Newbie!!!

[ssmith_1187]

OK……I’ve read Kathy and Bill Love’s Corn Snakes The Comprehensive Owner’s Guide and Pjilippe de Vosjoli’s The Art of Keeping Snakes.

I just purchased the following:

All-Glass 29 gallon Critter Cage
Exo-Terra Heat Wave 16 Watt Under the Tank Heater
Exo-Terra Water Dish
Habba Hut Half Log Shelter (Large)
T-Rex Grapevine
Fluker’s Clamp Light
Fluker’s Terrarium Thermometer ("Cool" side) & Hygrometer
T-Rex Reptile Habitat Thermometer ("Warm" side)
Zoo-Med 75 Watt Basking Spot Light
Aspen Substrate

Everything has been cleaned with a mild bleach solution.

My plan is to get everything set up and make sure I can establish and maintain a "Cool" side temperature of 75-78 degrees and a "Warm" side temperature of 85-90 degrees for 1 to 2 weeks before purchasing my snake..

The only thing missing (I think) is my corn snake.

I prefer to purchase a juvenile, as the size of the enclosure would be a too large for a hatchling.

Can you please offer some advice for a first time snake owner? What am I overlooking?

Thank you in advance.

Regards,
Steve

 

[Penman6668]

Welcome to the site!!!!!!!! There is a lot of information here. Be sure to read the FAQ section in the forums. They answer a lot of questions.
There are a lot of great people here. Everybody is always willing to help.

You should look for cage clips.

You do not need to have a heat lamp and under the tank heater.

Also maybe another hide so you have one on each side. (hot and cold)

 

[Penman6668]

I forgot:

I am glad to see that you are doing research before you get the snake.

 

[Tula_Montage]

Your temps are a little high. The cool side is perfect at mid 70's whilst the warm end needs to be between 80 - 86.

90 will cook your corn

Just a heads up before you get the animal

And as penman said, only a UTH is needed and hides at either end of the tank will give your snake the choice of where it wants to hide at the cool end or warm end.

 

[ssmith_1187]

Thank you for the advice thus far.

I started taking my temperature/humidity readings by placing my digital thermometer/hygrometer directly in the cage.

I think a long time under the "Warm" side hide might be a little problematic. Any suggestions on cooling things down a bit? As I stated earlier I am using an Exo-Terra Heat Wave 16 Watt Under the Tank Heater, I currently have the heater duct taped in place.

Date Time Temp. Humidity Notes

7/30/2006 3:43 PM 75.0 54% START
7/30/2006 4:20 PM 75.0 54% "Cool" Side
7/30/2006 5:06 PM 79.1 54% "Warm" Side - w/o the Hide
7/30/2006 5:22 PM 81.5 55% "Warm" Side - Under Hind
7/30/2006 6:22 PM 84.5 55% "Warm" Side - Under Hind
7/30/2006 8:08 PM 85.8 50% "Warm" Side - Under Hind
7/30/2006 9:45 PM 87.6 49% "Warm" Side - Under Hind
7/31/2006 5:58 AM 88.7 44% "Warm" Side - Under Hind
7/31/2006 12:20 PM 75.7 56% "Cool" Side

Regards,
Steve

 

[rain_man]

I think that you should get a thermostat or rheostat for the uth. It will help keep the temps down on the hot side. or you can do what i did at the begining and put raise the tank an inch or two above the heat pad.

there is a great thread about making a cheap and effective rheostat for under $7

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19168&highlight=rheostat

peace,

 

[Hypancistrus]

You should look for cage clips.

Critter cages are self-locking- no external clips required.

 

[gwb8568]

i just wanted to congratulate you on your upcoming first corn...........but mainly to thank you for reading up and studying the various topics you need to undretand the "housing" of snakes. i will let the experts respond about the temps, humidity, hides, etc............i just wanted you to know that what you did is actually done by maybe 1 in 10 of all new snake owners.

 

[ssmith_1187]

Thank you all for the advice and encouragement.

Rain Man, I followed the link you provided and built the rheostat with the built in plugs. It took about 20 minutes to build and I think that was the ticket.

I checked this morning and my “warm” side hide temperature was 84.7 degrees.

I’m going to keep checking “cool” side, “warm” side temperatures over the next few days, just to verify that I have things dialed in.

Now I just need to find a nice juvenile corn, any recommendations

Thanks again!!!

Regards,
Steve

 

[Flagg]

I personally prefer using thermostats, as the rheostat doesn't account for fluctuations in room temperature and must be checked a LOT more frequently. The thermostats I set once and don't really have to worry about them again. Of course I still keep an eye on the temps.

Another thing about checking warm side temps, you might want to put the thermometer probe on the glass directly over the UTH as while the temp may be good on top of the substrate it might be a lot hotter on the glass where the corn could burrow down to. If you don't have a theermometer with a probe then get one. WalMart has indoor outdoor digital thermometers for $8 and up. Best bet is one with a dual display, put the probe on the glass over the UTH and the thermometer on the substrate on the cool side and you can check both hot and cool side temps with a glance. Even better is the one with 2 temps AND humidity all on display at once.

 

[ssmith_1187]

Flagg,

Thanks for the advice. Fortunately, where I have the enclosure situated, it on the lower level and in the interior part of the house away from windows and drafts and the temperature has been fairly constant.

However, should I run into a problem, the thermostat will be next on my list.

Thanks again.

Regards,
Steve