My first snake ever, a few ?s

[jjnnbns]

Hey everyone,
I am new to the snake ownership responsibility, but I have been reading many posts here and I've decided to get a cornsnake. I think that it is a ghost, but I'm not sure. I have a 20gal terarrium with heat on one end right around 83 deg F, and the other is room temp (goes between 67 and 72)

I have a friend who wants to get one as well, but doesn't have the setup. Is it alright to keep two corns in the same tank or will they cause each other undue stress?

Also, I haven't been able to find any info on breeding. It is low on my priority list but I want to know everything that I can about this snake. I am already very pleased with it.

Thanks.

PS If i figure out how to post a pic, would you all try to help me figure out what kind of corn he is?

[chamitch]

check out this site http://www.stormpages.com/dracoslair/Snakes/variations.html

EDITED

[Oliverian]

First of all, hello and welcome to the site! I'm glad you decided to start posting here.

Your friend should really wait until he/she has the proper setup. Its not a very good thing when someone buys a snake without being able to keep and house it properly. It leads to a lot of problems, both for the keeper and the snake.

As for housing a new snake with your snake, not a good idea. There are a lot of things wrong with housing most snakes together. I'm sure someone will expand more for me, but in short, it will cause stess, spread disease much easier, and if one gets sick, you won't know who it is. It's not very expensive to set up a tank, and if he can't afford it right now, he should wait until he can. (Plus, if he can't afford housing it, how is he going to afford feeding it and possible health problems?

So, in short, don't rush into it. Just make sure your friend is prepared with the right setup and the right information, and he should be good to go. Also make sure he really wants a snake, and isn't just going to enjoy it like a new toy, and then get bored with it.

As for the pictures, we'd all be glad to help you! We all love seeing pics. :)

-TammyR

[Oliverian]

Chamitch, do you house your snakes together?

-TammyR

[jjnnbns]

I think I have these pics working, hmmm.............

Here goeshttp://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/509/39998x6_corn.jpg

[chamitch]

good call. about the rush thing.....i dont keep mine together but know some peopel who keep babys together. i was just assuming they where from the same source and babys.

[jjnnbns]

They would actually be from the same enclosure from the petstore (PETCO) and I just got mine today. I am afraid that he may eventually lose interest in the snake, but I would quickly adopt it, plus we live in the same house.

[marisa]

"Is it alright to keep two corns in the same tank or will they cause each other undue stress"

Congrats on your new snake. But please think seriously before housing two snakes together.

Snakes housed together can come into the following problems:

1. They are solitary creatures. They would be happy the rest of their lives never seeing a member of their species.
2. You can cause stress to the point one *may* stop feeding.
3. Parasites and other nasties will automatically be transfered if they can be. If one is sick, you automatically have two vet trips, not one.
4. Regurg. If one has some feeding problems and regurgatates a meal, how will you know who did it? Same with feces. If one has questionable looking feces, who was it? You won't know if you house together.
5. Rubbermaids, tanks and other suitable enclosures can be had for less than 50 bucks.

There are more reasons as well, but my favorite reason not to house together is still this one: There is not one single reason that benefits the snakes to house them together, Not one. But there are half a dozen if not more risks involved if you do house together. For me that makes the choice more tha obvious.

Good luck with your snake
Marisa

[Dragon_Slave]

Just wanted to pop my head in...

Glad you decided on a corn, you are going to have so much fun with him! =)

[jjnnbns]

Any guesses on what kind he is? All the others I've seen in person are reddish like the avatar for Dragon_Slave, I liked how this one stood out.

[marisa]

Its hard to say for sure from the photo but I believe what you have is a Anerythristic cornsnake. Which means basically the red pigments have been removed by an albino type gene. They are beautiful. Here is a link to other anery's: http://www.cornsnake.net/gallery/gallery.php3?id=2

Those photos are of adult Anery corns so they may not look *exactly* like your guy just yet.

Marisa

[chamitch]

its a anery

[jjnnbns]

Thanks guys. Ive got so many questions, maybe I'll ask a few more quickly if you dont mind

1 Hes already a little over 13", any guess what age?
2 I bought frozen pinkies, is that what to feed him?
3 do I really need to let him sit in there for a week or so before I handle him? HE's really fun and slides allover... very curious little guy.
4 Is feeding him every 4-5 days a pinkie right for now? when do i go bigger food, and do i wait more days?

Sorry for the Qs, but I wanna treat this little dude right, by the way, his name is Cliff

[sapphire_moon]

No guess on the age thing...
frozen pinks yes, that sounds right.
Yes you HAVE to leave him alone for a min. of 1 week. Put him in a low traffic area.

HOW are you heating his cage?
ALWAYS wait atleast 2 days after feeding him to handle it.

Every 5 days seems fine.
Since he was from a pet store you will want to get a fecal done (take his poop to a vet basicly) to see if he has parasites. Petstores (especially the one you mentioned) is not always the best place to buy ANY animal from!

[marisa]

1. At that size he is most likely a hatchling of a couple weeks to months old. but this also depends on the feeding schedual of the breeder/pet store.

2. Pinkies are good for a snake that size. Choose prey that will leave a lump a bit bigger than your snakes widest point, for two days or so. Things digested quicker, or that don't leave much of a lump are usually too small. For now pinks should be fine, then soon, a couple feedings you can try two pinks. If two go down no problems then move to fuzzy mice.

3. Yes you do. Handling the snake before you let him acclimate to your home and his new enclosure will drop your chances of him feeding successfully and can cause stress. It's hard but you'll have years ahead of you to hold him. Give him at least a few days.

4. That feeding schedual is fine for corns under a year of age. Normally after a year or so you slow down feeding to about once per week. My adults (two+ years old) get fed once per week or every other week.

A good caresheet:
http://www.cornsnake.net/new/care.php3


Marisa

[jjnnbns]

Thanks for the great answers.

I cant stop asking!!!

Would it be fine to have some sort of small rubbermaid to put him in for feeding? I cant get live food to kill and freeze, so I get it already frozen. Do i just lay it in there or move it around? Also, the said he was feed recently but I dont see a lump, should i wait for him to "go" before I feed him? THanks again for all of your help

[chamitch]

remember to thaw teh mice before u feed. and for teh first feeding might be a good idea just to feed him in th cage using some forceps to move it around

[marisa]

You shoudl give him a few days to relax without handling, then make a feeding attempt.

Feeding outside the enclosure is fine. What I would do is at night time place him in the smaller rubbermaid you have for feeding, then just place the prey item inside. Check on him. If he doesn't take it by the next morning, then give him a few days and try again but this time try wiggling it.

The first time he should take the prey just laying there though most likely. They are eager feeders usually and just the smell is enough.

Marisa

[jjnnbns]

Like i said, I just got him today, and handled him A LOT, probably for almost an hour or two, off and on. Is that gonna be too bad if I let him relax now? I hope so. He just seemed so active!

[marisa]

I am sure he will be fine. They are very active in new enviroments usually, or when you clean the cage. Just let him chill for a few days and I am sure he will eat no problem for you then :) A couple days after feeding you can hold him again! :)

Good luck!
Marisa

[chamitch]

yea listen to marissa.she has alot of experience. but just make sense to me to leave them in there original inclosure so they feel comfortable. but thats just me. but probably wont have trouble at all feeding him. theres a reason why corns are so common.

later

[marisa]

chamitch0 Actually here at my place I also leave the snakes in the enclosures too feed LOL :) All the time actually and especially new ones.

But I figured if he was feeding out of enclosure, he might as well start now. lol :)

Marisa

[jjnnbns]

Would it be fine to feed in the enclosure, I would just as well do that if it wouldn't negatively affect the snake

[marisa]

Eh. It's your choice really. Some people "think" feeding in the enclosure causes the snake to associate your hand coming in with food, hence more bites. But I have found this not only to be untrue in most cases but the opposite. Many bites occur when moving the snake from the feeding tub to the cage. Anyways its your choice really. None of my snakes bite, and I feed in the enclosure.

BUT. If you use loose substrate...like aspen, you should feed outside the enclosure because the snake could swallow the aspen (or whatever loose substrate it is) and become impacted. If you use paper towel or newspaper, this obviously isn't a concern though and feeding inside is fine in this case. :)

Marisa

[sapphire_moon]

in reference to housing 2 corns together......

i have heard no one say how corns can become cannabalistic (sp!?) (Though I think it's pretty rare, but there is still a chance) if housed with another corn. I remember simon posting a pic of one of his hatchlings that had cannabalised it's sibling.

[jjnnbns]

does this setup look alright for my corn?

[sapphire_moon]

you might want to have a hide on the cool side. How are you measureing temps?

I think you mentioned you got this snake at a pet store (if not then I'm sorry).....you might want to use white paper towel, for a while to watch for mites, and have a fecal done......

Looks good, better than what mine looks like right now! lol

[jjnnbns]

I have a thermometer gauge at each end and a humidity gauge in the center. The hide is split halfway over the UTH pad, but shoud I get a second anyways? (He has enough space on either half without overlapping. Also, How do I check for mites, can I see them?

Here is another pic

[jjnnbns]

another quick question. It looks like there are two very small pieces of skin hanging below his jaw, is this probably bits left from a shed, or normal, or maybe a problem? Thanks everyone

Here is a pic of his head, can you see what I'm talking about?

[sapphire_moon]

yes another hide would be great. You probably can't see the mites on that substrate, you would want to switch to news print or white paper towels for a while. it's little black specks running around, check closely around the eyes, nose, mouth, vent, and belly scales for them.

Now what kind of theremometers do you have? Because those stick on ones really are crap (no offence!). The stick on ones only measure the temperature of the glass they are stuck to. And your snake isn't sitting there!

A good digi thermemeter from somewhere like wal mart (only about 13 dollares) with an indoor outdoor probe. They also have ones that have humidity gauge on it. Put the probe over the heating pad to get the correct temps. Heating pads usually go way over 100 degrees so if you check it and it is going over 100 degrees or even 85 degrees then you might want to get a lamp dimmer and use it.

Though with corns house humidity is usually fine with mistings when they go into shed. I always get perfect sheds, even though my room is dry enough to make me have a nose bleed EVERY morning.
It is probably just part of a bad shed?

How long have you had it? How long have you let it rest without messing with it's cage or taking pics? It's always best to leave a new snake alone for atleast 1 week before messing with it and letting it eat atleast 2 times before handling it.

[jjnnbns]

I just got him yesterday and (after handling him as I got home from the petstore) he's been in his cage undistrubed ever since.