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New Corn Snake owner with a few questions.

R

rmnypt

New member
Hello, I'm new to this forum and my 8 year old Son is the proud new owner of a Lee Abbott Okeetee. I have a few beginner questions as everywhere I look online I'm getting conflicting information.

We want to be sure that we are keeping the warm end (around 1/3 of a 10 gallon tank) at the correct temp of around 85?

Also I guess I need to find out how many pinkies we need to feed him/her tomorrow and how long we need to wait before handling the snake after it eats. I have read that we should put the snake in something else to feed it but am unsure of how long we need to leave it in there or if we just put it back in it's tank after it is done eating.

And last but not least Im not quite sure of his/her age but he or she is around 13-14" long and about as big around as a pinky finger. For right now we have a temporary hide in his/her tank but would like to purchase some hides. The ones we are looking at are all on this page:

http://www.reptilesupply.com/advanc... terra&search_in_description=0&sort=3a&page=7

Without knowing how big he/she is going to get I hate to buy something that will be outgrown in the next month or two but also don't want to get something so big that the snake won't feel secure. Of the small or medium of these hides which would be the better. We do plan on upgrading the tank as we have a 30 gallon standard tank when he/she gets a little bigger but thought that it may stress the snake being that it was in a shoebox size enclosure at the reptile store where it was purchased.

Thanks so much for any advice.
 
1. Yes.

2. Put the snake in a feeding bin, offer f/t pinky with tongs. Should take it. You should wait 2-7 days after getting the snake to feed it, and 2-3 days after feeding to handle it.

3. Size is no way to tell age. Some people have snakes the size of yours that are 1-3 years old.
The more sides of a hide the snake can feel, the more secure it will feel. Toilet paper tubes work for small snakes.

Also, a corn can live it's whole life in a 20gal long tank.
 
I think that everything in the previous post was answered wonderfully however I did want to add that you can indeed pick up your snake out of the feeding tub to put back into his home. The main reason everyone advises not to handle your snake for a few days after eating is you don't want to stress out the snake. Sometimes handling them after they eat can make them vomit their food. But picking them up to put them in their tank is fine.

As far as the tank situation. A corn snake can live in a 20 gal it's whole life. Now mine are a little spoilled cause even my hatchling that are staying with me have their own 30 gals. Their mom and dad are in their 75 gals. Just make sure that you have good hides for them. Which it looks like you are. I love reptile supply and they have great customer service but anyway if you are looking for something that will last you all or if not most of the snakes life then I would go with a medium. That is what I usually give all my snakes, my babies that are the size of yours to my biggest at 4 ft love theirs.
 
Hi there and welcome. :)

85 is right at the high end of what's recommended for corns, so it's good, but I would recommend to keep it slightly lower, maybe 82, so that if you get a temperature spike, it allows some wiggle room. What are you using to control the temperature? If you're using a lamp dimmer, it is more important to keep it a little lower, because these can allow the temperature to go up if the ambient temp goes up. If using a thermostat, I believe they are fine, but staying lower allows for malfunctions.

If you have or can get a scale, you can feed your snake according to the Munson plan (just do a search here for that), which tells you how much to feed based on the snake's weight. Or you can just feed him a mouse that is 1-1.5 times his girth. Even if the Munson plan says to feed a certain item, you should double check that the item is not bigger than 1.5 times his girth. He would be fine with one pinkie for his first meal with you if you're not sure, since offering a smaller than usual meal is good anyways. If he's as big around as your pinkie finger, he would probably eat 2 pinkies or a fuzzy as his regular meal. You should wait 5-7 days after getting the snake to feed it. There are 2 ways to use the feeding bin. The first was described above, using tongs to offer after the snake is in the bin. You can also just put the mouse in the bin first and then add the snake. The feeding bin should be fairly small, just big enough for the snake and his mouse to fit. Yours would probably do well in a sandwich container sized one. Once the snake completely swallows the item (you will see him forcing it down the length of his body to his stomach), then you can put him back in his tank. It's fine to gently pick him up to do this or simply place the feeding bin in his tank and wait for him to get out.

Snakes do like a small hide to squish into, but you can buy a larger hide and put crumpled newspaper in it or stuff it with shavings until he gets bigger. The medium would fit him for quite a while, maybe forever. Two of my quite large adults (4+ feet) came with the extra-large and they are too big even for them.

While a corn can live in a 20L its whole life, there's nothing wrong with using the 30 if that's what you have.
 
Of the hides on the page you're looking at, the medium fake rock in the first row is the best. Something I've found that snakes LOVE is flat corkbark. They also love paper towel rolls. The flatter the hide, the better they like it. And babies feel more secure with lots of vines to hide in.
 
Hello again and thanks for all the quick replies. After waking up this morning I have yet another question. We installed the Zoo Med small heatmat on a tile under the tank (so that we could move it to another tank later if needed). We do have the tile up on rubber feet so the tank is actually resting on the tile (inside the lip of the tank) with the rubber feet around the tank as well for air flow per the instructions. We installed it using a lamp dimmer from Home Depot and checked all day yesterday and adjusted the temp as needed aiming for 85. Before heading off to bed it was set and staying at 84.4 but when I woke up this morning it was 88.1. I guess we are going to have to invest in some sort of thermostat so that the little guy/girl has a regulated temp and I won't worry so much. Can anyone recommend a reliable thermostat to get us started that won't break the bank. Probably no more than $40.00. We will probably upgrade to a more expensive one in the relatively near future but with 2 kids starting school and all the school fees and supplies we are on a budget.

Also how long does one have to wait to have a snake sexed to tell if it is male or female. I just hate having to refer to him/her as him/her and my Son is hesitant to name it until he knows.

Thanks Again
Becky
 
Forgot to ask about the cork bark flats. I really like the more natural look of the cork bark over the resin hides anyways but am wondering how you go about cleaning/sterilizing them or if they are just meant to be a disposable?

Thanks Again
 
I clean my cork bark but spraying it with a reptile-safe cleaner (I keep a plant spray gun filled with the solution ready to use), scrub it with an old washing-up brush, then run it under the bath tap to rinse it.

Some of mine has been lasted for years.
 
I know you said you're on a budget but if you invest $109 in a Herpstat thermostat now, you won't have to worry about getting a better one later. I love my herpstat. You set it and it stays at the temp you want it to. If the power goes out (as it's doing here every other day during thunderstorms) it goes back to what you had it set on, so you don't have to worry.
 
I love Herpstats, too, but if you absolutely can't manage one, The Bean Farm sells a stat called Alife that is decent.
 
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