• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

New corn momma questions

B

bebopthesnake

New member
Hey all,

So I've had my corn Bebop for about three weeks now. I purchased her from a previous owner; she's about three-and-a-half years old and is very docile. She does have some little quirks though and I just want to make sure everything is going alright!

1. I just recently rearranged parts of her tank around as I added an heating pad (under the tank) that required me moving her main hiding spot as well as the heat lamp. I expected her to be unsettled by this, and I just found her trying to slither up the side of the tank to escape for the first time since I've had her. Is this something to I should worry about or is she just trying to guilt me into putting her tank back how she liked it :laugh:

2. She's usually good about me holding her, but occasionally she jerks and very quickly moves forward as if she's trying to get out of my hands. She never does so successfully and hasn't bitten or hissed at me; I'm just not sure if any other corns do this or if it's some type of stress signal?

3. (non-behavior related) She has a weird crusting over her vestigial spurs that I'm not sure corresponds with her last shed or is a sign of an infection. I've taken her to the vet and have wipes for treatment and instructions to soak her twice a week, but I was wondering if anyone else has ever dealt with this.

Phew. I have a lot of questions, sorry!
 
Most of us do not use both Heat pads and heat lamps. Corn snakes are "Not" a tropical species and do not require a lot of heat. Too much heat can be just as bad as too little. Too much heat can and will dry out the air and then you'll have humidity problems as well.

A Heat pad under the tank with a thermostat set at about 85 degrees is all you need.

Keep 1 side of the tank around 85 degrees and the other side should just be room temps. That way the snake can pick and choose for herself if she wants to cool off or warm up.
 
Thanks for the advice! I've been playing around with the heat lamp and other manners of keeping the tank warm as the lamp that came with her enclosure does not keep the tank at anything above 80 degrees. It could be possible that the lamp coupled with the heating pad is too warm for her. Would it be helpful to try and make a gradient or would I be better off just emitting one or the other?
 
Your snake spends most of her time on her belly on the bottom of the cage. If the bottom of the cage is about 85 degrees, it really doesn't matter if the air at the top of the cage is or not.

Whether you use a heat pad or a heat lamp, "Any Source of Heat" should be regulated with a thermostat. Otherwise you run the risk of getting too hot. Your measurements should be taken directly on the bottom glass (where the snake actually stays). If the air at the top of the cage is 80 degrees you can bet the temp at the bottom (where the heat is) is much higher. Some of those heat pads can hit 115 degrees or more, and a lamp actually gets hotter than the pads.

You can't go by how it "feels on your skin." You are warm blooded and have a body temp of about 98 degrees. So anything more than that will feel warm and anything cooler than that will feel cool. The only way to really know is to use a reliable thermostat and a thermometer. Don't waste your time measuring the temp of the whole tank or the air at the top. The temp directly over the heat pad on the bottom glass is what you want to measure. Leave the other side of the tank cool. That way the snake has a choice and can warm and cool itself as it needs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top