Getting My First Snake - Lots of Questions!

ILoveAnimals · 08-29-17, 12:30 PM

Hello!

I am planning on getting my first snake, a corn snake, at the White Plains reptile expo on September 10th.

I have quite a few questions...feel free to only answer a few if answering them all is too time consuming!

1. Will there be many corn snakes available at this expo? I assumed so because they are one of the most common pet snakes, but I have been watching videos of the expo and I see mostly BPs and Leopard Geckos. Should I be concerned?

2. Will small (under 15 grams, only eating one pinky a week) hatchlings be available? I am looking to get as young of a snake as possible, assuming it has had a few meals and good sheds.

3. Will they be sexed? I would much prefer a female over a male, simply for the size difference.

4. I have heard that I should stock up on mice at the expo. How many should I get? How many of one size will I need before I move up a size?

5. I would love to spend the whole day at the expo so I have a chance to look at everything. But should I get the snake first, and carry her around all day? That seems cruel.

6. Should I take a quick look at all available and then decide, or should I grab the first one I like? How quickly do they go?

7. Is it alright to start her in a ten gallon for a few months? Or should I start her in a 20?

8. Is a 40g a good size for an adult?

9. I am planning on following the Munson feeding plan. Is this a good idea?

Please forgive me for my ignorance...Although I have kept and worked with many many animals, including snakes, I have never had a snake of my own!

TRD · 08-29-17, 02:31 PM

I'll try and answer as good as I can so here goes;

1. There should be plenty, I'd be surprised if not
2. Probably, but it's not an issue if you get one that is a little older
3. Yes, mostly
4. If it's an hatchling (~10-15 gr) and you'll feed once every 5 days, then for the next 6 months, including you snake's growth (ie- you move to 2 pinkies pretty soon) you would need approximately 130-140 pinkies. I wouldn't stack up more than 6 months, I prefer 3 months personally. Make sure you get some information on where to buy frozen feeder mice in your vicinity, there's also the option to order online but experiences vary (you can ask on the forum here for good sellers in the US).
5. You can get the snake any time you wish, most sellers will also hold the animal back for you if you say that you will or buy the animal and ask them to hold on to it a little while you look around.
6. Yes you should have a look around of course and not go for the first one.
7. What are the sizes of those? I'm not familiar with US tank sizes in gallons ... LxWxH? In inches is fine.
8. Same as 7.
9. It's ok, it seems to be around 10% body weight every X days, but with a Corn I would pick the lower scale... in general it comes to year 1 feed every 5 days, year 2 every 7 days, year 3 and more every 7-10 days, then by weight of snake the general rule of thumb is between 10 and 15% of their body weight during peak growth (first 3 years) and 10% afterwards. Hatchlings will of course eat more (my 15 gram hatchling kingsnake pretty much ate 5-6 gram of pinkies every 5 days - pinkies are 80% water, you see). Individual animals even in the same species may vary though, just like us humans do. So there a dependency on the animal as well.

**Minkness** · 08-29-17, 02:56 PM

TRD answered everything pretty spot on, so I won't repeat them. However as far as tank size goes, a 10 gallon is more than enough for a baby corn snake. I keep all of my tiny babies in a small tub for several months to help maintain humidity and the cloudy plastic seems to keep them a bit more calm. Just a personal preference though. If using a tank thoughplease make sure the lid is SUPER secure. Little babies get out of the smallest spaces.

As for where to buy frozen pinkies, look around for local shops. Not petco or pet smart though. Other than being stupid expensive, their rodents have a chemical smell to them. I have used Perfect Prey for my frozen online bulk order, but with just a single snake on pinkies, ordering in bulk online is probably not very economical.

Ronin · 08-29-17, 07:32 PM

Hey, looks like they got to most of them so ill just add i like getting bulk rats from Rodent Pro, it can get pricey but is definitly the way to go. Saves more money per rat (didnt check show prices).

ILoveAnimals · 08-29-17, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TRD

I'll try and answer as good as I can so here goes;

1. There should be plenty, I'd be surprised if not
2. Probably, but it's not an issue if you get one that is a little older
3. Yes, mostly
4. If it's an hatchling (~10-15 gr) and you'll feed once every 5 days, then for the next 6 months, including you snake's growth (ie- you move to 2 pinkies pretty soon) you would need approximately 130-140 pinkies. I wouldn't stack up more than 6 months, I prefer 3 months personally. Make sure you get some information on where to buy frozen feeder mice in your vicinity, there's also the option to order online but experiences vary (you can ask on the forum here for good sellers in the US).
5. You can get the snake any time you wish, most sellers will also hold the animal back for you if you say that you will or buy the animal and ask them to hold on to it a little while you look around.
6. Yes you should have a look around of course and not go for the first one.
7. What are the sizes of those? I'm not familiar with US tank sizes in gallons ... LxWxH? In inches is fine.
8. Same as 7.
9. It's ok, it seems to be around 10% body weight every X days, but with a Corn I would pick the lower scale... in general it comes to year 1 feed every 5 days, year 2 every 7 days, year 3 and more every 7-10 days, then by weight of snake the general rule of thumb is between 10 and 15% of their body weight during peak growth (first 3 years) and 10% afterwards. Hatchlings will of course eat more (my 15 gram hatchling kingsnake pretty much ate 5-6 gram of pinkies every 5 days - pinkies are 80% water, you see). Individual animals even in the same species may vary though, just like us humans do. So there a dependency on the animal as well.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions! A ten gallon is 20" x 10" x 12"and a 40 gallon is 36" x 18" x 16".

**Minkness** · 08-29-17, 07:42 PM

A 40 breeder would be good for an adult. =)

ILoveAnimals · 08-29-17, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minkness

TRD answered everything pretty spot on, so I won't repeat them. However as far as tank size goes, a 10 gallon is more than enough for a baby corn snake. I keep all of my tiny babies in a small tub for several months to help maintain humidity and the cloudy plastic seems to keep them a bit more calm. Just a personal preference though. If using a tank thoughplease make sure the lid is SUPER secure. Little babies get out of the smallest spaces.

As for where to buy frozen pinkies, look around for local shops. Not petco or pet smart though. Other than being stupid expensive, their rodents have a chemical smell to them. I have used Perfect Prey for my frozen online bulk order, but with just a single snake on pinkies, ordering in bulk online is probably not very economical.

Thank you! I'll look around. And I don't trust Petco/Petsmart with anything anymore! Although I don't know a ton about snakes, I know lots about other animals, and more often than not I know more than the employees do! One told me that corn snakes get to be around a foot the other day.

Anyway, thanks a lot!

ILoveAnimals · 08-29-17, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minkness

A 40 breeder would be good for an adult. =)

Great, Thanks!

ILoveAnimals · 08-29-17, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronin

Hey, looks like they got to most of them so ill just add i like getting bulk rats from Rodent Pro, it can get pricey but is definitly the way to go. Saves more money per rat (didnt check show prices).

I'll look into it. Thanks!

toddnbecka · 08-30-17, 01:41 AM

I use plastic tubs for baby snakes. If you do use an aquarium w/screen top I highly recommend picking up a piece of pegboard and cutting it to fit inside the rim around the top of the tank. That prevents small snakes from accessing the gap under the screen top and possibly/likely escaping that way.

regi375 · 08-30-17, 03:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toddnbecka

I use plastic tubs for baby snakes. If you do use an aquarium w/screen top I highly recommend picking up a piece of pegboard and cutting it to fit inside the rim around the top of the tank. That prevents small snakes from accessing the gap under the screen top and possibly/likely escaping that way.

Just getting heavy duty screen clips would be enough. I've got several small snakes that climb up to the gap but can't get out because of the clips.

**Aaron_S** · 08-30-17, 08:09 AM

You only have one snake that will continue to grow. You'll not want to buy too many of the smaller sized mice. I'd buy 25 pinkies (that's roughly 6 months at weekly feedings.)

If it's still only on pinky size at that time buy another 25 then. Yes you can feed multiple prey items to a snake if it's too big to be satisfied with one pinky, however there's the off chance your snake is a one prey item snake. Sometimes a snake will refuse the second item.

ILoveAnimals · 08-30-17, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toddnbecka

I use plastic tubs for baby snakes. If you do use an aquarium w/screen top I highly recommend picking up a piece of pegboard and cutting it to fit inside the rim around the top of the tank. That prevents small snakes from accessing the gap under the screen top and possibly/likely escaping that way.

That seems like a good idea! I'll try it out if the cage clips don't seem sturdy enough. Thanks!

ILoveAnimals · 08-30-17, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

You only have one snake that will continue to grow. You'll not want to buy too many of the smaller sized mice. I'd buy 25 pinkies (that's roughly 6 months at weekly feedings.)

If it's still only on pinky size at that time buy another 25 then. Yes you can feed multiple prey items to a snake if it's too big to be satisfied with one pinky, however there's the off chance your snake is a one prey item snake. Sometimes a snake will refuse the second item.

Thanks! I'll get around 25 then!

ILoveAnimals · 08-30-17, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by regi375

Just getting heavy duty screen clips would be enough. I've got several small snakes that climb up to the gap but can't get out because of the clips.

Do you recommend a specific brand of screen clips? Would you mind looking at these links and telling me which you recommend?

https://www.amazon.com/Zilla-Reptile...s=screen+clips

https://www.amazon.com/Zilla-Reptile...s=screen+clips

https://www.amazon.com/Exo-Terra-PT2...MA00GT4EW6CHN3

https://www.amazon.com/Zilla-Reptile.../dp/B005KPLZN6

Thanks!