, but his belly doesn't look full. However, the glass of where i have my heating mat is pretty hot, but the substrate is warm (is this o.k.?). The reason im concerned is if the glass is hotter then the substrate, wont this cause problems when im trying to determine the temperature of the substrate? As i type this i'm cooking a piece of drift wood in the oven right now at 300 degrees and for 15 minutes, (something for him to do). He has a pretty big water bowl (i've seen him drink from it so it's not hard for him to access or anything, but is it possible for him to accidently drown or something?)

Thanks for all your help. (i just want the snake to be as comfortable as possible)

P.S. I guess i'll have to check out the customs for air planes site. However, i heard that people have shipped fish over seas so i'm pretty sure that i could ship a snake.

 

[tbtusk]

Well, the real question temp wise, is do you have a thermostat, or at very least a rheostat to control the tempature of the heat pad? If the substrate is warm that's good, but remember the snake will burrow down right on top of the heat pad, so you want to makle sure the heat pad doesn't make the glass so hot that the poor guy will get burnt. I generally set my heat pads for about 89-90 degrees. After testing this out a lot, it seems that keeps the substrate warm, but the glass doesn't get to hot as to burn the snake.

As for drowning, I don't think snakes will drown, although lizards will. I think your snake is fine, especially at 6 months old.

 

[Bliss in Ignorance]

That is one thing that worries me. Germans arn't very big on snakes here, like the corn i bought was concidered very exotic and the price showed it. Anyway when i was there at the pet shop, i looked all around for a thermostat and couldn't find anything... close to one. Then i realized that the heat pads they sold came in a bunch of different volts sizes (there for increasing and decreasing the amount of heat). Also when i asked a employee (my german is not very good) i got the remark of... "You have everything you need." So i believed her and i'm about to go back there in a couple days with a german speaking friend of mine and we'll get this thing straightened out.

 

[Pet Corn Snake]

Maybe is he rubbing on the side of the glass to re-place his jaw, like after they eat... Damien [My corn] Does this all the time..


Goodluck.

 

[Bliss in Ignorance]

No, he had nothing to eat before he started it. I think it was jsut because he was stressed, because he is in a huge enviroment (compared to what the pet shop had him in) and i don't think he was sure on what to do. He's better now, he's curled up on a real plant that i put in his enclosure (think he like the moist dirt that the plant is in).

 

[Randy D]

just watch the heat mat.. i have my 4 foot ghost corn in a 10 gallon at the moment cause i'm painting the back of her 55 gallon, and the 10 didn't have any substrate and the heat mat burned a couple of her scales.. then i put in cage carpet, just glad i noticed, really the better heating device is a heat lamp with a uv bulb.

 

[tbtusk]

Sorry if this is totally rude of me, but I figured I should mention this. And sorry about your poor ghost, I hope he's doing well.

Randy, is your heat mat regulated with a thermostat? i think the general consenses it a heat mat is better for corns than a heat bulb because they warm up by lying of sun-warmed objects like a road, not by basking like many lizards so it is more natural. I'm not sure about all the other ups foir a heat mat, but I know there are others. A heat mat that is regulated correctly should NEVER burn a snake, especially when there is substrate.

I don't mean to be rude or to say your wrong, I'm just saying, that a heat mat works just as well, if not better (since it also does not cause as much evaporation) as a heat lamp. You're definitely correct to watch out that your heat mat does not burn the snake if or even, to be safe, if it is not regulated.

 

[Randy D]

yes, it has a thermostat, stays around 88 degrees, but i guess that with that on constantly, and since the heat mat was made for my 55, and was put on the ten the heat was more concentrated.. but i'd definatly have to disagree that heat mats are better.. a heat lamp simulates the sun, which will warm up thing in your tank, such as the snakes hide hole.. and if we are talking about wild snakes, their heat does not come from the ground such as a heat mat simulates, they are warmed by the sun...

but now we're getting :-offtopic , so just don't reply to this post, and we'll agree to disagree.

 

[Cuddles]

However, the glass of where i have my heating mat is pretty hot, but the substrate is warm (is this o.k.?).

When you say 'warm', are you going by touch? Because what may be warm to us could be HOT to a snake.

 

[Bliss in Ignorance]

The substrate is definitly not to the point where it is to warm for the snake. I went by touch (however i used a glass stick thermometer...(i know there not very accurate, i measured the temp of the substrate a couple of times and took the average and it was in between 83 to 86 on the substrate). At least i hope it's not hot enough. I think if she was uncomfortable she would be showing signs or something, but i'm no expert. However i read something that some times snakes can't tell if there burning themselves or something of that nature.

All comments are welcomed. (good or bad)

 

[Corny Noob]

Well you need to get an accurate thermometer with a probe stat. As the pervious poster said it probally doesn't feel too bad for you, but we're warm blooded. So for the snake it might actually feel too hot.
In conjunction with the probe thermometer you need a thermostat to properly regulate the tempature so that it doesn't kill your snake.

 

[Ssthisto]

You need a thermostat and a thermometer.

Try ordering them online - I know there are plenty of UK sites and EU sites that should have no trouble shipping to Germany.

Try these guys as a start: http://www.eurorep.net/retail/