sum questions...

[Muhahaha]

1) there's this thing called coconut brick and you soak it and it expands.... is t ok for a substrate for a corn, i dunno, i thought it was cool...
2)is it ok to keep switching subsrates or should you stick with one?
3) is it ok to keep 2 baby corns in a 30 gallon long tank, i know its not a good idea but i want to get another corn and keep them together
4)how much does probing cost? would a regular vet do it or does anyone know a herp expert in manassas, VA?
5) is sand an ok substrate? the sand i use is not dusty and i haven't heard my snake wheezing. i take him out of the tank to feed him so he wont swallow it. i tried reptibark but it was kinda dusty and it had sharp bits, plus my snake dug in it (he has hides but he liked digging a lot) and i was worried that he would dig to the bottom on the warm side and burn himself. sometimes hee would poke his head up while he was digging and he would have dust on his head. i bought some reptisand and i can see why people usually say sand is too dusty because this was superdusty but i only used a little bit of that.
so, all done asking (fer now :medtoothy ) thanks in advance :p

[thunder]

1) I don't know about that coconut stuff. I suspect it's ok. Newspaper is the easiest substrate, but I mostly use a generic carefresh called vibrasorb cuz it's really absorbent, cheap, can be flushed down the toilet, and looks nice. another really popular substrate is aspen mulch, which can be sucked up with a wet vac. I don't use it cuz it tends to get everywhere.
2)So long as all of you substrates are safe, it really doesn't matter.
3)no. baby corns have a tendency towards canibalism, and keeping snakes together causes stress and the spread of disease. just get two shoebox rubbermaids.
4)most breeders will sex an animal for you before you buy it. if you get it at a show, you can ask the breeder to sex it right there in front of you, and even show you how. baby corns are generally popped instead of probed. no, a regular vet who doesn't have reptile experience will not know how to sex a snake and snakes can be hurt if an inexperienced person attempts to sex them.
5)no, sand is bad for numerous reasons. I would suggest changing your substrate right away. reptisand is just as bad as any other form of sand.

[Serpens]

I use topsoil for my corn. I just make bloody sure that there's nothing like pesticides or herbicides in it. As for probing, I'd contact a breeder. They're usually pretty good about showing you how (that's how I'm going to learn when I pick up my two bloodreds). Some reptile vets even don't know how or don't want to...I ran into that problem with my local reptile vet...she didn't like probing because it was 'too invasive', which I suppose is fair.

This next part is for THunder. You say inexperienced people can hurt snakes probing them, which I can understand perfectly. I don't want to hurt any animal, especially the herps that I love so much. But by inexperienced, do you mean someone who hasn't been shown how by a responsible, knowledgable breeder, and hasn't done it themselves yet? Or do you mean someone who has only read about it and attempts to do it themselves without being shown how? If you do mean the first, how do you propose getting the experience to start sexing yourself? I'm not trying to be difficult, I just want to learn and get the experience without hurting the snakes. PM me if you get this message.

Sorry to sorta hijack your thread. I'm done now :)
Serpens

[lolaophidia]

1. Coconut brick should be fine for substrate for a corn snake, just make sure if you feed the snake in the cage that it doesn't accidentally ingest it with the prey item.
2. Any change in the cage can stress the snake. Give your snake a chance to settle in and see how they are reacting before you make more changes (other than getting the sand out! Sand is not an appropriate substrate for corn snakes).
3. Snakes don't appreciate the company as any other snake in the cage will be competing with them for the best hiding/basking spots. Young corns have occasionally eaten their siblings, so housing them together is not a good idea.
4. Not sure how much probing costs at the vet, but you do have an excellent vet in your area. http://www.seavs.com/
5. I really don't like sand as a substrate for snakes (other than desert dwelling snakes). If you want something the snake can burrow in, use aspen shavings.

[thunder]

serpens, when i said an inexperienced person can hurt a snake trying, i was referring to someone who hasn't been shown how.