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substrate?

J

jayocampo88

New member
I currently have Pine substrate on my Corn's tank. But I also have the "Carpet" that was included with it. It's basically just carpeting. It's included in some of the Zilla's beginner tanks.
I was wondering, if I were to use that, the snake would have NOWHERE to slither under like she does with the pine substrate.

It does however keep the tank cleaner, and much more easier to find the squirmy lil fella.

Then I thought about using the carptting and on top of that putting some pine shavings..but that kind of kills the point of keeping the tank "cleaner"

Then, the other thought, with my old garter and BP, I just went to a park and grabbed a couple pieces of branches and used it for them.
Would it be an issue if I were to do that with the CS??

I do like the carpeting a lot, and I figured that If the CS has a good hide, it wouldn't be a big of a deal if she doesn't burrow?

Any thoughts?
 
Do not use pine! Pine has some very toxic oils in it that can cause severe neurological and respiratory issues.
Take it out right now and put down paper towels.

The carpet is one of the worst substrates you can use. It's completely unsanitary because it's almost impossible to clean 100%. The best alternative is paper towels or newspaper.

If you want her to be able to burrow, aspen or eco earth make great bedding. Eco earth looks better and they love building tunnels in it, but is very messy. Aspen isn't too attractive, but is easy to clean and see poop in, and they love burrowing in it.
 
AGREED! GET THAT PINE OUT!

Aspen is pretty good, and if you live in a drier climate cyprus mulch holds humidity well.
 
Also, if you are using branches from outdoors it is important that you treat them. You can bake them in the oven, as odd as that sounds. I can't quite remember what temperature though... but it dries and kills any bacteria or bugs that could be inside the branch.
 
pine is bad??? since when???
Well, that's a surprise to me. So basically the good idea would be to just grab some old newspapers, and then just shred them with the shredder? :p

I figured that with the carpeting the first time she pooped in it, so I've been using that as a helipad for my RC Helis.

I'll get the pine out ASAP.
This goes to show that you cant trust everything. In the research I read, it was said that Pine was acceptable, but that under no circumstances should you use cedar.

Now, when ya'll say papertowels, you mean like just placing a couple papertowels flat on the glass??
 
It used to be thought that pine was acceptable, but not anymore. I urge you to check the publication of the research you look at, and also to check out more than one or two sources as well :)

You can use shredded newspaper, but it is not as absorbent as paper towel so you may need to change it more frequently. You can definitely put a couple of layers of papertowel flat on the glass as well.
Just make sure you do get a thermostat. This is a decent one: http://www.amazon.ca/Jumpstart-Digi...TF8&qid=1391454688&sr=8-3&keywords=thermostat

Best of luck!
 
Hey thanks NH93!!
Now, what about a heat rock???

I've had one with all my other snakes without an issue, is that something I should be worried about with the CS??

I don't have the heating pad FYI, just the heat rock. I could also always use one of the heating lamps i have along with a timer like I do for the RES and Box Turtle.

According to a peer that has owned CS, BP, and a couple others, along with a couple other reptiles/amphibians.

What's the point of view on those? Personally, like I mentioned, I've used heat rocks for all my snakes in leiu of a heating pad or heating lamp..Never have had an issue.
 
NO! No heat rocks, EVER!
They are outdated and DANGEROUS! Having a heat source inside the tank is another one of those not-good ideas :S
Burning hazards and all.

I still strongly suggest AGAINST any kind of heat bulb. It really isn't necessary at all. Just the UTH.

Heat rocks get WAY too hot for corns! Like I said, 85F is prime. For a hot spot. Those heat rocks get upwards of 120F+ and DO BURN ANIMALS.
I really don't think you should be using them for any of your pets, to be honest.

Unfortunately you can't always use the same methods of heating with different species of animals (ex. your turtles and your snakes). Snakes don't require UVA/B lighting to bask in like turtles or even bearded dragons, which is why heat bulbs aren't required. But the bulbs heat up the entire tank, causing stress and health issues to corns over time (such as with yours right now)!

What I would do if I were you, is take away all heat sources right now, until you get a UTH and thermostat. If you are comfortable in your home, your corn will be too. Now, this goes for corn snakes but NOT all other snake species! They are from our Western temperate climate, which is why they are comfortable when we are.

Without a heat source it is important not to feed!! If you do, it will be another regurge. Regurges are to be taken very seriously. Snakes can and do die from them, as it causes tremendous stress on their bodies.

I think you would benefit from checking out the corn care guide on the main page of this forum.

I really don't want to sound like a downer, but it almost sounds as if you should "start over" with the basic care and whatnot.
 
My goodness.

I AM SO SORRY! Hang on here. I was reading two forums at once and got yours mixed up with another!!

I am unable to edit this post, I am terribly sorry!! Please allow me to correct myself... :( :( :(
 
I did NOT mean to say "as with yours right now". For all I know your snake is perfectly healthy!! That was most definitely intended for another thread in which someone was having multiple regurges...
I am very sorry for that mix up.
 
it's ok. Don't worry about it. Thank for all the heads up. I'm pretty comfortable in my room. Even though it's a little backwards though. During the day I shut off the heater and the room cools down to a crisp 60-68 Degrees, and during the night, it warms up to 70-80 Farenheit. Would that be decently ok?? I'm hoping to get the heating pad sometime this week.

This is what happens when you try to take shortcuts...lol
 
60F is quite cool (how do you stand it!?). 80F is pretty warm, so I'd day that's where you wouldn't want the heat bulb. I'd you were to have it on when it gets below 65F until it warms up to about 75F I think that would work, however only on a portion of the cage - not in the middle. Do you have a digital thermometer to check the interior temps of the cage? Dial ones can be quite inaccurate.

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk
 
yeah.i had a bad experience with the dial thermometer. How ever I do have a 2 dial thermometers. One on each side of it's enclosure. Both are right ON the substrate so I could get the reading from the lowest possible point.
I do plan on getting digital probes. I just don't like the fact that they use batteries. But that's just a petty choice if anything. (The fact that I don't like the fact that they use batteries)

After Work tonight, Im going to obtain a heat pad for it, and going to swap out the bedding to just paper towels for now before I obtain a different kind of bedding.
 
Awesome!!
If you are worried about being wasteful with the batteries, I am fairly certain they last quite a while. I don't think they use up very much power at all! They are not bright LEDs or anything like that.

If your snake does have a respiratory infection (you can look up the symptoms for that, but you have mentioned some signs - or at least what I perceive to be) you will probably need to take her/him to a herp vet...

I really hope everything works out for you once all of the environmental factors have been updated!

Continue to search on this website and ask questions. The people on here are fantastic, and there are some experienced breeders and hobbiests that really know their stuff. :)
 
So 80 degrees is ok though? Or should I lower the room temp to 70?
I'll take the room's temp measurement tonight before I turn on anything as I walk in, And I'll guide myself from there.

But I'm sure it's around 60-65 degrees.

Heat lamp WAS usually on during the time I was gone. Which is when the room would cool to the above mentioned temperature.

If I'm able to control the room's temp to be within the comfortable range for the snake during both day and time, would I still need the heat mat? I'm guessing the answer will be yes lol.

Thank you all for all the help. Of all the forums I've been a part of, this one has been the most understandable and helpful with any of the questions I've asked.
 
Holey poop. If I ever say anything about respiratory infections just... ignore me. I am so all over the place with that. I feel like I shouldn't reply anymore because I'm going to be confusing everyone - including myself! AHHH!


If you can lower the room temp a few degrees it would be better, I think. But, if not, just remove the heat source. The reason there is a heat source is so there is a heat gradient - one end cooler than the other by about 10F. Normally there is just a warm spot (about 1/3 of the tank) for good digestion. Allowing the snake to choose it's preferred temperature is important for digestion and overall health, because they can't control their own internal temps (you know, being reptiles and all).

Again, I apologize if I've been confusing. I should just be a contributor so I can edit my posts. LOL.
 
lol, thanks for all your help "NH" lol.

I'll get right on that once I get home. While I work on fixing up the habitat, I'll give my kids some quality time with JJ (don't worry, they all (except the youngest) are very careful and watchful over it. They are just guardians over "their" pets, which of course daddy has to babysit and take care of while they get to enjoy and have fun with them..
 
Definitely get as many books as you can on corns, it is better to have the setup completely prepared before introducing your new baby, but better late than never.

Temps, especially this time of year, are extremely important for corns, so be sure to get a UTH, thermostat and digital thermometers right away.

The link NH93 gave will help immediately, but there are several books you definitely need to read ASAP. Fellow forum members have written two, so look for the books by Kathy Love and Don Soderberg. Here is the link to Don's page which will also give you more immediate info as well. https://www.cornsnake.net/index.php?lang=en

Good luck!
 
Also, if you do add anything to your viv, boil it for about 20 minutes in a pot with water and a splash of bleach. Then, just to be sure, bake it (unless it is plastic, aquarium decorations are nice in corn vivs) at about 250 for 20 minutes. This will kill all the mites or other bacteria and critters that can harm your corn.

Anything brought in from an outside source can be infected, so if you want to add pieces of wood or rocks you found make sure there are no sharp edges and clean like I mentioned above.
 
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