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My corn snake died all of a sudden.

U

ugagal02

New member
Two weeks ago on a Sunday, I bought a baby snow corn snake from a petshop. I also bought a kit that they had including a 20 gallon aquarium, thermometer strip, heating pad, sand, lamp, and a water dish. The lady also told me I would probably need a 100 watt red bulb since I got a bigger aquarium and I also bought a hide. The snake seemed happy and seemed to take to me. He was crawling all around my fingers. I took him home and set up the aquarium. The temp on the cool side was about 77 and on the other side about 87. The lady at the store also told me I could leave the light on all the time since it was a red bulb. On Wednesday night, Romeo was fine. On Thursday when I got home from work, he was dead. My husband said he was acting kind of funny during the day by lifting up his head and slamming it into the sand. This was all new to me, so I was kind of naive. Since then, I have done a lot of reading and I think I could have made some mistakes with too high of a wattage for the bulb, using sand, and I don't know what else. I tried to do everything that I could to make the snake happy and take care of him properly. Does anyone have any ideas on why my snake died?

After that snake died, I did a whole lot more reading. I bought a motley corn snake this past Sunday and so far, he seems to be doing well. I added another hide, a ceramic tree limb, aspen bedding, another thermometer strip on the other side, a 60 watt light bulb on a timer instead of the 100 watt bulb, and another water dish so he could have one on the cool side and the warm side. The temp on the cool side seems to be at about 70 and on the warm side at about 81 during the day. At night the temp in the aquarium drops to about 69. Also, he was fed this past Saturday I think and he has not pooped or urinated yet. I plan on trying to feed him a live pinky this Saturday. Is there anything else I can do?

Thanks for any thoughts!
 
Wait, did you have the corn on actual sand? That could have been a huge problem if he ingested it. Otherwise, could have just been a sick corn. Not all hatchlings are going to make it, unfortunately.

As for the new corn, I'd personally get the temperature a little higher (a gradient of 75 to 85). I also much prefer under tank heaters to lights.

Sometimes it's hard to tell when they've gone to the bathroom, especially when they're tiny. There is NO reason you need to feed live, especially if your corn snake actively eats.
 
I'd also add to Ashley's post that you should probably let the new guy settle in for a week, with no handling, before you attempt a feed.

I've never seen or heard of them slamming their head against the substrate before, maybe someone else can shed some light on this.

Also would second that you should ideally feed frozen/thawed mice and that under tank heating is better for them than lamps, as they use belly heat for digestion and the temperature can be regulated with a thermostat.

I hope you have better luck with your new snake.
 
None of the things you have mentioned would have killed a snake in less than a week. If there was nothing else involved the snake had to have had something wrong with it before you bought it. If the snake died after you had it for four days, the pet store should take the responsibility and replace it. I think any good breeder would take that stance.

Some of the things you mentioned are not ideal but not fatal either. As mentioned, your temperatures should be from about 70 to 85. An undertank heating pad would be better than the lights. And the sand is not the best substrate, wood shavings or paper would be better. But again let me stress that lots of snakes are raised in the same conditions as yours and what you have done is not the cause of your problem.

Hang out here at CS.com and you will get lots of advice, most of it good. Read up on corns and your next experience will be much better.
 
Thanks for the input. I do have an under the tank heater. I have had the heater on there since the first snake. The sand is not actual sand. It is something ground up, I don't remember what they told me it was. It's what that pet shop uses in their snake aquariums. I now know that it is not the best stuff to use. That's why I bought some aspen bedding.

It has been hard, but I have refrained from handling the new snake.

I do plan on switching F/T mice. I was just going to give atleast the first one live to help it acclimate to it's new home since that is what they have been feeding it.

Thanks for the advice!
 
I had a pet store baby die on me years ago... It's pretty heartbreaking, I know.

I think you'll fair much better with this one. Everybody's given you great advice so far.

I just wanted to add that the lighting fine but it can tend to dry out the enclosure, so be watchful for issues come shedding time. If the shed is difficult, there's several things you can do to prevent it in the future (you don't have to get rid of the lights), such as humid hides, etc.
 
Wait a week or so with no handing and no changes to the tank, then I would try feeding f/t first, and only if he won't take it (hot, with slits in the back and brained) try feeding a live pink... but I feel I should warn you, there are some real horror stories floating around about how hatchlings dispatch live pinks. They don't constrict, that's all I'm gonna say.
 
Pepper said:
but I feel I should warn you, there are some real horror stories floating around about how hatchlings dispatch live pinks. They don't constrict, that's all I'm gonna say.
Click to expand...

That is true... the pink may "cry" the whole time it's being eaten. Eeeek.
 
You also may not realise (and sorry if you do) that it is harder to switch to f/t from live. So if you can get the new baby to eat f/t first, you will hopefully have much less trouble later. Not to mention the above two posts *gulp*
 
I would like to add something :) The sticky type of temp measureing stuff is NOT accurate at all. It is better to get a indoor/outdoor temp thingy with a probe... you place the probe at bedding level and is Much more accurate and will help you to maintain better temps. Also, is you UTH on a dimmer?? They can get Super hot! With a UTH And a bulb? Thats really hot. Normally you should use just one or the other. I wish you the best of luck with the new baby and I am sorry to hear about the first.
 
Thanks for the advice Cat Eyed Lady and everyone else. What kind of dimmer do I get for the UTH? Can I find that at WalMart?
 
I'm a little confused. Do I use a lamp dimmer for the UTH? If so, do I just plug the UTH into the dimmer and the dimmer into the outlet?
 
ugagal02 said:
I'm a little confused. Do I use a lamp dimmer for the UTH? If so, do I just plug the UTH into the dimmer and the dimmer into the outlet?
Click to expand...

Yes.

You should also get an indoor/outdoor thermometer with a probe (Wal-Mart has them for about $12). Place the probe directly on the glass (under the aspen) and take your temp from there.

I agree, the sticky thermometer is not accurate at all.

An UTH without a dimmer on it can get as hot as 120 degrees and cornsnakes are known to burrow all the way to the bottom of their substrate... and could get severely burned.
 
ugagal02 said:
I'm a little confused. Do I use a lamp dimmer for the UTH? If so, do I just plug the UTH into the dimmer and the dimmer into the outlet?
Click to expand...

Yep exactly! Then you place the prob of the digital thermometer on the hot side, and you dial the lamp dimmer until the temp levels out where you want it.
 
Also wanted to add.. the light on top of the tank is not necessary at all, but you can turn it on at night to view your snake without any problems.
 
wade said:
None of the things you have mentioned would have killed a snake in less than a week. If there was nothing else involved the snake had to have had something wrong with it before you bought it. If the snake died after you had it for four days, the pet store should take the responsibility and replace it. I think any good breeder would take that stance.
Click to expand...

BTW Wade, the pet shop did replace my first snake with my second snake. I misspoke when I said I bought the second one. They were very nice about it and gave me no problems.

Does anyone have any ideas about the first snake slamming his head into the substrate? I did not actually witness that, my husband saw it. He does not know anything about snakes either and did not understand at the time what the snake was doing?
 
Overheating can cause neurological damage and could explain the bizarre behaviour. If the tank was too hot overall and he couldn't get to a cool enough temperature zone, then that could kill a hatchling in a very short space of time.

Sorry you've had such a rocky start - the advice above about the UTH & dimmer is great. I'd leave the light off once you have the temp at the warm end correct. And I also agree that you need a good quality thermometer. My nephew has a cheap dial-type one that reads 75, even when the UTH is at 85 (checked with my digital thermometer whenever I visit). I'd say that overheating is more dangerous than being slightly too cool.

Good luck - and welcome!
 
Nothing new to add really...

My first thought with the original description was that the tank was too hot & the snake either overheated and/or became too dehydrated.

Follow the advice you are getting on here & the new one should be just fine!

I like using an infra red temperature gun. A basic one runs around $25; I got mine online.
 
Well said, Cat Eyed Lady.

Sticky tape strip thermometers measure the temperature of the glass. If you had 90 degree air on one side of the glass and 70 degree air on the other, assuming the temp is uniform throughout the whole piece of glass and the glass is not receiving heat from another source, the temp of the glass will be approximately 80 degrees. The glass is receiving the heat of the 90 deg air and giving heat to the 70 deg air. Glass is also a good conductor of heat. The glass will somewhat average out the heat of the hot side and the cold side.

They are designed to measure the temperature of water in an aquarium. Water is a better conductor of heat than air and also has a much higher BTU (amount of heat per temperature). Glass will easily have as much heat as the water on the inside than it would the ambient air on the outside.

Also, pet store snakes often have mites. It is a good idea to quarantine new snakes from others and always sterilize everything before adding a new snake to an old viv.
 
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