inside the tank

[wolf_010]

hi i am soon going to get a corn and wonderd if anyone has any sugestions on what to put in the tank.
or other info that would make him happy.

ty

if need be e-mail me @
kvduffy@sympatico.ca

[sapphire_moon]

well if he is your first then do all the reasearch you can, get "The Corn Snake Manual" by Kathy Love, it's a great book.
Look up care sheets and such ask questions here and do searchs on any questions.

Other than that for atleat the first month keep him/her on paper towel/news paper to be able to keep an eye out for mites.

Don't handle or try to feed for the first 1-2 wks, To let him/her get used to his/her new home.

After that you can use aspen shaveings (NO cedar or pine the phenols in it can make the snake sick). They like to burrow and the aspen holds the tunnles really good.

of course 2 hides, one on the cool side and one on the warm side, water bowl, and climbing sticks. Corns are very active and will use the space you give them!

[wolf_010]

ty im not getting him till sept. so im doing as much research as i posibly can b4 i get him.

[Invictus]

People like you who do your research FIRST and get the snake LATER put a smile on our faces. Excellent choice.

I agree with keeping them on paper towel for a week to watch for mites. After that, GO NUTS with the enclosure if this is meant to be a "pet snake". Corns will climb all over the place, they will burrow, they will swim, everything. Here are my suggestions:

- Give them a climbing branch. Driftwood, grapevine, even false jungle vines (Exoterra makes them, you can find them in any pet store) all work well.
- Give him a water dish big enough so soak his whole body in.
- Good choices for substrate are aspen shavings or cypress mulch. Bark can be used, but it should be baked first to kill parasites.
- Hide box is ESSENTIAL. Some say give them 2, one on the warm side, 1 on the cool side, but I think that's overkill. One hide box is fine. You'll find that they spend most of their time out in the open anyway.

And most importantly, enjoy your corn snake. Excellent first choice. :)

[Big_V]

Im not gonna add anything to what Invictus said but for sure good idea on doing the research first. Its way too common for people to buy something on impulse then ask the vital questions after. Good Job. And get the Corn Snake Manual for sure its a great way to get acquinted with corn snake anatomy and a good reference point that is handy at all times.
Cheers, RYan

[Cedille]

My corns really like to curl up in PVC pipe. (although, it's hard to get them out of them it they don't want to leave.. lol)

[Auskan]

I disagree with Invictus on a couple of things. I don't think its overkill to have two hides, and hatchling corns do not spend most of their time out in the open - hiding is a survival technique programmed into them, because baby corns are so vulnerable to predators. As they get older and bigger, they will spend more time out in the open but I still don't think it hurts to have a hide on both the cool and the warm end, just so they have that option.

[sapphire_moon]

My corn spends most of her time either in one of her hides or burrowing through the aspen shavings.

If not a hide then something it feels it can hide in, such as fake plants.

Yup, the only limit on a pet snakes enclosure if your imagination. And it also depends on how much time you want to spend cleaning.
For me right now I only have 4 snakes. And cleaning out a little poop here and there is so easy. But for breeders (or major collectors lol) who have to clean out 20-30 cages every week-2wks it is easier to just put some paper down.

[vanderkm]

A corn is a great choice and glad to see you looking into their needs ahead of time. Good luck choosing from all the color varieties.

I agree with much of what has been said above - Paper towel is a great bedding for the first couple weeks (to make sure no mite and easy to feed on it in the cage so they have a chance to settle in). Aspen is nice and looks natural, but we have found that it was not very absorbant and we are now using CareFresh wood fibre bedding for all our snakes. It is a bit less natural looking (kind of grey and shabby) but the snakes love to burrow in it and it is very easy to clean.

On the topic of hides, we find a lot of variation in our corns - both babies and adults. Most of them hide a lot of the time when very young, but once they get to the size where they are eating fuzzies, we have many that are out exploring almost constantly. We use PVC pipe that goes the length of the cage - from the warm end to the cold end and they like to curl up in there (or on top of it when they are older) - and then they can choose their preferred temperature and still feel secure. It can be buried under the litter if you don't like how it looks.

Look forward to hearing more about the corn you choose and seeing some pictures,

mary v.

[wolf_010]

i am going to get a miami from simon fung in mid sept.
i have used carefresh for my parents rats and dont find it to bad looking. i know you should feed them in a seprate container for aspen shavings, but what about carefresh? would it hurt him if he ingested it?

ty for all your help
PS what is a PVC pipe

[vanderkm]

A miami from Simon sounds like a fantastic choice! I think I answered the substrate question on another thread just a minute ago - this pic shows Soft Sorbant which is like CareFresh.

PVC is just a type of plastic - we buy 10 foot lengths of tubing for central vacuum systems and cut it to length - it is really cheap and light weight with a thin rim and while it doesn't make a tight hide for young corns, it is quite tight by the time they are 6 months old.

this is a picture of one in a shoebox size tub. The younger hatchlings hide under the water dish on the warm end and when they get older they hide in the tube at whatever temp they like - from the warm end at the back to the cool end at the front. Or they cruise on top of it!


http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/509/63hatchling_tub1.JPG

[Auskan]

PVC pipe - what a great idea! I have some for my rats but never thought of it for my snakes. And it comes in so many diameters that there would always be some that is "just right".