corns and humidity..

[Artemis]

How much is too much where a corn is concerned?? Bob Dylan is in a little rubbermaid, with holes drilled in the sides AND top.... and if i make them any bigger he can get out of them since he is still so little. However, particularly on the cool side, it gets all foggy looking in there and i fear there is way too much humidity for a corn.... smaller water dish would be useless to him.... im thinking of putting him in a 10g tank with a screen top just to reduce humidity. What RH do people use as the corn standard??


Artemis

[vanderkm]

Our corns in tubs are slightly above room humidity, which is about 25% in winter and occasionally as high as 65% in summer - very dry climate here! I think you are right - the foggy condensation is too much humidity for a corn - especially because it will cause damp litter and skin problems.

Make sure the water container doesn't have a slow leak - some of those ceramic dishes seep out of the bottom and can result in a damp enclosure even if you don't notice the water leaking. We have had that happen several times.

Rather than increasing the size of the holes, you might consider increasing the number of holes in the tub or doubling the size of the rubbermaid. My main problem with tanks for very small corns is that it is so hard to have a lid for an aquarium that is secure enough to keep a tiny cornsnake inside. I find tubs work a lot better for security.

We also use really small water dishes for very young corns - our corns virtually never soak and they only need a tiny dish to drink from (we mostly use containers from individual servings of applesauce - about 2 inch diameter).

mary v.

[Artemis]

:) mary- have i told you how highly I think of you! Thanks for such a prompt response. I do keep adding more holes.. this rubbermaid already looks like swiss cheese, but I think that in order for it to be effective the holes would need to be bigger, which they cant. I will pick up a larger rubbermaid and try that. Its a glass water dish and its not leaking.. i did check that.... I will try a smaller water dish now... especially if soaking is not so much of an issue... I have little sauce cup ramekin things that might work well..... If that doesnt help.. new rubbermaid.... he is so teeny that I think the size he is in is good.... a little longer than a shoebox and not quite as deep....

Thanks for your help and awesome suggestions!

Artemis

[Invictus]

You would be SO surprised what a corn can soak itself in. Mary always gives good advice, so I won't repeat a thing, suffice it to say I second her ideas. :)

[Artemis]

:) yeah I switched to a MUCH smaller water dish before I left for work. I am going to check on things when i get home in a couple of hours... I felt the substrate and it feels dry to the touch, its only really on the cool side it does the steamy thing on the inside of the rubbermaid. Hopefully the smaller water dish will resolve things... if not, yay larger rubbermaid.

Thanks Ken for the ditt0 :)

Artemis

[Artemis]

muahahaha...the smaller water dish worked like a charm. Mary is a genius. I should have had an M name... Mary and Marisa...


;)

A

[vanderkm]

Glad to hear things have resolved! Like Ken says - you would be amazed at how small a dish these guys can cram into. We have some tiny ceramic dishes that seep water, but I put them in the cage on the warm side, without any water in them and the baby corns just like to curl up in them! Very cute!

mary v.

edit - PS. the only reason I can give decent advice sometimes is that we have made every mistake possible!! so know what can go wrong.

[marisa]

Yeah I agree. The only reason I know some of the crap I have up here in the 'ole head is because I have made the same mistakes so I know the outcome.

Marisa

[Artemis]

;) so modest! Thanks guys! I am still getting used to the corn in general. VERY different than the python. I think he is still a bit freaked out, so I am trying to leave him alone as much as possible, he has eaten once for me, and Im set to try again in a few days.

MUCH faster than the python, and with a bit more attitude, but not in a mean sense, just a bit feistier. Im hoping in another week he will have settled in enough to handle a bit.

Again, thanks for the help... Yay non steamy rubbermaid!

A

[Invictus]

Same here... made the mistakes. Learned. Moved on. :D