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my first post!!

C

chris21908

New member
hi everyone! this is my first question here at cornsnakes.com. Im really looking forward to learning alot from you guys!

i dont have a corn snake yet, but iv spend hours and hours doing research on them. im guna start looking aorund town for a place where they sell corn snakes and sells them for a decent price. iv heard that about $20 will be the cost for a baby. is this about right?? how much is the food? what sizes do they usually come in?

my other question is what should i first buy for my snake when i get him? do i need to buy a heat lamp for him? what type of heat lamp should i get?

thanks guys!!!

chris
 
A baby corn snake will need to start off in at least a 10 gallon tank, but you can expect to replace that within about a year. A 20 gallon is the absolute smallest tank for an adult, and even that's a bit cramped.

Most people prefer under tank heating pads, because the heat on the snake's stomach is more important for digestion than the ambient air temperature.
You can use heat lamps to help even out the temperature, but you should avoid lights that give off UV rays. Corn snakes don't need the UV rays, and they can actually be harmful to some corns.
You also need at least two hides; little caves for your snake to hide in: a water dish, substrate (the stuff you put on the bottom of the cage, which can range from aspen shavings to sheets of paper towel) and you need to find some place you purchase feeder mice from.

I suggest looking for breeders in the area. $20 For a normal seems to be a regular breeder price. You can expect to pay a bit more if you buy the snake from a pet shop.

Be sure to check out the FAQ stickied at the top of this forum. It will probably answer a lot of questions you have.
 
First thing, not to be rude, but doa little more research. It's always better to be safe than sorry, especially with live animals! Lots of those questions will be answered in the forum or books if you spend another day or 2 at least looking around. Kathy Love's Cornsnakes: The Comprehenseive Owners Guide is great for basic, and more advanced info. Just do searches on, I don't know, cage heating and stuff like that. Here's my answers, but I bet you can find them and more detailed answers in past threads.

Snake Size: It is most common to find hatchlings up to about 3 months old in pet stores and most everywhere else. These will be between 9 and 12 inches long and as thin as a pencil.

Snake Cost: Yes, for a normal hatchling $20 is about right. Amels, which are probably more common to find in petstores than normals should go for $20-$30. Most pet stores i know sell them for slightly higher than that.
I agree, a breeder is the way to go. Try and find one near you if you can or go to a reptile show.

Set up has been explained, but you MUST have a thermostat to regulate the tempature of your under tank heater, so it does not burn your new snake.

Food: Feed a new snake (assuming it's a hatchling) frozen/thawed (f/t) pinkys. The general; rule is the food should be 1-1.5 times as think as the thickest part of the snake.

I hope that helps, and have fun with your new snake when you get him. Good luck!!
 
Welcome to our addiction! I agree with the other posters that you should do a lot more research before you buy, but, hey, anticipation is half the fun. The FAQ in this forum is an excellent place to start.

I lived in the Bay Area for 25 years and found the folks at East Bay Vivarium in Berkeley to be very helpful. They have reasonable prices and are the largest reptile retailer in the US. Here's their website http://www.eastbayvivarium.com/

I always enjoyed window shopping at their store. Have fun!
 
Well I see that a lot of the beginning has already been covered, but as also said, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
The first thing I did when I joined this forum was read all of the FAQs I highly recommend them and they give you a nice crash course in Corn Snake Care :)

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=46

And if you feel that any of your questions were not answered here nor there I would suggest using the Search function. In the gray bar across the top of the board you will see it. It's always very helpful for finding multiple discussions on a certain topic. If its something you feel needs to be discussed again or gone into more depth then please don't hesitate to ask :)
 
chris21908 said:
im guna start looking aorund town for a place where they sell corn snakes and sells them for a decent price. iv heard that about $20 will be the cost for a baby. is this about right??
Click to expand...
You can usually get a normal for that price, possibly even one of the more common morphs, like anery, amel and snow. If you want to buy from a breeder, try contacting user name Emanon. He's in the Temecula Murrieta area. I got three great hatchlings from him last fall at that price.
 
$20 for ANY corn snake at a pet shop? Not around here, that's for sure.

$40 at PetCo, $59 at the local mom and pop pet shop, the big reptile store in the area, $60 minimum for any corn snake any time I've checked. Thlough for a "Reptile House" they don't have squat for corn snakes, and every time I've gone there I've been ignored so never could ask about them. Not that I would buy one at a pet store anyway.

I only buy from good breeders online or at the local reptile show.
 
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