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Why did he die?

L

lavascript

New member
Hello everybody.

We bought a corn snake from PetCo 18 days ago, and last night we found him in his cage motionless. First time snake owners, but I thought we were doing everything right. Cage is a standard 20-gal aquarium with UTH on one side. I picked him up a few days ago, and he felt cold, so I moved him over to the heater side, and he seemed to jump toward it. Yesterday morning, I picked him up, and he felt cold again, but this time he was also very lethargic. I moved him to the heater again, and that's where we found him later. We keep it pretty cool in the house. I hadn't checked the substrate temp, but I know it felt warmer over the heater. Maybe not warm enough? He seemed to almost avoid the heater. If he was always cold, why would he avoid the heater?

Anyway, my son was devastated, so to soften the blow, we got another last night. Dumped and cleaned the cage, hide and water bowl. I installed a 60W lamp this time to try to give a little more heat. Anything else I can do to make sure this guy survives? Our first was a real tiny guy, this one's a bit bigger. Hopefully that'll help some.

Here's a video of the little one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UAuOkJHxRo
 
Sorry to hear it. Had he been eating OK? I hope the new bigger one does better.
The problem with buying a snake from petco is that that baby snake has been through a lot. It has been wholesaled, probably shipped a couple of times, may or may not be a good eater, and once it gets to petco they often put them through additional stress by cohabitating them. Some petcos are better than others but sometimes the employees are not that well versed in snake care. The hatchling dying probably wasn't your fault, especially if it was tiny to begin with. Some just don't make it, which is why buying a healthy and established snakes from a reputable breeder is much better that petco.
Well for your new snake, try to let it choose the side it wants to be on and don't move it to the warm side. If it has adequate hiding places on both the warm and cool side it will naturally go to the temp it needs. If you want a great resource get Kathy Love's book, The corn snake manual.
I see you have not measured the temps so you really do need to get a thermometer (not the stick on kind but one that measures the temp on the glass above the UTH that is the hottest spot in the tank. This temp should be 85. The problem with UTHs is that many of them will reach a temp that is much too hot for a snake. It's good to get a lamp dimmer or some other rheostat/thermostat that regulates the heat they put out. You don't need an additional heat lamp, It will get WAY too hot for the snake with both a heat lamp and UTH!
Good luck!
 
well, jen really hit the nail on the head with that one!!

go with what she said. its exactly what i would have told you.
 
Sorry about your first snake and your son's devestation. I know my kids hurt when I lose snakes too.

Jen is a great one to listen to, so her advice is top notch.

Good luck with the new one!!! (I can't get the youtube video to play).
 
As for whether he'd been eating okay, absolutely. (Video is proof!) Also, the UTH is only the 5-gallon size because I didn't want him to get too hot. I really need a good thermometer. You know, I've been looking for an excuse to get one of those awesome laser thermometers anyway. That'd be great, right?

Thanks for the book tip, I just ordered it. (1¢ used on Amazon!) I bought a book the day before we got the snake, but it's disappeared. The only thing I can think is that my toddler daughter must have thrown it away and we didn't notice.
 
I've attached photos of the cage. I'm totally open to suggestions.
 

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i would get a bigger uth. or maybe 2 smaller ones. hooked to a rheostat/thermostat. uths can get hot not matter what size they are. i tried it out one time on curiosity during cage cleaning. just plugged it right into the wall instead of the thermostat. and it got up to 104 with a temperature gun. i say if you wanted one a temp gun is the best. i use it for all my stuff. and i have a house thermometer that does inside and humidity from reading on the module. and has a probe for outside temp. i put the probe on the hotside and the module on the cool side. it only reads ambient over there of course because its sitting on its stand on substrate. and the humidity is read from the air also. i only use this on new cage set ups though. everything else is temp gunned.

i cant say why your lil guy died. but it does suck. if this one does the same i would take it back to petco and explain to them how they suck. then get one from a breeder. itll be better priced, and a lot healthier. good luck, and that was a steal to get kathy's book for that much. wish i found mine for that when i started out. i got it for 8 bucks off a friend though. so not bad either.
 
I would suggest some more hidings, so that the snake can feel save in every different temperature area. You can also add a fake plant and a branch. Corns like to climb.
May I suggest a hygrometer? Humidity should be 40-50%. In shedding it has to be more or you can add a wetbox.
 
i have a heat lamp that comes on at 9 in the morning and turns off at 11 then i also have a heat mat that turns on at 11:30 and turns off at 8:30 it seems to work well at my corns happy :)
 
Papertowel tube make great cheap additional hides and can span from warm side to cool side giving them options:) Congrats on the new one and orry about the other little guy:( Do you feed in the tank? When they are little swallowing aspen can cause impaction.
 
danielle said:
Papertowel tube make great cheap additional hides and can span from warm side to cool side giving them options:) Congrats on the new one and orry about the other little guy:( Do you feed in the tank? When they are little swallowing aspen can cause impaction.
Click to expand...

No, didn't feed in the tank. (See the earlier video) =)

Thanks for the tips, everyone.
 
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