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Soon to be Corn owner

I

Irishmiddie22

New member
So I have a few, I think basic questions...

1. I've read that it's better to house a juvenile in a 10-15 gallon. Are there any problems with housing a juvenile in a 20 Gallon? I want to do everything right, and I don't want to put a juvenile in a 20 if they aren't going to be comfortable, or there's going to be problems...

2. How much of the tank should a UTH take up? I've heard 1/3, 1/2, and 1/4.
Also I feel like the size of the UTH recommended for 20 Gallons is small (only takes up about 1/4?) is this still the one to use?

3. How important is it to feed the snake in a separate container, and how long do you wait to move them after they've eaten? Does the separate container have to have all of the specs of the normal tank as far as heating goes?

I think that's all I have now, I'm so pumped to get my first snake, and thank you in advance for your help!!
 
There are many more people here that can give you a lot better advice than I can....but since I just went though this:

1. My 2 month old is in a 15 gallon. We plan to move him to a 20 in 18 months or so. I have heard that a 20 gallon is fine right from the get-go....just get lots of little hides for your snake. They like little hiding places...and vines. Put up fake vines, my baby loves them.

2. My UTH is about 1/4 the size of the bottom of the tank. By all accounts, the temp is just right - a constant low to mid 80's, but he's never directly on top of it. My suggestion is to get a thermostat. I use the one from Big Apple Herp, but there are cheaper ones out there. Check this board for other suggestions.

3. Very. You don't want the snake to associate your hand with striking. No need to heat it. I use a three liter tupperware container with small breathing holes in it. I give the snake about 15 minutes to 'get it all the way down" after the last part of the meal passes its jaw, and then just hold the feeding bin up to the vines and let it move to the vines by himself.

Good luck!
 
Well I just got my first snake on Wednesday, and I dont feel right to give you advice, as I'm a noobie. I'd just like to say good luck :) The first time I handled her it freaked me out a little for the first minute or so, so be careful too. I have my one month in a ten gallon, and she seems to be content. Good luck again :)
 
1. Our snake is in a 20L Kritter Keeper and has been since the day we brought him home as a juvenile.

2. Our UTH is the ZooMed small and the area directly over it fluctuates between 82-86 as dictated by the thermostat we added.

3. We do not feed him in a separate container. It hasn't been a problem and he has never struck at our hands either with feeding or reaching in to handle him as we do nearly daily.
 
Idloveaguinness gave pretty good advice. There's nothing wrong with putting your young one in a 20 gallon from the start so long as you give him plenty of places to hide. Multiple hides on both warm and cool side, vines in between, etc. Yes, they can get intimidated by too much open space, but substrate+hides=happy snakelets (at least two of my snakes prefer burrowing over actually using their hides)

Your heating pad should be 1/4-1/3 of the floor surface, regulated by rheostat or thermostat (alife has inexpensive thermostats).

As for feeding in a separate container, the choice is yours, really. There are some that feed in the viv, and others swear by feeding bins. I have critter keepers, smaller totes and tupperware that I use for feeding bins. It gives me an uninterrupted chance to spot clean, change water and other housekeeping :) I have fed in their vivs before, and was always paranoid about them swallowing substrate (I put the mousicle on a paper towel for them, but they preferred dragging it off the paper and onto the aspen) Mine never considered me food at non-feeding times, but that's not saying that a snake with a strong feed response wouldn't.

As for how long to wait, I usually wait until the mouse bump is down to their stomach (if you watch them swallowing, you can see when it stops moving) 15 minutes to half an hour is usually good.

And yes, by all means pick up either Kathy Love or Don Soderberg's corn snake books (one or both...they both have valuable information for keeping corn snakes)

Good luck with your new friend!
 
1. I've read that it's better to house a juvenile in a 10-15 gallon. Are there any problems with housing a juvenile in a 20 Gallon? I want to do everything right, and I don't want to put a juvenile in a 20 if they aren't going to be comfortable, or there's going to be problems...
The biggest problem I've come across is finding the darn snake when they have that much room to hide! Otherwise, go for it!

2. How much of the tank should a UTH take up? I've heard 1/3, 1/2, and 1/4.
Also I feel like the size of the UTH recommended for 20 Gallons is small (only takes up about 1/4?) is this still the one to use?
I'd go with 1/4 to 1/3. It's not a precise thing. As long as the snake has a warm side and a cool side, and the UTH has a reliable thermostat attached so it doesn't get too hot, you'll be fine.

3. How important is it to feed the snake in a separate container, and how long do you wait to move them after they've eaten? Does the separate container have to have all of the specs of the normal tank as far as heating goes?
I insisted on feeding my snakes in separate containers for years. They were just plastic bins, no heating, and I moved the snake back about a minute after it had finished swallowing. Finally, I got 'lazy' and decided to start feeding everyone in their own homes. I haven't had a single problem wither way. It's 100% personal preference. Feeding in a separate container gives you a nice chance to spot-clean their home and give the snake a once-over to make sure there haven't been any changes in their health, but you can also easily do that another time, not on feeding day.


Enjoy your snake! They're addictive!
 
Irishmiddie22 said:
3. How important is it to feed the snake in a separate container, and how long do you wait to move them after they've eaten? Does the separate container have to have all of the specs of the normal tank as far as heating goes?
Click to expand...

Everyone else has given really great answers! I just want to add that another good reason not to feed in the tank is substrate ingestion. I too got lazy and started feeding my snakes in their enclosures. It seemed fine, and I never had aggression issues (besides my Okeetee, who has actually grown calmer with age), but my Okeetee tends to drag the mice around and actually ended up eating a few pieces of aspen. He pooped it out just fine, which usually seems to be the case based on other stories I've read, but it was still pretty scary!

Also, when one of my snakes was blue a long time ago, he struck the mouse and coiled, and I saw no signs of the mouse or snake a few minutes later. A day or so later, there was a very bad smell, and I found the mouse had fallen between the hide and the side of the bin (it definitely wasn't regurgitated, just uneaten!) Yuck!!!

Since my okeetee ate the aspen, I've gone back to feeding in the separate containers! It's a little more time consuming but I don't have any worries. :)
 
Irishmiddie22 said:
So I have a few, I think basic questions...

1. I've read that it's better to house a juvenile in a 10-15 gallon. Are there any problems with housing a juvenile in a 20 Gallon? I want to do everything right, and I don't want to put a juvenile in a 20 if they aren't going to be comfortable, or there's going to be problems...

2. How much of the tank should a UTH take up? I've heard 1/3, 1/2, and 1/4.
Also I feel like the size of the UTH recommended for 20 Gallons is small (only takes up about 1/4?) is this still the one to use?

3. How important is it to feed the snake in a separate container, and how long do you wait to move them after they've eaten? Does the separate container have to have all of the specs of the normal tank as far as heating goes?

I think that's all I have now, I'm so pumped to get my first snake, and thank you in advance for your help!!
Click to expand...

In response to #3...

We NEVER feed in their Viv's... We always take the snakes out and handle them for a good 15 minutes prior to placing them into their feeding containers.... This allows some good exercise and bonding time. Knock on wood, we have never been bitten or struck at when opening their Viv's and taking them out for handling. We feed in a smaller containers that allows just enough room to comfortably feed in, but not big enough for them to crawl around in and get distracted. - usually we wait 10 min before feeding and 15 min after feeding before placing them back into their Viv's . Hope this helps... it has been successful for us.
 
Irishmiddie22 said:
I have a couple more questions lol...the first one is going to be dumb I know it...

1. How in the world do you get the vines to stay up? lol

2. What's a good sized water dish? I just bought this one...
http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/E...6MTU6IlByb2R1Y3RDYXRlZ29yeSI7czo0OiJGb29kIjt9
Click to expand...

We usually obtain water dishes that are made of a material that is easy to clean and made of a material that can be safely bleached to kill all bacteria. We usually use one that is large enough for your snake to soak in and heavy enough that won't be turned over. The dish you purchased will be fine for a juvi/ hatching, but I would think about something bigger and deeper as your animal matures.
 
Miqote said:
Everyone else has given really great answers! I just want to add that another good reason not to feed in the tank is substrate ingestion. I too got lazy and started feeding my snakes in their enclosures. It seemed fine, and I never had aggression issues (besides my Okeetee, who has actually grown calmer with age), but my Okeetee tends to drag the mice around and actually ended up eating a few pieces of aspen. He pooped it out just fine, which usually seems to be the case based on other stories I've read, but it was still pretty scary!

Also, when one of my snakes was blue a long time ago, he struck the mouse and coiled, and I saw no signs of the mouse or snake a few minutes later. A day or so later, there was a very bad smell, and I found the mouse had fallen between the hide and the side of the bin (it definitely wasn't regurgitated, just uneaten!) Yuck!!!

Since my okeetee ate the aspen, I've gone back to feeding in the separate containers! It's a little more time consuming but I don't have any worries. :)
Click to expand...

In agreement here about the substrate. While in the feeding containers, there is no substrate. No risk for aspiration, intestinal blockage, esophageal tears, Intussusception, or any other digestive problems... :dancer:
 
I always shop the dog/cat section for bowls...they tend to be larger and much cheaper than reptile bowls...something similar to this...I get for under $2 at the local grocery and it gives my snakes a cool side hide (they prefer it to their regular hides)

The adults, I still use dog bowls, but they're flush to the ground so they can't get under them and tip them. Although on warm days, they do tend to coil around them.
 
Irishmiddie22 said:
I have a couple more questions lol...the first one is going to be dumb I know it...

1. How in the world do you get the vines to stay up? lol

2. What's a good sized water dish? I just bought this one...
http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/E...6MTU6IlByb2R1Y3RDYXRlZ29yeSI7czo0OiJGb29kIjt9
Click to expand...

1. Getting the vines to stick well on the glass can be pretty difficult with the tiny suction cups you get with the pet store vines. A lot of times, like in the crafting section or home improvement section at walmart, you can buy a bag of big suction cups for like a dollar, and they stick a lot better. Just be careful, I wouldn't use any that have metal hooks! Even with the big cups, big temperature changes or a very heavy snake will still probably cause it to pop off. :rolleyes:

2. I think a good "rule of thumb" I've heard is to get a dish that's just big enough for your snake to curl up in, and just deep enough for them to soak their body. For my little snakes, I have a bunch of 1$ pet bowls that are hollow underneath, they love curling up in the empty space under the bowl! For my bigger snakes.. I've been using Tupperware containers (I mark them for snake use only!). Some people prefer the heavy duty dog bowls because the snakes tend not to tip them, but I guess my snakes aren't tippers. :)
 
Irishmiddie22 said:
1. How in the world do you get the vines to stay up? lol
Click to expand...

I can't be of any productive help, as I am not finished setting the tank up for my first corn, but I've purchased some vines and I'm planing on going to the Petstore and find some suction cups usually used in Aquariums (I am hoping the black or green color will stick out less than white - haven't seen clear around here!) Not sure if you already plugged your vines up successfully, but maybe those will help you, too!
 
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