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Parent's Concerns

ArchCarlos

ArchCarlos

New member
Hello I'm Carlos' mother. I am concern on how dangerous corn snakes are? I don't think that its healthy to keep the snake in his room because I believe they have germs or some bacteria through their body and for him to be infect by it.
 
Please respond back and leave me your thoughts and opinions. Also some information for me to read and look for myself.
 
Humans and reptiles are different species, and cannot share illnesses :) the only "concern" would be a low risk for salmonella, through their feces. But that is if it comes in contact with someone's mouth and if and ONLY if the feces have salmonella. With proper handling and hand-washing, it is a very low concern. Breeders have had corns for many, many years without EVER having this issue.
You are more likely to get sick from touching raw chicken that you make for dinner, or eating the yummy raw cookie dough than from snakes - if you do either of those things.
 
Dear Carlos' Mom,
I think that it's great that you are entertaining the idea of a snake for your son no matter if you end up with him having one or not. I know that my mother was none too thrilled herself when I first told her that I hoped to get one. Now, though, she reports back to me if she she's my girl out and about. As long as Carlos washes his hands regularly after handling his snake and doesn't do anything like eat while handling his snake he should be fine.
He will also have to make an effort to promptly clean up after his snake, and this only becomes more important as the snake ages. They make bigger messes when they grow up. You'll be able to learn a lot of helpful information from this forum, Don Soderberg's book on corn snakes, or by reading a book by Kathy Love. Feel free to ask us any questions you'd like to and we'll be happy to answer. Hope that you're doing well.
 
Hello! Thank you for having an open mind and seeking information! Information is amazing! Your son is asking lots of questions about to take the very best care possible of a corn snake. I am a mother myself, and I impressed with his interest not only in how cool it would be to have a snake, but how to make sure the snake is healthy and happy.

As NH93 said, the concern with germs is really very low, and if you are concerned you can keep a bottle of hand sanitizer next to the snakes enclosure. That would basically eliminate any risk as far as germs are concerned. As for the snake itself being dangerous, they are much less dangerous than your common dog or cat. Corn snakes are very unlikely to bite a human. The most common reason for a corn snake to bite is because it's a baby, and it is scared, in which case all that you need to do is be patient and let your snake get used to you. Even if a corn snake were to bite, which is extremely unlikely, it probably won't break the skin. If the skin is broken, the bite is likely to look like you were poked with a pin or two (I've never been bitten, I've only seen pictures). All you would need to do is wash the bite like you would any other minor ouchie. A corn snake bite is less damaging than a cat scratch.
 
I have 33 snakes, a lizard, and the dog in my room. Like everyone above said, the one and only thing that even could be a possible concern is salmonella. Honestly, as long as hands are washed after handling the snake, there is little to no risk at all. I spot clean all my caging weekly and don't have gloves for it, I just wash with soap or sanitizer after each cage. If I ever have kids, I already know which of my snakes are living in their room!
 
You have an amazing son. He has done more due diligence than most adult pet owners. I have done a total of 4 snake rescues from owners that didn't know what they were doing, they bought a snake on impulse, didn't know how to care for it and got tired of it. Every one of them was older than your son. Your son has gotten some of the best information here, and I agree with Obboi34, get the two books recommended and read them.

Corns make wonderful, fun, interesting pets. They are so much less work than a dog or cat, and take up so little space. I have 6 cats and 5 corns, and I have so many scars from the cats and none from the corns! I have been bitten twice by one of my corns, once because he smelled mouse on my hands (I had just handled his dinner, thawing it out) but it was just a bump, no blood drawn. The second time was because I was rearranging the plate with his dinner on it and he thought I was stealing his dinner. It looked like I had pricked my finger with a pin, but less blood. Both my own dumb fault. My cats carry more germs and possible diseases that I could contract than my snakes.

We have all enjoyed your son's posts here, I hope this thread and the books help you make your decision. For him to have you come here and post shows his maturity, and that he is capable of caring for a corn snake. If you do let him get a corn, please come back and post how YOU like having a corn yourself!

Good luck, and enjoy!
 
Thanks everyone for giving my mom some good points and advice about our friendly slithers. I hope it change her thoughts about them and lets me get one of my own soon ^^!!!
 
Everyone else gave great info on your original question. I want to add a visual for the size of an adult corn, just in case that is a concern. They get to be about as big around as a golf ball, about as long as a golf club (maybe a tiny bit longer) & weigh less than 3 lbs :)
 
Thank you for your concern. I ended up on this group because my then 7 yr old wanted a snake. We adopted an adult corn soon after.

They really are wonderful pets. I was nervous, too and did a lot of research and made sure my daughter had as well. A few months ago, we adopted our 2nd snake, a ball python.

I will also add that my daughter has learned SO much from her snakes. Not just in the reading and research about them specifically, but about animals in general, about research, about habitat preservation in the wild, and much more. She's always loved animals, loved nature shows and the like, but having her own animals has made it far more real to her. The snakes have given far more than they've taken.
 
JessKeen said:
A corn snake bite is less damaging than a cat scratch.
Click to expand...

This! This is so incredibly true. I've had snakes for 7 years (currently share a bedroom with 12 snakes, plus assorted lizards, tortoise, and feeder bugs), including a few much larger than corn snakes. It's rare that I get bit by any of them, much less that it draws blood. But cats!! All I have to do is play with the foster kittens at work for 20 minutes (or upset Shirley the resident sourpuss) and suddenly I look like I have a cutting problem. Lol!

Anyway... Yes... Corn snakes are harmless! Any given mammalian pet has MUCH more potential to do damage or, yes, cause illness than the average pet snake. This includes cats, dogs, rats, mice, guinea pigs, rabbits. Plus, snakes don't freeroam or chew on things, so no damage to your household furniture, either... Side bonus. :)
 
Alicia P said:
Everyone else gave great info on your original question. I want to add a visual for the size of an adult corn, just in case that is a concern. They get to be about as big around as a golf ball, about as long as a golf club (maybe a tiny bit longer) & weigh less than 3 lbs :)
Click to expand...

That's a good point, thanks for saying this information :)
 
Alli_Draggy said:
Thank you for your concern. I ended up on this group because my then 7 yr old wanted a snake. We adopted an adult corn soon after.

They really are wonderful pets. I was nervous, too and did a lot of research and made sure my daughter had as well. A few months ago, we adopted our 2nd snake, a ball python.

I will also add that my daughter has learned SO much from her snakes. Not just in the reading and research about them specifically, but about animals in general, about research, about habitat preservation in the wild, and much more. She's always loved animals, loved nature shows and the like, but having her own animals has made it far more real to her. The snakes have given far more than they've taken.
Click to expand...

This is a really nice story to read. Have the best time with your scaley friends.
 
It cost us about $300 to set up our corn, and about $50/yr in food, but that included an Exoterra tank with front opening doors, which is one of the more expensive options. So far, she hasn't needed a vet. There is some extra cost in electricity, but I don't know what it is because I don't break it out. The BP came with an acceptable tank, so it's cost less to set him up, but his food cost is more, since he eats rats vs mice. We go through a couple of good sized bags of aspen each year.

There are less expensive options if you do a bin vs a tank. We adopted both our snakes, but for Wadjet, we really didn't keep anything of her former equipment (although my frogs are now in the tank she came with). For Pinkie, we kept his tank, but replaced his UTH, bought him a thermostat, and so on.

Honestly, once you set them up, the snakes are much less expensive than our cats are, but there is a pretty significant up-front cost, far beyond buying or adopting the snake.
 
Veras cage is a 10 gallon aquarium from Walmart that cost 13 dollars. With everything her set up was probably about 75-100. She will need a larger tank in a year or two, which will cost about 30$. And right now as a baby she is eating about 3-5 dollars a month in food.
 
If you do a little bargain hunting, you can probably get many of the supplies you need for very little cost. Craigslist constantly has people advertising tanks for sale. Petco and/or Petsmart (can't remember for sure which or maybe both do it) has a $1/gallon tank sale a few times a year, but that price does not include any sort of lid. Water bowls, hides, and other tank decorations can be obtained at the dollar store.

The one place I do recommend you invest a little bit is in getting a good UTH and a good t-stat.

If your snake stays healthy and does not have to go to the vet, your biggest ongoing expense will be food. Probably the best way to obtain reasonably priced feeders in small quantities is to find a local person who raises feeder mice. Craigslist sometimes has posts, also you can ask around at reptile shows, pet stores, or try to find a local herp club.

Unfortunately, despite the best care, you can't guarantee your snake will stay healthy. Set aside an emergency vet fund so that if your little scaley friend does need to go to the doc, you can take him/her.
 
To build on what kc said about keeping your snake healthy. It's better to go with a little bit older snake** for a first time snake owner. Babies can get sick even if you are doing everything right. Also it is completely worth it to pay a little more up front and buy from a good breeder. You know exactly where the animal came from, what kind of care it has received & you know that it is a good feeder.

**A yearling is great. They still have growing to do, so you don't miss out on that, but they have had time to develop good eating habits.
 
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