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Many questions (Corn & King snakes)

A

Anon

New member
Hello, I've did the search on good substrates for Corns and I just wanted to know if the Aspen shavings are the same as the ones used for gerbils/rodents? My brother has a King snake and he uses reptile bark, is this ok? Should he be misting the cage with water, or is that only when the snake is about to shed? The snake also doesn't like to be picked up, most the time he'll strike at you if you try, I'm thinking it's because it wasn't held enough when it was younger (although it is still young and not fully grown) and he feeds it in the aquarium it lives in. I told him he sould give it a different feeding area and attempt to hold it more... if he does this, will the snake eventually become more friendly? (I know this is a Corn board but I heard that the two snakes were similar)

My friend also bought a Kingsnake last week and she is currently using sand (the people at the store said it was alright to use) Should she change to Aspen as well?

Sometime this month I am hopefully going to be getting a Corn snake, I saw one at the petstore and the girl said it was a Butterfly Corn Snake, is the 'butterfly' part reffering to it's pattern or color? (It was red &white and had red eyes) Also it's still a baby, is it alright to keep it in a 10gl tank until it gets bigger or should I use something smaller?
 
I assume they meant butter corn which is a color morph. A 10 gal tank is fine. Sand is bad. Corns and Kings are very similar in all respects. Repeated gentle handling will usually calm a snake down. Aspen is aspen. Did I cover it all? :grin01: :cheers:
 
What about misting? Are you supposed to do that everyday or only when shedding time comes? And do I need a heat lamp to get humidity? All I have is a heating pad. Thanks for the help! :cheers:
 
Depending on how the humidity in the cage is without misting will determine whether you need it or not. A little misting right when they go into blue-phase probably wouldn't hurt. Just make sure not to soak the entire viv down. Kings and corns are not high-humidity animals. Heat lamps kind of contradict misting. Even if you do mist, a heat lamp will probably dry it out within a few minutes. The heat pad you're using is just fine alone. Corns and kings aren't really high temp animals either, and a heat pad will allow the snake to thermoregulate (choose its own temp) by giving the choice between a cool spot and a hot spot.

Aspen is an all around great substrate, and can be used for a bunch of different species, not just corns and kings. I think the only difference between rodent aspen and reptile aspen is the price. Anthing with reptile designation in the name seems to add a couple $. Sand = BAD.

From what you described, the corn you saw at the pet shop was probably an amel (albino). I'm not sure where the shop got the butterfly term from, but some shops will tag any name onto an animal just to help it sell.

Kinsnakes normally have a reputaion for bad temperments. There aren't very many kings that won't strike at one time or another... but yes, constant handling will proove to the snake that there is nothing to fear or become defensive about when it comes to handling. It just takes time and patience, like when you house-train a puppy.

Welcome to the forums! I hope we answered your questions. :)
 
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Thanks guys, the help is much appreciated.

(You were right, My friend misread and told me the tank said 'Butterfly,' But I went back again today and and saw it was only 'Butter Corn') :rolleyes:

I have a question about the Butter Corn snakes: are they always yellow/carmel in color? Because the ones at the shop did look more like the Amel snakes..
 
Well, check photos. Butter Corns are yellow-ish.
Sometimes shops label corns improperly - they just call them the way breeder they bought the snakes from did. So if you aren't sure whether this one is real Butter - post photo here or just check google for Butter Corns photos and compare them to this in shop.
 
I've seen many butter hatchlings that look like amels. Some times it takes a while for the yellow to "kick" in :cheers:
 
mbdorfer said:
Hey! My snakes heard that! :grin01:
Click to expand...

LOL Don't worry Mike, so did Nigritus, and I'm sure that little black ******* will just be waiting for that one second I'm not 100% attentive... :grin01:
 
Jynx said:
LOL Don't worry Mike, so did Nigritus, and I'm sure that little black ******* will just be waiting for that one second I'm not 100% attentive... :grin01:
Click to expand...

Jynx, :rolleyes: please tell me your not talking about a sweet little black mexican king?
(or is it Mexican Black Kingsnake? -- I always get that confused)

:) those are some of the sweetest kings you could ever run across...
BUT now those evil :dgrin: blk/wh banded cal-kings!
that's another story all together...

:grin01: E-V-I-L!!!!
 
I compared some pics on the web to the snake at the shop and I found pics of both baby Amels and Butters that looked similar to the ones in the shop.. so I'm still unsure, but here is a pic of a snake I found by typing 'Butter Corn Hatchling' into Google search: http://ultimatecornsnakes.com/images/DSC01933.JPG I think the coloring is like this, except for the patterns. Anyways, once I get the snake I'll take pics of it and you can see for yourself, I'll be sure to ask the people at the shop alot of questions about it as well..

Also- is it ok to use branches and rocks from outside to put in the tank?
 
something else just crossed my mind also....
Not to make this any harder on you but I wonder if the snake you are interested in could be a creamsicle ?
see if they have any idea of what the parents were, creamsicles are actually a common hybrid between corns and emoryi (great plains ratsnakes).
do a search for those also Anon...
that way you can compare and question the folks there at the petstore...

just a thought...
 
I suppose Creamsicle is also possible lol, I'll be sure to ask about the parents too. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be coming home with my very own corn snake, (what ever it may be) But in the meantime, I'd appreciate it if you guys would take a look at my setup and give any suggestions or tell me if I'm missing something. The heating tape is already attached to the bottom.. (there's nothing between it and the glass- it wont get too hot will it?)

tank2.gif


tank.gif
 
MastersHaven said:
Jynx, :rolleyes: please tell me your not talking about a sweet little black mexican king?
(or is it Mexican Black Kingsnake? -- I always get that confused)

:) those are some of the sweetest kings you could ever run across...
Click to expand...

That he is (MBK)! He is a sweetheart most of the time, but he still has his moments. As much as I hate stereotypes, a king is a king is a king... I love him to death though! :D

Anon, that looks pretty good! Looks like you have a hide over the heating element and one on the cool side too right? Then you're perfect!. Since you're most likely going to be getting a baby, you want to make sure it feels secure, no matter how warm or cool it wants to be. Good luck with your little guy (or girl!). Make sure you post pics when you get it! :)
 
So, I went back to the petstore today and had a lady help me out.. there were three snakes labeled Albino-Butter Corns all of which she said weren't ready to sell because they haven't been eating. There was one other snake labeled Butterball Corn :shrugs: I asked if it would get yellow as it gets older but she said it would maintain it's current orange/white color.. She didn't seem to know much about the snakes so I'm a little apprehensive about buying from there and I don't know any other places that sell Corns- so now I'm actually thinking about buying online (never bought a live animal over the internet before.) The Corn at the store would have cost me around $60, would it be much more expensive to buy online (including shipping?) I'm a little dissapointed I really want my Corn this instant! :cry: But I suppose it is better to wait and buy from someone who has experience with Corns. :)
 
I know it's hard to wait for your new baby! I'm holding out for the MARS show in MD this September and it's killing me!! I'd suggest doing a search or posting here to see if anyone knows about any shows in your area. You can usually find out the vendor list before and do some research to make sure you are buying from a reputable breeder AND you can save tons of money on housing, food, UTHs and other such things. My first creamsicle I bough for $17 as a week old hatchling (lucky for me she ate two days later), but I did my research this time and I'm holding out for Serpenco who's going to the MARS show. We're lucky in the MD, VA, DC area to have regular monthly shows (small scale) and the MARS show once a year as well as a myriad of others. I'd try doing a google search for reptile shows with your state in the field to see what may be around.

Also, on the pics of your viv I didn't notice a thermometer, unless it was that red tape on the wall. I'd highly suggest a digital thermometer, easy to find in the outdoor/thermomter section of Walmart. You can get one that measures two temps (hot and cold side) with a probe and also humidity (which could be important during shed times). Good luck!!
 
Thanks Wendy, I'll be getting a thermometer sometime soon.

I live in WA state. I did a search for any shows in my area and found something in Puyallup but that's all the way at the end of October, that's like two years away! *twiddles thumbs and waits* (I don't know how long I can hold out)

At least I can say I did more research on Corns and now I think I know what I want- Either a Butter or a Sunglow, I really like the all (or mostly) orange or yellow snakes. I also saw some cool Stripped Amelanistic ones.. and Amber stripes are awesome, though snows are pretty too, and-*rambles on*.

Well, whatever I don't get this time, I'll get next time (as my 2nd snake hehe). Well anyways, can someone tell me how long it takes for a Corn to get big? I told my mom I'd be out of the house by the time it gets too big lol. I'm 18 so hopefully I'll be out on my own soon, then I can get as many snakes as I want! (or can afford!) And no one can STOP ME! BWHAHAHAHAHAHA!
 
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