Hi all,
I'm new to the forums and a surprise snake owner. My husband found a baby garter snake while doing yard work and the kids, 4 and 6 year old girls, fell in love. After doing research we decided it probably wasn't best to keep a wild snake, even a little one, and we talked about getting a corn snake instead. Hubby was set on a baby. I owned a King snake, but it was 20 years ago. Still, I knew something of what we were getting into. I did some research and found that it was the wrong time of year for a baby corn, so we talked to the girls about getting one for their birthday (both in October). I started scoping out tanks on Craigslist, figuring we could start acquiring slowly. I wanted to make sure that it wasn't just the "cuteness" factor of a baby snake and that they wouldn't be afraid of an adult snake, so we took them to the local reptile expo that was here on Saturday. I wasn't expecting to see a lot of (or any) corns but I wanted them exposed to larger snakes. They both held a sand boa (not that big, I know) and loved it. They also pet an alligator, a blue tongued skink, a chameleon, a bearded dragon, held a gecko, and had a great time. Hubby went on ahead of us and found a breeder that had some yearling corns. They were billed as Okeetee phase, but they looked more like a typical "normal" to me. He found a male that he really liked and, when we handled the snake, he was very friendly, willing to be handled, and generally a great personality. He's about 22 inches long so bigger than a hatchling, which I am VERY happy about with two kids in the mix.
So....we made the plunge and brought Patch home with us. We didn't have anything yet so we bought our whole setup there. We have made the mistake of handling him right away, but it doesn't seem to have affected him much. He's very willing to be handled, he comes out and explores, etc.
I do need to make a modification to our heat setup (Ultratherm UTH), we don't have a thermostat or rheostat yet, but we are keeping a CLOSE eye on the temperature. Right now it's around 83-85 degrees. I haven't fed him yet, but the breeder said he is a great eater. I am waiting another few days for that.
Here's our little guy:
I'm new to the forums and a surprise snake owner. My husband found a baby garter snake while doing yard work and the kids, 4 and 6 year old girls, fell in love. After doing research we decided it probably wasn't best to keep a wild snake, even a little one, and we talked about getting a corn snake instead. Hubby was set on a baby. I owned a King snake, but it was 20 years ago. Still, I knew something of what we were getting into. I did some research and found that it was the wrong time of year for a baby corn, so we talked to the girls about getting one for their birthday (both in October). I started scoping out tanks on Craigslist, figuring we could start acquiring slowly. I wanted to make sure that it wasn't just the "cuteness" factor of a baby snake and that they wouldn't be afraid of an adult snake, so we took them to the local reptile expo that was here on Saturday. I wasn't expecting to see a lot of (or any) corns but I wanted them exposed to larger snakes. They both held a sand boa (not that big, I know) and loved it. They also pet an alligator, a blue tongued skink, a chameleon, a bearded dragon, held a gecko, and had a great time. Hubby went on ahead of us and found a breeder that had some yearling corns. They were billed as Okeetee phase, but they looked more like a typical "normal" to me. He found a male that he really liked and, when we handled the snake, he was very friendly, willing to be handled, and generally a great personality. He's about 22 inches long so bigger than a hatchling, which I am VERY happy about with two kids in the mix.
So....we made the plunge and brought Patch home with us. We didn't have anything yet so we bought our whole setup there. We have made the mistake of handling him right away, but it doesn't seem to have affected him much. He's very willing to be handled, he comes out and explores, etc.
I do need to make a modification to our heat setup (Ultratherm UTH), we don't have a thermostat or rheostat yet, but we are keeping a CLOSE eye on the temperature. Right now it's around 83-85 degrees. I haven't fed him yet, but the breeder said he is a great eater. I am waiting another few days for that.
Here's our little guy:
