New owner, looking for some help please!

[nLpro]

Okay so i picked up my new friend today, hes still small only eats pinkies and i am hoping i can get some helpful information.

Setup:
-10 Gallon tank
-Jungle Earth substrate hopefully someone can tell me if it is safe for my snake, i don't really trust what petsmart said. http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/jungle_earth.php
-50w red heat lamp and of course a place for him to hide and a water dish.

I live on the west coast of canada and it gets to be fairly warm here from spring straight up til about the 1st and second week of september. The heat in the tank is at 78.9 F and humidity is at 60% just wondering if those numbers are ok or if its to dry/to humid or to hot/cold ect.
If anyone else lives in the same region as me or close by maybe they would be able to help me out with tips to keep everything optimal for Snake(havn't thought of a name yet)
Lighting? With the red lamp someone told me it could be kept on all day and night but i would prefer to get information from people who actually HAVE cornsnakes and know what they are talking about. Any help will be greatly apreciated hopefully i will have pictures of him up soon.

 

[Maize411]

Hello and welcome to the forum! Glad to hear you are seeking information..Here are the basics of what you would need to properly care for a baby corn snake

- 10 gallon or 20L gallon tank

- 2 hides (one on the warm side, one on the cool side)

- water dish

- thermometer with a probe (no stick on thermometers as these are very inaccurate)

- For heat you can either go with a UTH (under tank heater) or you could go with a red heat light or heat emitter...Many of us use UTH but it is your call and preference..If you do go with a light make sure it is a red light as red lights won't bother snakes..regular lights can confuse their day/night patterns and are also rumored to be bad for their eyes..Heat emitter you have to make sure you keep at a safe distance from your snake and make sure your snake can't get to it or else it could burn itself..UTH are a prime choice cause they go on the outside of the tank and only need a thermostat/rheostat to help control their levels (without one, the UTH can become extremely hot, extremely fast)..a rheostat wouldn't be a bad idea for the red light or heat emitter as well as it gives you control over how much power it puts out..

- as for substrate..I haven't used jungle bedding so I don't know much about it..I know a lot of members on here use aspen or repti-bark as it is easy to clean..many even use paper towels or shredded newspaper..again the choice is yours..

- ideal temps for your snake tank should be 72-76 on the cool side and 82 to 86 on the warm side

-Humidity should stay relatively low unless their getting ready to shed..ideal humidity from what I currently go by is anywhere from 30 to 40 percent..you can raise it when their preparing to shed by either putting in a humid hide (a hide you can make from almost anything and just ad some slightly moistened moss), or you could spray the tank a few times with water from a spray bottle to keep the humidity up during their shed periods..some members also just move the water bowl closer the the heat to raise the humidity..there are many different ways to go about it..ideal humidity for them while shedding I would say would be anywhere from 50 to 60 percent..

- and last but not least...don't forget..your snake has just moved into a new home and new surroundings..give your snake at least 5 days to settle in and then try to feed it 1 pinkie..do not handle the snake for at least a minimum of 48 hours after it has eaten so it can digest..so your snake should have at least 7 to 8 days before you try to handle it..(as a side note, try not to feed it in it's tank as it could be dangerous if it injests the bedding..plus feeding it in a separate area helps the snake to not think of your hand as food when you go to take it out for handling)

Hope this info has helped..best of luck to you :0)

 

[nLpro]

Thanks a lot of the input, for the red heat light that i have should i leave it on day and night or should i run it on a certain time schedule? and i think the jungle substrate is the same as repti-bark it looks the same but i may get aspen as i see it very popular.

 

[diamondlil]

The red bulb could be on a dimming thermostat to control temps

 

[nLpro]

yea it has heat control but theres no thermostat on it, i guess i will have to play it by ear and keep a close watch on temperature in the tank.

 

[Maize411]

good thing about a red light is you can leave it on day and night so that the warm side stays warm throughout the night..and the light shouldn't bother the snake

 

[Maize411]

just keep in mind about what I said involving the thermometer with a probe..the good thing about having one with a probe is that you can put the prove on the ground in the bedding where the snake is so you know what your snake is feeling when it's in that spot..stick on thermometers only tell you the ambient temp..it's best to have the probe right where the light is shining..so that you can always keep a good eye on the warm side :0)

 

[v_various]

10 gallons won't last him forever, 20 gallon long is the bare minimum and most people would suggest a larger one than that. So keep an eye out on craigslist and yard sales, second hand leaky aquariums can but found for cheap.

Aspen is the most popular bedding here. Pine, cedar, and sand are NOT ok. Anything else from astroturf to repti bark is OK.

The warm side should be mid-high 80's. If your lamp is too hot, get a table top lamp dimmer at home depo. Most people here use under tank heaters and don't use lights at all, UTHs don't bother the snake with light and are less 'drying'. He needs a warm side and a cool side, low - mid 70's is good for the cool side.

Welcome to the site!

 

[nLpro]

Yea i think i am going to go pick up some aspen and remove the jungle earth just to be on the safe side because i noticed he likes to burrow in the substrate and im just worried about the small pieces getting into his scales, also going to get him some food tonight seeing as if he were at the pet store still feeding day was yesterday so im guessing he might be hungry.

 

[nLpro]

couldn't find an option to edit my post but im going to attempt to feed him today, he may still be getting used to everything

 

[bitsy]

You were advised:

give your snake at least 5 days to settle in and then try to feed it 1 pinkie..

So you got him on 16th and you're going to feed him on 17th.

Why ask, sweetie?

 

[nLpro]

because he hasn't been fed in over a week now. and he normally eats every 4 or 5 days do they not?

 

[starsevol]

It's much better to let him settle in hungry than risk a regurg.

 

[nLpro]

sounds good to me, by the way hes about 14-15 inches long. Hes a beautiful albino white and a light orange fire red eyes