tank decorations

[earlybird79]

Im splitting up my 2 corns and want to know what everyone decorates their tank with ( I mean branches, plants etc etc ) to give me some ideas as to how I should do mine as a the moment mine is dull dull dull!!

Also, if you do use branches, have you collected them from outside or did you buy them from a petshop? I have heard that branches from the wild are not good as they can carry parasites harmful to the snake.

many thanx

 

[Neil]

My vivs are plain and simple. I have a boring hide (ice-cream box) on each side and a water bowl in the middle. When I get a job I'm going to buy some new hides as a treat for my corns- just to liven the place up a bit.

I am about to start building a special tank for climbing. I am going to use store-bought branches as I just don't trust stuff from outdoors although you can disinfect them.

You could use one of those aquarium backgrounds or similar at the back of the viv to make it seem more interesting. I know a couple of members do this already and it looks great!!

UPDATE: I've just found a site with a nice picture of a viv on it. I really like it but it would be better if some of the vertical space was converted into horizontal space.

http://www.steve.gb.com/menagerie/cornsnakes.html

 

[Rachel]

I have plants, rocks, cork, bark, twigs and a water bowl. I bought the plants (make sure they arent sprayed etc), got the cork from a petshop and the twigs, bark and rocks from the beach! If you take stuff from outside like I did soak them in bleach overnight, rinse very well (til there is no smell of bleach anymore) then microwave (or bung it in the oven) just to make sure!!
The only problem Ive had is with the plants...my snakes adore them and have burrowed into the soil!

 

[kellyjones]

Most people end up decorating tanks for what they think is attractive. How far you go is up to you. Make sure you include a warm hide and a cool one if you have space plus something to climb. After that go as mad as you like
As for branches, if you do use a non pet shop branch, heat treat it first to kill any bugs

 

[Jr Nimeskern]

My corns dont really have anything to exciting... they just live in a sweater box... they seem as content as any other persons corns... but One corn I have lives in a 20long and I went to Walmart and bought some castles in the fish section... the castels are cool they are suppose to be for the fish underwater but Im using it for a hide... it gives a little more attraction when the corn pops out of the castle walls!

 

[Axe]

I've got two young ones (about 14" long) sharing a 20g right now. They are going to be split up into two 10g next time I make it down to the pet store to buy new tanks.

Right now it's aspen shavings across one half of the floor, with paper towels on the other half.

Water bowl is on the paper towels, with a hide box... something similar to the one I made for my leos...

See this tutorial I did on my site

That's the cool end, so the water doesn't dry up real quick, and it's on paper towels so the wood shavings don't become damp in case of spillage.

The warmer (wood shavings) end has a few small pieces of vine wood I got from the Daytona show (gee they were AMAZING prices.. $3 compared to $25 for the equivalent at a local pet store). Above that is a 40 watt heat lamp keeping things nice n' toasty.

That was their quick setup to get them settled in whilst I learn more about what is and isn't safe to go in a tank. Once I've learned a bit more, and got the two new 10 gallons, they'll be shifted to those.

I'll put up pics when I can get a camera near the tank.

 

[wheeler78]

this is my snakes home i got the sticks from my back yard and a took off all the bark and sanded down att the sharp edges with sand paper.

*edit* also i got a ditgial termator and a better light from that crappy one there

 

[statickaos]

woah.. i really discourage using a branch or any plant out of your yard. Some can be toxic to the animal and most will carry A LOT of parasites and bugs. To clean the branch boil some hott water and soak the branch completely in it for about 30 minutes, thus killing all parasites about 99% of the time. Still i discourage it. If you feel the need for branches and stuff just buy them, don't be that cheap. I managed to get my hands on a artificial plant we had in the house an took it apart to put inside of my cage. I first used the boiling technique to clean them but it really makes the cage look nice. A picture is avaible in the topic about Stacking cages or whatever.

PS: The cage is for a BP but the rules make no differences on species in this case

 

[Axe]

Yup, I agree with being careful about cleaning the logs, sticks, etc..

I'm not so sure about the fake plants though. Last time we were at the vet's one of our beardies attacked a plastic vine that was hanging in the waiting room and wouldn't let go, lol.

Should be cool for corns though as they tend to not eat greens

But yeah, boiling them (if they'll fit in your pan), or soaking in a 1:10 part bleach:water solution for an hour or so... then in clean water only for 24 hours, and drying out in the oven/sun should do pretty good.

That's what we've done with all our wood, unless we've got it at a show where it's usually cleaned and sandblasted. Pet store wood is WAY too expensive.