New from Indiana

[CodeRed]

Hello, I'm a completely new person to the world of reptiles , but I do believe I will be one who sticks around for quite awhile. I got my first corn snake about a month ago, but the pet shop didn't quite alert me to the fact that my new snake was COVERED in mites. He was a normal coloring, so the mites were hard to see, and by the time I spotted them, he was very weak. We lost him a week later, to my bitter disappointment. Only 3 weeks and I'd grown very attached to him. He was named Loki, by the way.

So, I reacquainted myself with an old book from the library dealing with reptiles, and I do believe I'm much more prepared to handle a snake, and I regret that I didn't start out too well. About three weeks ago I got an albino corn snake from a local breeder, and so far, Ariston has been doing wonderfully. He (or she, as I haven't had it sexed yet, and won't until it's at least a year), has eaten both times I've offered, and he is now going into his first shed (at least, his first with me!) I was a little concerned at how little he moved (even though his tank is covered in hides and greenery), but I've been reassured that young are somewhat hidey, it's not that rare to find them hidden.

So, now that I've bored you all with such things, I'll show a quick picture of my new baby. First was him BEFORE he shed, and the second is of him right now, just entering shed

And his home, which for some reason my camera tilted, and it looks a bit ridiculous. It's a 29 gallon, which will hold him for quite some time, until I'll relocate him into a 55 Gallon I have. Hopefully he'll enjoy it there. Also, his water bowl IS on the warm side, to hopefully raise humidity. Right now, today, I do not have a spray for him, which I'm hitting myself on the head for. So, I'm hoping the water bowl will help for the moment, until I can get the spray tomorrow. What do you guys think? Every single dollar I make goes into his cage, so I'm hoping he likes it.

Sorry for the multiple pictures, I want you all to see him exactly as he is right away, so you can tell me if I'm doing ANYTHING wrong. I've already lost one friend, I do not want to lose another.

 

[medusacoils]

I think it's great to have a new member! Welcome to them forum and thanks for the pics. Thats a beautiful Amel that you have. I'm so sorry that you started off, by having to go through a mite infestation. That's terrible!

Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to give you a little advice. First off, I think your set up is great. It has good substrate, lots of things for the snake to do and hide under. I will suggest that you move the water dish on the cool side of the viv. I wouldn't worry a whole lot about the humidity of the tank. Actually low humidity is good, except during the shedding cycle. When you notice that the little one is going to shed, then spritzing with water or making a wet hide is recommended.

Also, I was wondering if the dial thermometer is the only device you use to measure temperature? If it is, then your temps could be off a bit. I would go to Petco or something and get a nice one for under 10$ and measure the temp of the UTH, right on top of the glass (under the substrate).

Here is the thermometer;
http://www.petco.com/product/106227/Zoo-Med-Digital-Thermometer.aspx

Well, I hope I didn't scare you off by throwing so much at you at once?!?! I really think you have a beautiful snake and I'm glad to have you as a part of our community!

Good Luck and if you have any questions, please ask!

Wayne

 

[Dinah]

Hi and welcome to the forum, I'm pretty new here also. My daughter has wanted a corn snake for several years and at the end of the month she will finally be old enough to get one. She has been preparing almost all year getting the things she needs and her and I have been reading and learning as much as we can. I think your tank is lovely and your snake is adorable. I don't really know enough to offer any advice, but I wanted to wish you the best of luck in terms of the health of your new friend, and of course I wanted to say welcome.:wavey:

 

[CodeRed]

No, no! Thank you! This is what I'm here for! Any help, any at all, is greatly appreciated. I learned the hard way that there is no such thing as too much help I will move the water to the cooler side tonight. And that is the only thing I have in temperature wise, so I'll be sure to pick up another one, hopefully that'll be more accurate. Once again, thank you. As a newbie to the reptile universe, I can never get too much help.

 

[CodeRed]

It appears I replied a bit too late, so I'll say thank you to you as well, and good luck with yours, too! I'm not seeing that I can edit a post, so hopefully I'm not breaking any rules here. If I am, I'm sorry

 

[Aislin]

I feel some of your pain...I bought my (okay my son's...I'm going to have get one of my own now) snow corn and found out later that week it had mites. Luckily? for us he is so pale that the black marks and the moving mites around his face were really obvious. ( I am also new to reptiles)

I am so sorry for your loss (its so easy to get attached) but I see you have yourself a gorgeous looking corn. Congrats on the new baby and welcome.

 

[salvadorian]

Hello! I'm from Indiana as well - down south, here in the wonderful college town of Bloomington! Where are you from?
I've also got a little amel, and I'd be willing to help you out with local vets and supplies whenever you need me!

 

[JeniDB]

@ medusacoils - I've been meaning to buy a thermometer for my little ones for awhile, and I keep putting it off (I'm the worlds worst procrastinator.. hah) but I finally just bought two of those ones you linked. One for myself, and one for my bestie who just got her first corn. =]

 

[CodeRed]

I'm actually from Elkhart, waay up north. We're become somewhat famous, and not really in a good way -.-. My brother's in Bloomington, though! Right now he's at a community college, but he's aiming to get into IU next year
I'm going tonight to get the thermometer tonight, so I hope that helps. It's FREEZING here right now, but his tank is still in the upper 70s, low 80s. I also need a thermostat to make sure it goes higher as Winter closes its jaws on us. Unfortunately, only one pet store around here carries that, and they're the ones that sold me the sick snake ): I guess that as long as it's not something alive, we can trust them ^-^
Thank you everyone for such a warm welcome! I can honestly say that I didn't really expect it The past forums I've been to usually just ignores the new members. So once again, thank you.

 

[CodeRed]

Well, here is a quick picture of him after his shed He shed last night while I was sleeping, and it came off in one entire piece. I was thrilled

I can pretty much say that he was no where near this pretty when I first got him, so I'm so excited to see how beautiful he really is. His red/red-orange is so much darker now

 

[wstphal]

Welcome to an addicting hobby & a great forum. I've only been here since October but I love the forum. I've only owned corn snakes for a few months but I am up to 3 so far & will be getting more!

Your little one looks great. The orange is coming in nicely. Judging from progression threads, corn snakes change a lot in coloring in their first year of life. It's pretty neat.