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The first days of corn snake ownership?

HoganD87

HoganD87

New member
:cheers: Hey :cheers:

I'm 21 and I just got a Blood red corn snake hatchling yesterday about 12" long.

My setup consists of:

10 gal tank
cage top w/ clamps
heat lamp that mimics moonlight (the snake gets good light in the daytime)
Branch
large rock with fresh water
a cave on each warmer and cooler sides of the tank
fir substrate.

Are there some important dos and don'ts? I'm told I shouldn't hold the snake for 2 weeks. I paid a lot for this snake and it is so pretty, is that really necessary? :flames: :sobstory:
 
new corn settling in

You can handle for about 10 minutes at a time after 3 days of settling in. I highly recommend you go to the website of THE cornsnake authority, Kathy Love at cornutopia.com and read her care sheet.
 
You should have a warm side of about 82-85 degrees at substrate level if you are using a lamp. If the lamp is off at night make sure it doesn't get below the low 70s. a UTH on a thermostat with a constant 82-85 might be better for proper digestion.

It's good to give them a week to settle in before handling. I usually don't handle until they are eating reliably.
 
How are you heating your viv? The snake needs a warm side of 80-85F 24 hours a day. He doesn't need any type of light at all.

Nanci
 
I also judt got my corns, and I have the green carpet, because I would think that they would have probs with the aspen.

Is this true, or do you think the carpet is worse?

I also am feeding mine today after 7 days, and I did start holding them about 3 days after I got them because I believe they need to know your scent as well as I think it calms some snakes down a little more.

My snakes love to be held though.

Agree? Disagree? and please explain but don't be a dick.
 
new corn

I think the carpet would be ok; perhaps a little more difficult to clean, but would certainly look better. I use aspen myself as I get it cheap and I think they like to hide in it. I do put in a separate empty container to feed so that they will not ingest any substrate or associate opening the door with feeding. If yours seems to tolerate handling well, then by all means handle as much as possible and I think it will make an even better pet. I have 2 corns and neither can seem to stay still-its as if handling is OK but they had rather be somewhere else than in my hand.
 
For established corns, I use aspen. They love to burrow in it. For hatchlings, I prefer paper towel so its easier to see waste products, or if they regurge. The "carpet" tends to be a breeding ground for bacteria, unless you wash it really often. For that you would need at least 2 so you can replace a dirty one with a clean one and then have time to wash the dirty one.
 
hypo123 said:
I think the carpet would be ok; perhaps a little more difficult to clean, but would certainly look better. I use aspen myself as I get it cheap and I think they like to hide in it. I do put in a separate empty container to feed so that they will not ingest any substrate or associate opening the door with feeding. If yours seems to tolerate handling well, then by all means handle as much as possible and I think it will make an even better pet. I have 2 corns and neither can seem to stay still-its as if handling is OK but they had rather be somewhere else than in my hand.
Click to expand...

My corns don't wrap around my arm all the time like my BP did as a baby or now, but BP's are very slow and easy to handle, but they will definetly ball up in the palm of my hand after they run out of energy. Mine don't usually quit moving either, but you can tell when their tired.

Which is the exact reason why I don't understand how there good for beginners, because even though their docile, they are fast and most widely known as being escape artists.
 
NOTE for anyone thinking about sending a bad post e-mail to the mods...the above remark from MO, CORNFED has already been dealt with.
 
MO said:
My corns don't wrap around my arm all the time like my BP did as a baby or now, but BP's are very slow and easy to handle, but they will definetly ball up in the palm of my hand after they run out of energy. Mine don't usually quit moving either, but you can tell when their tired.

Which is the exact reason why I don't understand how there good for beginners, because even though their docile, they are fast and most widely known as being escape artists.
Click to expand...


Corns are recommended as an excellent beginner snake not only for their docility, but also their ease of general care, their size, and their ease of reproduction in captivity. A few other benefits are the multitude of colors and patterns and their lower cost. Yes, ball pythons also have a large range of morphs, but the expense of many of them is well beyond the newbie snake owner.
 
HoganD87 said:
:cheers: Hey :cheers:

I'm 21 and I just got a Blood red corn snake hatchling yesterday about 12" long.

My setup consists of:

10 gal tank
cage top w/ clamps
heat lamp that mimics moonlight (the snake gets good light in the daytime)
Branch
large rock with fresh water
a cave on each warmer and cooler sides of the tank
fir substrate.

Are there some important dos and don'ts? I'm told I shouldn't hold the snake for 2 weeks. I paid a lot for this snake and it is so pretty, is that really necessary? :flames: :sobstory:
Click to expand...

Congratulations on your new buy, hope everything goes well and be sure to post some pics soon! :)
 
MO said:
did I say something wrong?
Click to expand...

I may not agree with your point, but I didn't see anything "wrong" with it to justify people contacting the mods. I was sort of puzzled by Susan's post. Do people complain to the mods about such minor comments?
 
I think the mod stepped in because this is a family site and the questionable statement was "and don't be a [nickname for Richard] and not Rich was used. :shrugs: susang
 
Whew, I thought it was because he said corns were escape artists...I was wondering. (I read over that whole D-word thing and didn't even notice, because it's such a common term)

Nanci
 
Fir substrate

diamondlil said:
fir substrate ! NOoooooooo! Aspen or paper towels for now
Click to expand...


I went to a reptile store in Dallas and the owner suggested I use fir for my snakes habitat. So who's right? I know woods such as cedar can harm the snakes lungs but can fir do the same?
 
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