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Where Should I Buy My Corn Snake?

I find it hard to beiieve there are only 2 corn breeders in Miami area. Either way the state of Florida has a ton of good corn breeders that would probably be inexpensive to get a snake shipped from since it is in state.
I will add that petco corns are not all bad but if you get one from there you will never know who the breeder was or what genes or hets it carries. This may not matter to you now but might later.
 
That's a shame if you haven't got good local petshops or reptile shops that have corns, as it's a good compromise and avoids shipping costs. I wholesale my hatchlings to several shops within a few miles radius of where I live and each has it's hatchdate, hatch weight and feed record on the tub it goes in, with it's genetics listed. Because I go to the trouble of supplying healthy babies with all those details, I get repeat business rather than someone who just wants to offload an 'oops' clutch to them.
I only sell to shops that are well-run, where I've visited and approve of how they keep their stock, I don't sell privately because I don't want strangers visiting my home.
If you do end up getting a corn from a chain store, look out for active, healthy looking snakes. Don't buy any that look less healthy out of pity. If the snakes you see are thin, have no water, are in dirty tanks, walk away. Ask how often they feed them and when they last fed. Ask what they feed them on. (You'd be surprised how many feed crickets, which can block the guts of any babies that are hungry enough to eat them)
 
diamondlil said:
That's a shame if you haven't got good local petshops or reptile shops that have corns, as it's a good compromise and avoids shipping costs. I wholesale my hatchlings to several shops within a few miles radius of where I live and each has it's hatchdate, hatch weight and feed record on the tub it goes in, with it's genetics listed. Because I go to the trouble of supplying healthy babies with all those details, I get repeat business rather than someone who just wants to offload an 'oops' clutch to them.
I only sell to shops that are well-run, where I've visited and approve of how they keep their stock, I don't sell privately because I don't want strangers visiting my home.
If you do end up getting a corn from a chain store, look out for active, healthy looking snakes. Don't buy any that look less healthy out of pity. If the snakes you see are thin, have no water, are in dirty tanks, walk away. Ask how often they feed them and when they last fed. Ask what they feed them on. (You'd be surprised how many feed crickets, which can block the guts of any babies that are hungry enough to eat them)
Click to expand...

Funny you should mention that ... the guy at the store I plan on getting it from said they put a couple crickets in their cage if they don't eat. I had a feeling that was really bad .. the conditions of the cages didn't look too bad but I'm no expert. They had like 5 corns in the same tank and most of them were in the front corner pretty much on top of each other. I don't know if that's normal or not ... The other pet store I went to said they feed them every 4 days which seems way too much to me and I didn't even see one in the cage but they guy said they were hiding. I guess it's a pick my poison situation ...
 
I would not buy from any shop that keeps multiple babies in one cage. How could they possibly know the feeding records of each baby, especially if they are all normals, or all amels, or all the same of whatever morph they are? And if one or more regurges (much more likely with several in a cage), how will they know which one regurged? They won't. And I wouldn't buy from any shop that EVER offers crickets to corn or rat snakes. If you are unlucky enough to get one that has regurged or fed on crickets, or not fed at all, you may have more problems than you want to deal with on your first corn baby.

I know it is a drive, but do you ever get over to Ft. Myers or Tampa? I have good friends in those cities who produce wonderful corns, and are great people to deal with. They can ship, but if you could drive, you could pick out your own. Also, I believe that the Palm Beach area may still have an active herp society. If so, one or more members probably produce corns.
 
I'd say avoid the first store, and go back to the second. I feed hatchlings heavily in the first few weeks now, every 4-5 days, to get them out of the tiny day-old pink stage asap. It means they are well established and less fragile when I sell them. Many stores only feed a maintenance of a tiny pink once a week or less, which will delay the early growth. Not terrible if they get sold quickly, but after a few months you would really see a difference in how small they are compared to those fed more often.
 
I appreciate the help but I'm actually in Northern Florida right now in the middle of no where. I put Miami though because I'm from there and I plan on going back. I'll just change it right now though to avoid confusion.
 
I bought my first corn snake from a pet store. She was so tiny and really calm. But she started a series of regurges and ended up passing away. She was kept in a cage with several other corn snakes.

My second corn came from a different store but a better one. He was a bit bigger and more active. They had him housed with 1 other corn but that was better than the 4 the first snake was housed with.

I still have the second snake but I have no idea how old he is or what possible traits he has if I decide to breed. If I had to do it over again I would have gotten one from a breeder. You just get a lot more information and they tend to be a lot cheaper.
 
Maybe I will just buy my snake online. I would really rather avoid it but at least they wouldn't be feeding them crickets and stuff ... I've seen big apple herp, lll, bhb. Who do you guys recommend?
 
I would avoid buying from a dealer who has all different species and buys from a lot of different breeders. They won't know their animals like the producer will, even if it is a good dealer. I believe, of the names you mentioned, that BHB breeds their own and the others are dealers who buy from producers. But I am not 100% sure on that. But why not buy from one of the breeders here on the forum?

Do you ever get to the Gainesville area? There are a couple of specialty reptile shops there, and even better, I believe our own Nanci lives in that area. If you could deal with a passionate keeper and breeder like Nanci, your new pet would already have a great head start in life!
 
I highly recommend South Mountain Reptiles if you want to buy online from a 'bigger breeder' but also there are many good smaller corn breeders that will ship.
Have you looked at the for sale section here on cs?
 
cornsnake.net - South Mountain Reptiles. That's the only corn snake breeder I have purchased from; 3 at one time. I would love to get one of Nanci's corn snakes at http://snickersnakes.com. I have emailed or just chatted with various breeders and so many of them are great.
 
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I have a few unrelated questions. I just want to make sure that I set the cage up right.

So far, I have bought:

1. Zilla Critter Cage 10 gallon

2. Zoo Med thermometer with a probe

3. Zoo Med 10-20 gallon UTH

4. Hydrofarm thermostat (on its way)

5. Water dish

I was planning on making hides and using paper towels as a substrate for a few weeks just to make sure he seems healthy and doesn't have mites etc. Paper towels are fine right? How many layers of paper towels should I use?

So just to make sure I have this right, does this sound okay?:

1. Use foil tape to secure UTH without sticking it

2. Hot glue thermometer and thermostat probes to middle of glass in the tank above UTH

3. Put some paper towels on the bottom of the tank

4. Put water dish on cool side and have hides on both sides

I'm worried about temperature fluctuations. What temperature do you recommend that I set the thermostat to? I've heard of as high as 6 degree fluctuations so I'm worried if I have it at 84 it could get up to 90 and below 78 etc.

Also, is there a best way to route the wires in the tank to avoid problems?

Sorry for all of the questions but I just want to make sure I have everything set up perfect. I really appreciate all the help, and I'm sure the snake will too.
 
Your cage may have small cut-outs for wires to pass through the sliding cage cover, that way they can go straight up and through the cover.

I use hydrofarms and yes they do fluctuate the temps, because they operate like your home thermostat, turning the heat on and off when needed rather than running a continuous current of power to the UTH. It's difficult to answer your question, really, because they tend to fluctuate from unit to unit. In other words, I have one hydrofarm set at 83 and another set at 85 in order for each to reach the desired 85 degree hot spot. It's good that you're running an independent thermometer and not simply trusting the reading on the thremostat. Just set the thermostat at 85 and trust your thermometer; watch the temps, and adjust the thermostat accordingly. That would be my advice.

I'm not sure about paper towels as substrate. Many snakes like to burrow, and I figure, if it makes them feel secure than I'm going to give them the opportunity. The majority on this site prefer aspen. I like cypress mulch. Just don't use pine.
 
I try to avoid having wires come out of the tank at all. In your case, you will have one small thermostat probe wire. Your UTH will be underneath, and nothing else needs plugged in. Look very closely at the top rim of your Critter Cage you will see the exit the thermostat probe is to come out of. It's a little 1/8" indention in the plastic, if memory serves there are three of those along the back side. The fit should be pretty snug, if not, you need to make it snug. Your baby snake will spend approximately 20 hours a day hiding and the other 4 trying to escape! :)
 
Though I've only purchased one snake, I would recommend BHB (if you're still deciding). Got her as a tiny hatchling and she's now 2 years old and still doing great.

Though from what I've seen you can find morphs that are a little more unique from the breeders here on the forums.
 
I am so glad you decided to go with a breeder. Everyone's advice here is so right on, and although some who responded are breeders none of them pushed you to purchase from them, they want you to find a breeder with a corn you like and a seller you trust. It will be SO worth the extra $40 shipping in the long run.

Chip has given you very sound advice and I have never second-guessed or disagreed with him, I am glad to see the second post you made, Chip.
 
A little "trick" for new babies is to put the water bowl in a corner, or at least on the perimeter. You can even push the shavings up to it (if you decide to use aspen or cypress), making a "ramp" to the water. I have had hatchlings dehydrate even in a small cage because they didn't figure out where the water was right away (because my water bowls were in the middle of the cage). Snakes, especially babies, tend to cruise the perimeter of a cage and often don't spend a lot of time in the middle. So I dunk new babies in the water bowl briefly. Once they are used to the cage layout and well hydrated, they will probably find the water bowl no matter where it is.

Also, a long skinny hide (such as a PVC pipe or tunnel made from a paper towel core) can span both the cool and warm side. Cutting an opening in the top, in the middle of the tunnel, can allow the baby to find its preferred temp along the warm / cool gradient without exposing itself to all of the scary "monster" in the outside world. Whatever hide(s) you use, make sure they are just big enough for the baby to fit inside and that he can feel the walls closing in on him. That makes him feel secure. You can make a hide smaller inside by cramming shavings or paper towels in it so he barely fits, Then you can remove shavings or towels as he grows. If you use a tunnel, pile shavings around the open ends so that it is dark inside. Just leave a small opening on the top.

Remember that baby snakes tend to be very timid, secretive, and / or aggressive. Those that weren't tended to get eaten by predators many generations ago and didn't spread their genes. So don't be surprised if it isn't as calm as most adults are.
 
kathylove said:
A little "trick" for new babies is to put the water bowl in a corner, or at least on the perimeter. You can even push the shavings up to it (if you decide to use aspen or cypress), making a "ramp" to the water. I have had hatchlings dehydrate even in a small cage because they didn't figure out where the water was right away (because my water bowls were in the middle of the cage). Snakes, especially babies, tend to cruise the perimeter of a cage and often don't spend a lot of time in the middle. So I dunk new babies in the water bowl briefly. Once they are used to the cage layout and well hydrated, they will probably find the water bowl no matter where it is.

Also, a long skinny hide (such as a PVC pipe or tunnel made from a paper towel core) can span both the cool and warm side. Cutting an opening in the top, in the middle of the tunnel, can allow the baby to find its preferred temp along the warm / cool gradient without exposing itself to all of the scary "monster" in the outside world. Whatever hide(s) you use, make sure they are just big enough for the baby to fit inside and that he can feel the walls closing in on him. That makes him feel secure. You can make a hide smaller inside by cramming shavings or paper towels in it so he barely fits, Then you can remove shavings or towels as he grows. If you use a tunnel, pile shavings around the open ends so that it is dark inside. Just leave a small opening on the top.

Remember that baby snakes tend to be very timid, secretive, and / or aggressive. Those that weren't tended to get eaten by predators many generations ago and didn't spread their genes. So don't be surprised if it isn't as calm as most adults are.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I really appreciate all the help. It's an honor to get advice from you :). I heard about you before I ever went on this website. Do you think it's better to have 2 separate hides on either side, like toilet paper rolls, or one long one going across like a paper towel roll?

Also, I'm REALLY concerned about temperature spikes and failures with the thermostat, especially since I plan on using paper towels when I first get him and he'll probably be laying on the bare glass. Are there any ways to have a fail safe?
 
BlackMamba said:
Thanks, I really appreciate all the help. It's an honor to get advice from you :). I heard about you before I ever went on this website. Do you think it's better to have 2 separate hides on either side, like toilet paper rolls, or one long one going across like a paper towel roll?

Also, I'm REALLY concerned about temperature spikes and failures with the thermostat, especially since I plan on using paper towels when I first get him and he'll probably be laying on the bare glass. Are there any ways to have a fail safe?
Click to expand...


The more hides the better, scatter the tubes around the viv, and add some fake plants, they LOVE to hide among the plants and they will also help them shed. Since you are only getting one, I would go with aspen substrate. This will help them hide under it and burrow tunnels, again giving them their desired temp levels.
 
hi. I hope you have had some luck in your search. I do reccomend going through a breeder as well. I can reccomend one for you if no one has replied. The one I do business with is amazing. I am actuall going to visit the facility on Oct 1st..I am very excited. I am new to the hobby but I do alot of research and the breeder is the right way to go. message me if you want so I can give you the info...best of luck
 
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