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Nellie14
11-02-14, 08:02 AM
Hi all,
I just yesterday adopted a three and a half year old hypo- he's beautiful but stressed and hiding, so no pictures. He is about 4 1/2 ft long, and was being kept in only a 10 gal.tank. The family had a 15 gal that they gave me that needed a lid, so I rigged one and put him in there. In future, I would like to give him more room, of course. He was taken out and handled often by his previous owner, and was very friendly towards me when I met him in his old home.
This is my first snake, so of course I have a couple questions, and appreciate any help. I have read every "fact sheet" I could find. I am wondering about temperatures for out-of-tank feeding. He is on about 4 inches of fresh aspen right now to give him plenty of burrowing space. My plan is to feed him in another container to avoid ingestion of the aspen.

The previous owners tell me that he takes a long time to eat- they would often just drop a live mouse in his tank and he might wait so long to eat it that they would have to put mouse food in the tank to keep the mouse alive. I will not be doing this. I am told he has taken F/T mice before, and that is what I plan to feed. But if I move him to a "feeding container" do I need a heat source for it? Ambient temps in our house for this time of year are about 68-70, and we have no "warm" spots. I worry that he won't be warm enough to want to eat.
Since he came home with me and I put him in the new tank (the old one was too filthy to leave him there even another day to acclimate) he explored the new enclosure for escape routes and finding none has hidden at the bottom of the shavings and not moved since yesterday afternoon. I think the current UTH is too small for him. It is only heating about a 6x6 area, though the thing is 9x9. But he's not over the heat source, he is right next to it.

Also, should his feeding container be clear or opaque? And how big? I've read that corn snakes like to feel secure when eating, so maybe a smaller enclosure? Something the size of the old 10 gal tank but easier to clean? A 5 gallon bucket? None of the "fact sheets" tell me!

Also, temperatures. I'm guessing a probe-style thermometer is necessary to get an idea of the temps amidst all that aspen shavings, but what am I looking for here? The temp of the bottom surface of the tank above the UTH or a couple inches above it at the surface of the aspen? They are pretty different, just based on putting my hand in there.

Thank you all for any help you can give!

EL Ziggy
11-03-14, 06:26 AM
Congrats on the new addition Nellie. A few thoughts on your setup. You definitely want to make sure your lid is secure. Snakes are amazing escape artists. Also is your heat source controlled by a thermostat? That's a critical piece of equipment. I would also ditch the separate feeding bin and feed the snake in it's enclosure. It'll be less stressful for you and the snake. The snake might ingest a little substrate but it shouldn't be a problem if your temps and humidity are dialed in. I feed all my snakes in their enclosures and have never had any issues. Share some pics of your snake and setup when you can. Best wishes.

Nellie14
11-04-14, 08:10 AM
Thanks, El-Ziggy- Yes, the lid is secure. We're 70 miles from the nearest town of any size, so I made the trip yesterday and got a thermometer and some frozen mice. They didn't have any other heaters there, so I didn't get a new one. The current UTH is only keeping the bottom of the tank at about 78, so I put a lamp overhead, and it is getting a hide box area up to 86. When I did that, he immediately moved up into the hide and stayed there for the rest of the day, occasionally poking his head out to look at us and get a drink of water. He was so cute!
I will have to order a new UTH and thermostat online. How is the thermostat connected to the heater? I haven't seen any that are sold together.

EL Ziggy
11-04-14, 10:49 PM
The heater will plug into the thermostat and the thermostat plugs into the electrical outlet. I put my t-stat probe inside the tank on top the glass where the uth is and my warm hide sits on top of that. If that makes any sense :). I use hydrofarm t-stats for my snakes and have never had any issues but there are more high end ones like helix or vivarium electronics available as well. I also prefer the ultratherm uth's. They don't get as hot as some of the others.
Amazon.com : Hydrofarm MTPRTC Digital Thermostat for Heat Mats : Plant Germination Heating Mats : Patio, Lawn & Garden (http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPRTC-Digital-Thermostat-Heat/dp/B000NZZG3S/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1415162874&sr=8-2&keywords=reptile+thermostatshttp://www.reptilebasics.com/ultratherm-heat-pads)


Ultratherm Heat Pads (http://www.reptilebasics.com/ultratherm-heat-pads)