My Vivarium Setup

[Chris_Flowers]

Heres a picture of my vivarium setup:

http://www.aptr33.dsl.pipex.com/VIV.JPG

:)

[snakemann87]

Looks very very nice....just be sure to feed outside the enclosure with the substrate your using

[Chris_Flowers]

Feed outside!? The guy at the reptile shop just said put the pinky in the vivarium by the snake.

Confused! :)

[snakemann87]

Yes that would be suitable but your snake has a chance at an impaction cause the substrate. NOw if you used newspaper it would be fine. Simply take him out...place him in a shoebox..and place the pinky in. Not to diss petstores but don't listen to them. They usually have no idea what they're talkin about its good you joined here so you can get teh right information

[dank7oo]

thats true .. i would have to agree

[Chris_Flowers]

Ok fine. But I have a few questions!

I have a small container which the snake came in. Its approx 10cm wide by 18cm long and a depth of 7cm. Its perforated to allow air to get in - would this be suitable to feed him in?

Should I place some tissue in there?

How long should I leave him in there for?

Should I place him in it, then place the box in the vivarium?

If so, which side of the vivarium would be best - cool or warm?

Lastly, what about the 'never handle 1hr before and at least 24hrs after rule'? Presumably if I put him in a shoe box (or similar) I'd have to handle him to take him out!?

The container is transparent (see through) by the way.

Thanks for your help ;)

[stretch]

Just put him in a shoe box or something. After he eats give him a few minutes then put him back in the enclosure, but make sure you don't handle him at least 48 hours after you put him back in. You don't need to put anything in the box with him. Leave him in there till eats if its longer than a half hour or so take him out and wait about another week. Also you can leave the feeding container out of the enclosure if you want.

[CDN-Cresties]

Nice setup man, how long did it take to build?
Thanks
-Steve-

[Chris_Flowers]

Ok thanks. I've just put him in the shoe box with his pinky and put the lid on. Hopefully he'll eat :)

Put some small holes in the box so he can breathe. Had to make sure theres no way he can get out of it though!

If he doesn't eat, should I be worried? Or simply just wait another week? I should mention he's only a year old.

Many thanks ;)

[Chris_Flowers]

Originally posted by crestie
Nice setup man, how long did it take to build?
Thanks
-Steve-

Hi Steve, thanks ;)

I actually bought the vivarium ready made from the Northampton Reptile Centre here in the UK. All its contents I just arranged myself as you do :)

[Chris_Flowers]

Woohoo! He/she ate it :)

Left it in the box for about 40 minutes. Opened the lid and it had gone - the pinky that is, not the snake - then I'd have something major to worry about lol :)

I thought I'd see a bulge in the snakes body but at quick glance there didn't appear to be a bulge. Then again, I only quickly picked him/her up and then placed it back in the vivarium. It headed towards the heat but then turned and head back towards the cool side and back under its water bowl!

Fingers crossed it keeps the pinky down and doesn't regurgitate it ;)

So its best to leave it alone now for about 48 hours right?

Thanks all for your help, you've been great ;)

[Invictus]

Super sweet enclosure man. Looks VERY well ventilated. :)

[Chris_Flowers]

Originally posted by Invictus
Super sweet enclosure man. Looks VERY well ventilated. :)

Thanks ;)

Considering it came from a pet shop, its a great viv. Having said that, it'd be unfair to say they are a pet shop - they are only dedicated to selling reptiles and I have to say, the owners and staff did seem to have a genuine interest in reptiles. Family run business.

However, they did give me the wrong feeding information for my substrate I suppose...

[lordkovacs]

i like a small shoebox size rubbermaid for feeding. i also like the walls of hte box to be coloured so the snake has a darker area. problem with using a box is that you can't clean it, and if you leave it near the snake's tank, the smell of the mouse will still be on it and drive him crazy... just a thought.
MIKE

[lordkovacs]

nice set up btw

[drewlowe]

You said your snake was near a year old. If your corn is indeed a year old he should be taking larger prey than 1 pinky mouse.

BTW that is one nice setup.

[Chris_Flowers]

Originally posted by drewlowe
You said your snake was near a year old. If your corn is indeed a year old he should be taking larger prey than 1 pinky mouse.

Grr! The guy in the reptile shop said just one a week :mad:

When I asked how old he is, the guy said almost a year. About a year old in August. Its (I still haven't a name yet!) is about 12-13" long I suppose - I've not measured properly.

So what should it be, larger prey or 2x Pinky's a week?

BTW that is one nice setup.

Thanks :D

;)

[drewlowe]

the size of the prey shouldn't be bigger than 1 1/2 times the biggest girth on the snake. at a year old i was feeding my corns either fuzzys or hoppers. 1 or 2 a week.

don't belive petshops they at times usually have no clue what they are saying. but keep doing research and asking questions.

[Chris_Flowers]

Originally posted by drewlowe
the size of the prey shouldn't be bigger than 1 1/2 times the biggest girth on the snake. at a year old i was feeding my corns either fuzzys or hoppers. 1 or 2 a week.

Hmm, well 1 1/2 times the snakes biggest girth (excluding head) would probably be about the right size of the pinky I guess. I'll leave it this week and maybe next week I'll assess the situation. As soon as I've left him a few days to digest I'll try get some pictures so you guys can see the size of it.

don't belive petshops they at times usually have no clue what they are saying. but keep doing research and asking questions.

I would normally agree with you, and I'm not actually disagreeing with you either! The trouble is, there aren't many reptile only pet shops around. If it had been a standard pet shop selling everything from rodents, birds to lizards then yeah. But its a family run business, specialising in reptiles. Theres only about 3 members of staff in the shop - so it all seemed pretty good.

but keep doing research and asking questions.

Ha! Try and stop me :D
:p

[lordkovacs]

hey... my corns were on hoppers at one year for sure... but don't just suddenly go from a pink to a hopper. buy a couple fuzzies and try that. at a year even a fuzzy seems small... anyway, feed a fuzzy the first feeding. if that's okay, try a second fuzzy the next feeding. if that's okay, try a hopper. there should be a little lump in his stomach after feeding. if you can, post a pic here and then we can acess the size... just put a penny or something about half way down his body so we can get an idea of its size.
cheers,
MIKE

[vanderkm]

A yearling corn might still be feeding on pinkies, as it has been my experience that stores often keep baby snakes on a feeding plan of a pinky a week to keep them small (cheaper to feed and house and more appealing to people who buy them than a bigger snake). I have seen several yearlings that were no larger than hatchlings when kept on this type of feeding program but they definately catch up to the size they should be when they are offered more food - just make sure you don't overload them all at once.

Young corns can be fed as often as every 5 days, and the meal should produce a bit of a bulge in the stomach. If it takes 2 pinkies to make a bulge, I would offer a couple pinks per meal for 3-4 feedings or until the next shed and then move it up to fuzzies that are big enough to make a bulge. Once you are familiar with the snake you will notice when they seem ready to take a second prey, and you can move them up to two fuzzies for a couple meals before they are ready to take hoppers. I am assuming you are feeding thawed and warmed up rodents - if you are feeding live - I suggest you switch to frozen/thawed now, while the snake has a good appetite - makes the switch easier.

It may take this guy a while to catch up but I don't think their growth is stunted - we had a cal king that was over 5 feet at maturity that was only 14 inches long and as thick as a pencil when we got her at 1 year of age.

Nice vivarium - your cornsnake will be very contented there,

mary v.

[Chris_Flowers]

Originally posted by vanderkm
A yearling corn might still be feeding on pinkies, as it has been my experience that stores often keep baby snakes on a feeding plan of a pinky a week to keep them small (cheaper to feed and house and more appealing to people who buy them than a bigger snake). I have seen several yearlings that were no larger than hatchlings when kept on this type of feeding program but they definately catch up to the size they should be when they are offered more food - just make sure you don't overload them all at once.

I think this may be the case. The guy in the store who advised me to feed a pinky a week said thats what they've all been eating to date.

I guess the tricky bit is trying not to overload them and knowing how much your snake can eat!?

Young corns can be fed as often as every 5 days, and the meal should produce a bit of a bulge in the stomach. If it takes 2 pinkies to make a bulge, I would offer a couple pinks per meal for 3-4 feedings or until the next shed and then move it up to fuzzies that are big enough to make a bulge. Once you are familiar with the snake you will notice when they seem ready to take a second prey, and you can move them up to two fuzzies for a couple meals before they are ready to take hoppers. I am assuming you are feeding thawed and warmed up rodents - if you are feeding live - I suggest you switch to frozen/thawed now, while the snake has a good appetite - makes the switch easier.

Well it made a slight bulge in his stomach - but not too much. At first I wasn't even sure there was one! It was only when I changed his water bowl (something I've never seen him use for other then sleeping under!) that I noticed the small bulge.

Yes, I feeding frozen pinkys that have been thawed for the best part of the day.

It may take this guy a while to catch up but I don't think their growth is stunted - we had a cal king that was over 5 feet at maturity that was only 14 inches long and as thick as a pencil when we got her at 1 year of age.

Nice vivarium - your cornsnake will be very contented there,


I hope he does catch up. Mine is about 12" long I suppose (although I've not measured) and as you say, about as thick as a pencil.

Thanks for the help ;)

[spyderman]

I have roughly the same setup with that substrate in my Viv' (Well, my snakes Viv) I just put a large plate in his viv with his meal on. I put the plate in the same place every time & I have no trouble at all. Ekans (My Bull snake) Knows exactly where & when his dinner will be served

Nice viv btw.

[spyderman]

"Its (I still haven't a name yet!)"

I already have a Bull snake called Ekans. I'm getting a corn for the kids later today. I want to call it "Cob" (As in Corn on the...) But the kids don't think much of that for some reason. BTW would love to see pics of "It" too.

[Chris_Flowers]

Originally posted by spyderman
"Its (I still haven't a name yet!)"

I already have a Bull snake called Ekans. I'm getting a corn for the kids later today. I want to call it "Cob" (As in Corn on the...) But the kids don't think much of that for some reason. BTW would love to see pics of "It" too.

The name that's in the lead so far is 'Angwi', though not sure if its pronounced 'Ang-wee' or 'Ang-why' or 'Ang-ry'! Its the Elvish/Elven (as in Tolkien Elve) translation for the English word 'snake' :)

[KingJaff]

cool name, keep it,
As I said in another thread you posted, IMO your snake should be on at least 3 pinkes a week, and get him on fuzzies as soon as posible
V nice viv btw, my only cocern is it maybe to big fo a hatchling sized snake, (does he seem very shy, you said he hides under the water bowl)? Normally snakes only do this to cool down or hide, if so he should be in a smaller tank for a while, as small snakes can get stressed in a large viv.
Also U should be carful of the substrate sticking to the food (espeicailly if you defrost it it warm water, the quickist way by far ) but my snake is waay waay bigger then yours (kingsnake:p) and he once ate a chunk of wood chip like yours but guess what.. He pooed it out!!! I was so impressed and pleased:D
Also my advice as far as your (already addiquit and cool) viv goes... get loads more branches in there make a mini epping forest, as i know corns love to climb;)
In my vi i've got this branch thats widged in from bottem left to top right, and lots of other bits proped up from there;) your snake will be like:D

[steen]

HAHA....my parents suggested "Cob" for my snake too....sorry to say, but I think I'm with your kids on this one! :p

(although the name might fit your corn better than mine!)

Kristine

[reptiledude21]

when i feed mine i just put the pinky on a plastic dish in the cage so it doesnt impact any of my bedding....its worked so far..

[Chris_Flowers]

I've changed to astro turf now. Looks weird in the viv! Kinda makes it look like a snake playroom more then say natural looking that the woodchip gave :D

Still, means I can feed him in the viv now. Its feeding time again tomorrow where I'll be giving him two 'frozen' mice ;)

Mind you, he'll be in a box to feed again if he doesn't come out of his hide and eat - which I'm predicting will happen, he is very shy which could be down to the size of the viv.

We'll see.

[lordkovacs]

sweet man.. how much were the plastic vents, and where did you buy them? home depot maybe?

[Chris_Flowers]

Not sure to be honest, I bought the viv complete!

However, we had a garage conversion years back and whilst routing through our shed I noticed we had some plastic circular vents!

Then I remembered that the overhang over the window they put in during the conversion had to have small circular plastic vents. They can be bought from any hardware store I believe.