One Step At A Time

[Trinity]

Greetings Cornsnake Geniuses, I come in peace. I'm getting my first reptile, a cornsnake obviously, within the next week when the petstore's shipment comes in. I have a 20 gallon tank with slide-on lid and claps, Repti-Bark, waterbowl, water conditioner, half of a hollow log, thermometer, side-tank stick heat pad. Now for my millions of questions I forgot to ask the petstore expert:
Do I need Aspen substrate?
Do I need anything else to add humidity?
Should I use the water conditioner?
Which side should I put the thermometer on?
Which side should I put the log on?
Do I need an under-tank heating pad?
How do you tell when the mouse has defrosted?
Do I need to feed it in a seperate tank?

I would appreciate any information and advice you have. Thank you :bowdown:

 

[oldhand]

Reptibark is good (i think) but most people do prefer aspen as it's cheap and easy to work with. Humidity wise i leave mine at room levels and don't have a problem with sheds, but i'm from the UK and some dry places in the US and other countrys may need the viv's to be sprayed, but i'll let the people stateside let you know about that.

I don't use a water conditioner, but do (1 in 4 water changes) use a addative to aid in stimulation and appitite, but this isn't a necesaty, i had a snake that did't eat for way to long before i got her and for 2 monthes after i got her, she eats fine now but i like to use this as a little security. The thermomitor needs to go on the warm side ensuring the top of the substrate is around 80-84 f and the cool side is at room temp.

Hide wise (the log) you need at least 2, 1 for the warm side and 1 for the cool side, but a third is welcomed to go half on and half off the heatmat in the middle of the viv.

Mice defrost quick, if using warm tap water (with the mouse in a bag) i leave them for around 10 mins then turn them over (yes they float) and leave for another 5 mins then feed them. If being left to defrost naturally then i leave min out (again in a bag) for about 2 hours, then remove from the bag and leave another hour or so depending on the size of the mouse. I recomend feeding in a seperate viv/box/whatever to avoid an substrate ingestion.


Welcome to the forum, and congrats on choosing probabley the best snake out their, ENJOY.

 

[MegF.]

Be cautious with your water. My county started using chloramines instead of chlorine in the water and that's fatal to fish and reptiles. I've always used my water from the triple osmosis unit for all my animals. We have a very high mineral and who knows what content in the water here. The only time I increase humidity is when they are preparing to shed. Then I mist the viv in the mornings until they shed, and I live in an arid area.

 

[Lennycorn]

Sorry for busting in in your thread but wanted to know.....

" I don't use a water conditioner, but do (1 in 4 water changes) use a addative to aid in stimulation and appitite, but this isn't a necesaty"

Hey oldhand,

What kind of additive do you use and what stimulations have you seen improve on you snakes. Just wondering.

 

[oldhand]

Lennycorn i use Exo-Terra Electrolize which:-

• Restores and maintains electrolyte levels
• Speeds up recovery from stress situations
• Helps in hydrating new animals
• Stimulates appetite, activity and normal behaviour
• Strengthens the immune system

Full ingredients are:-

Dextrose, Potassium chloride, Magnesium chloride, Calcium chloride, Sodium chloride, Sodium Benzoate, Alfalfa.

I used it initially as an appetite stimulant for my snake who wasn't eating, it took a while (around 4-6 weeks) of me having her, but she has never looked back, i just use it now as a "top up" to help keep things ticking over. Here's the link of where i purchased it http://www.livefoods.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=499

The snake in question hadn't eaten for nearly 4 months before i got her, and took her on as a problem feeder.

 

[oldhand]

Forgot to say, she now eats regularly, but still misses the odd meal (about 1 in 9-10 meals), so i think that the benefits speak for themselves, also her (and my other snakes) are a little more active now at night, which also improves appetite and general happiness.

 

[CornCrazy]

Trinity...I would like to make a recommendation to you. Avoid getting a snake from a pet store. Typically they do not have quality snakes. Pet stores buy cheap snakes from wholesale places (for the most part, anyway). Typically they have been culled from the "cream of the crop" and sold cheaply. Since you live in Chicago, I would recommend that you contact Hurley and Serpwidgets (both members on this forum) and see what they have available. You would be guaranteed of getting a quality snake then. They also have more morphs to choose from. Of course, you would have to have a parent actually buy the snake, though.

 

[Trinity]

Wow thanks guys this is awsome. One last thing though, now that you brought up pet store quality: Where she I get my mice? Do I need anymore supplements like calcium?

 

[MegF.]

Cornsnakes in general do not need calcium supplements. Sometimes breeders will supplement their females who are laying to help provide extra for egg production. There are a lot of suppliers of mice online. My petstore gets them in for me, so I'm fortunate in that. Terri is right about most petstores, but not all. I know my local petstore used to purchase a lot of Stephen's (a forum member also) normal, snows and amels. So they are good quality snakes, just the basic morphs. My petstore also seems to be more knowledgable about snake care as well. They usually are overpriced though. I bought my first snake from a reptile store at a reptile show. He's been awesome. My subsequent purchases have been from breeders, Stephen being one of them.