Taking the first steps down into the rabbit hole... (Advice Requested)

[Merovingian]

Hello everyone, I am rather new at this but I wanted to say hello.

I am in the process of bathing myself in information before simply buying a snake and learning as I go. I want to make sure I do it right, rather than do it wrong and kill a perfectly healthy snake.

I am purchasing a book called "Corn Snakes: The Comprehensive Owner's Guide" off Amazon after reading a few posts here and elsewhere that said the book was a good place to start. It should be here in the next few days, so I will do my best to not ask a bunch of dumb questions before I read the book.

For now my focus is on two things...

#1: Taking steps to create a good home for my future snake.

I have a bow front aquarium that is about 36 gallons that may work, at least for a little while... but I have no qualms on building something nice myself either. I am open to advice on starting with an aquarium, or jumping right toward something self built.

The main thing is I want the right equipment, the right space, and have a generally good idea of what I am doing before I bring a snake home.

#2: Finding the right snake.

I am reading and looking at quite a lot of pictures and I really enjoy the Hypo Motley, and the Creamsicle Motley varieties of Cornsnake... however I am leaning towards the Hypo Motley.

Where is the best place to get the variety you want? And do the young/infantile snakes have the same coloring as a baby as they will as an adult? Or conversely do they grow into their colors as they shed?

The only place I have come across so far has been General Exotics and Petco to get a cornsnake, but as I said I am refraining from the purchase till I have everything setup and at least one book and a few forum posts under my belt.

I am open to other options as to where to find the 'right' snake if you have any as well.

I thank you for any and all advice you have to offer, thanks.

[infernalis]

sSnakeSs.com - Rules (http://www.ssnakess.com/index.php?page=rules)

http://www.thamfriends.com/mat.jpg

[blindfireak40]

#0: WELCOME!! We're glad to have you, and even MORE glad that you're actually doing your research before jumping straight in; too many do the exact opposite and then take offense when they're informed that they have poor or incorrect husbandry.

#1: Unless your corn grows to the upper limits of the size range, that should be fairly adequate for its entire life, depending on floor size. If you could give dimensions (L x W x H) That would be really helpful. IF you do decide on a young corn snake, you'll need multiple hides in order to help the guy feel more secure, but as it grows you can remove them and replace with larger hides. Always make sure to have at least 2, preferably 3 hides: 1 at the hot end, 1 at the cold end, and 1 in the middle for good measure :)

For heat, belly heat works great, you can pick up a heating pad just about anywhere that sells pet supplies. For best results, you will want a thermoSTAT with at least one probe so you can directly and precisely control the temperature in the vivarium. As for lighting, you don't really need anything in the way of specific spectrum lighting or a day/night cycle, as natural daylight entering the room will provide enough variation, so long as there is a window.

#2: There is a veritable rainbow of corn morphs out there. Guide to Corn Snake Morphs - Ians Vivarium (http://iansvivarium.com/morphs/species/elaphe_guttata/) has an exhaustive list of what's been bred out thus far...as for where to acquire, that depends on your location. If you live in a metropolitan area, there are probably startling numbers of local breeders who may well have what you're looking for at any of various developmental stages.

As for the colors, I don't know of any reptile that stays the exact same in color and pattern from birth to adulthood. It's part of what makes the process so incredible when you get to raise one from a very young age :)

That is another reason to buy from a private breeder; they typically have the parents on site, which can give you a much better idea of what your snake will look like as an adult than a picture on a price tag in a pet store...so you can pick one with more certainty of getting what you want :D


All in all, I would say a corn is one of the best introductory snakes, they are forgiving in husbandry, easygoing in temperament, and absolutely striking in appearance, much of the time. Best of luck, and a preemptive congrats on your acquisition!! Be sure to share pictures as soon as you bring it home :)

[vendettaseve]

Hey man, Welcome to the forums.

Corns are a great starter snake, they are very forgiving, "friendly" and fun. Dont worry about asking dumb questions. As long as your serious and you use a little common sense we will be happy to answer anything you want to know, I dont think I have ever seen someone get rough treatment here for asking too many questions provided your asking with the snakes best interest in mind and a willingness to follow the advice you receive.

Also I dont think you really need to buy a book about Corns off amazon, the information is readily available here and elsewhere on the internet. And frankly Corns arent exactly complicated in the care requirements. That said if you want it go for it :)

Good luck, and remember... Pictures are mandatory.

Edit: Also, dont worry about the morph :3 Find someone with a bunch available and handle each snake. Get a feel for each ones personality as best you can and see what one you want to walk away with, it might surprise you what you fall in love with over what you thought by looking. Your first one is important, no need to be a high end collector right away, personality is most important.

[stephanbakir]

Welcome to the forums, the above posters pretty much covered it lol.

[Merovingian]

Went shopping today to check on a few things, here is what I learned.

#1: The Petsmart near me has a broken freezer so they currently only have 'a few' Pinkies for sale, whatever that means. They had two Cornsnakes, one was white, one looked like a normal cornsnake... not the colors I was looking for.

The White one literally went crazy active and I think he was generally fearful of being handled... the 'normal' cornsnake was much more docile.

#2: Headed to Petco about 15 min south of me and they had a freezer full of pinkies, fuzzies and larger for a good price, including combo packs.

#3: Both places had some aspen substrate, a few basic (top opening with wire tops) cages that I didnt like, hides, water bowls and ground heaters. They also had a wattage dampener to control the wattage to the heater once it is plugged in, which I guess would control the level of heat put out.

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So after this trip I am even more interested in how I can find the snake that I want, so I could use help with that.

Also I have a question about Substrate.

Do you HAVE to use a substrate like Aspen to line the bottom of the cage? Or can you just put down something generally sterile like astroterf or artificial grass or something like that, or does the snake HAVE to have something to burrow in? I seem to remember as a kid a neighbor having a rather large snake (may have been a boa) that they just liked its cage with astroterf and it kept a very plain and simplistic cage environment which I liked.

thanks.

[vendettaseve]

I have to stress that you DO NOT want to buy your snake from any chain pet store. They will charge you twice as much as a breeder and the snake will commonly have some issues etc.

Much better to get from a private breeder/dealer.


As far as substrate you dont HAVE to use them. I personally dont like wood shavings in general for my reptiles. I prefer Plantation Soil, not sure how great it is for snakes but its fairly cheap and looks nice :) You can even just use papertowels, alot of people on here do, doesn't look great tho.

[blindfireak40]

A small caveat on acquisition: Much better to get your snake from SOMEONE YOU TRUST. In general, breeders are much more trustworthy than pet stores, but there are always a few who will give the rest a bad name. Just use good judgement and you'll be fine :)

As for substrate, I used paper towels for the ball python I had years ago, and I use Aspen for Vermicelli now. There are benefits to both, but I'd say Aspen's a pretty great Corn substrate. 'Celli burrows quite a bit, and I am fairly confident he would not be nearly as secure in his housing if he didn't have it. That being said, he is not every corn snake. My advice would be to provide it at first, and then make a judgement call based on his burrowing habits. I've heard of snakes that never ever burrow; Vermicelli does almost obsessively. In the end, what's 8 bucks for 1-2 months worth of substrate if it keeps your little guy happy, right?

Also, as it gets older and automatically more secure in its housing, and the knowledge that there are no predators in the house, etc. it may no longer require the aspen.

[marionsclan]

Unless you know what you're talking about when it comes to snakes it is rather difficult to discern who is a good breeder. After all, at this point you don't know what a good breeder does as oppose to a bad breeder. A lot of people who own snakes sound very confident when it comes to snake talk and can easily convince a Noob of their ability as a breeder, good or bad.

So, my suggestion is to look at a lot of pictures of healthy and sick Corns to get an idea what to look for and what you don't want on or in a snake. Then look around Craig's list for people who breed feeder rats/mice and ask them if they can give you snake breeder referrals. And last but not least, don't diss Petstore chains. Petco and Petsmart either have a Vet on site or work with a local Vet where you can take your snake to get checked out while still under the money-back guarantee. If the snake is sick they give you the option to exchange it or have the Vet treat it. Not every private Breeder gives you a money back guarantee. Yes, chains are more expensive, even while on sale, but it is another way to go depending on how confident you feel in your knowledge to find one on your own.

[stephanbakir]

As was previously stated, find a breeder in your area.
The substrate isnt just for looks, it absorbs moisture from pee so you're snake isn't just sitting in it.

[Merovingian]

As was previously stated, find a breeder in your area.


Any idea how?

I am in the Oklahoma City area and I made a post on the Faunaclassifieds site with no replies.

thank you again for your help.