My first snake ever, a few ?s

jjnnbns · 01-13-04, 11:57 PM

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 · 01-14-04, 12:00 AM

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

EDITED

Oliverian · 01-14-04, 12:06 AM

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 · 01-14-04, 12:10 AM

Chamitch, do you house your snakes together?

-TammyR

jjnnbns · 01-14-04, 12:13 AM

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

Here goes

chamitch · 01-14-04, 12:14 AM

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 · 01-14-04, 12:16 AM

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 · 01-14-04, 12:17 AM

"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 · 01-14-04, 12:18 AM

Just wanted to pop my head in...

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

jjnnbns · 01-14-04, 12:21 AM

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 · 01-14-04, 12:23 AM

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 · 01-14-04, 12:23 AM

its a anery

jjnnbns · 01-14-04, 12:31 AM

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 · 01-14-04, 12:38 AM

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 · 01-14-04, 12:41 AM

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