| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| sarahw |
Posted - 10/10/2010 : 14:44:35
i now have suceeded in picking up sonic after him protesting by striking and rattling! i picked him up with a gloved hand and once he was out he was fine
so im thinking hes either defensive over his viv or he is still a bit scared,
i weighed him he is 215g
and roughly 3foot 3inches
i placed a tape measure on the floor and laid him next to it and after about 5 mins he decided to straighten himself.
his viv 1s 3foot wide by 1 foot deep so being that he is 3 foot 3 how long before he needs a new viv?
heres his pictures
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| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| sarahw |
Posted - 13/10/2010 : 06:10:49
thanks kellog
thats great coming from an experienced owner like yourself :-)
i have ordered some digital thermometers today as he he didnt have with his viv! plus got 2 for the new baby, also ordered some bits to brighten up his viv plus some aubiose as he has so far been living on vermiculite which i have found out is for incubating eggs so thats got to go, will post pics when im done redecorating
i was thinking of a 3 foot by 1 foot viv, as he is 3 foot 3 when i meauresed him last week and i have read on here about the viv size, plus i will then have a spare 2 foot viv ;-) i suppose i best save it for when the baby gets to the right size rather than find a new owner to live in there.
i know! i really have supprised myself, my fave pet have always been rats and i have kept them for many years now, so i have def found another fave pet
i shall be on the look out for a coral snow baby for may for my 5 year olds birthday hopefully from the same person im getting the snow from, she wants to call it either charlotte or pinkie(i darent tell her that thats what is food will be called!) lol, although the older 2 know.
yeah sonic is great, when i took out all the remaing shed he came out from his hide and was watchin me, normally ive had a few strikes but none then and none when i picked him up to check him over, which is really good, the plan was only a few mins a day gradualy increasing the time out but he is so placid when out that its been longer as hes been fine, today he curled up next to my son on the seatee and stayed there for ages, the kids coulnt believe how smooth he was since hes shed,
at least i now have a good start for my snake diary
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| Kellog |
Posted - 13/10/2010 : 01:58:56
Am so glad Sonic shed ok, even if it started roughly. It MAY be that he was truly 'blue', as in eyes cloudy, before you got him....you've only had him 13 days. Silvesta just took nearly 2 weeks from the point of his eyes clearing to shedding. At least now you know that it would be a good idea to add something to help him with his next shed....just an extra water bowl on his heatmat will hopefully be enough, then see how that shed goes....hopefully it will be fine, if it isnt then you can take more measures to help the time after. And of course he finished shedding while you were out  ....they do that on purpose  !
Sounds like you have great plans to expand your collection , you really have got hooked on corns quick  ! Remember, pics of your new snow as soon as possible!
As for the size of his viv....ideally he could do with moving into a larger viv soon - the rule of thumb being that once the snake's length = the length + depth of the viv they need a bigger one.
Sonic really is a gorgeous snake....and he is very lucky to have an owner like you !
xxx
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| sarahw |
Posted - 12/10/2010 : 18:55:11
also just realised that i made a mistake on his viv size its not 3foot by 1foot, its 2 foot by 1foot |
| sarahw |
Posted - 12/10/2010 : 18:25:35
panic over, have come back from my daughters dance lessons and found the rest of his shed skin, there were a few pieces and the rest is all in one piece so thats good, with no retained shed, the sneaky thing trust him to do it while we were out! hes nice and shiny now |
| sarahw |
Posted - 12/10/2010 : 11:25:43
hi kellog i have just read the page on shedding, as i checked him this morning and his skin is coming off found some bits in his viv with the eyes caps so theyve come off ok, just a bit worried as it all semms to be coming off in small pieces, was quite suprised as he hadnt shown any signs of shedding.
and yes you did warn me, and im the process of arranging a courier for my first hatchling on mon!!!
he is a snow corn, so that thread will be coming up very soon, so you thought right
even my 5 year old daughter has asked about getting a pink snake as shes a typical girl and loves pink
so from the same person will hopefully be getting a hatchling next year from a coral snow and a snow.
can see my house being overun with snakes soon, i have def found my new fave pet, it has always been rats up til now weve got the snake |
| Kellog |
Posted - 12/10/2010 : 03:53:30
So glad to be able to give Sonic his own official welcome ! I, personally, as not surprised that he is still a bit defensive when you are getting him out of his viv. By the sounds of it he wasnt exactly treated well by his previous owners and, therefore, you dont know what he is expecting when he is got out. I think it will just take time and patience....as he is fine once he is out I am sure that he will eventually begin to understand that coming out of the viv isnt such a bad thing....and the fact he is already so happy to settle for such long periods with you and your son is fantastic  !
I know there is the thought of viv defensiveness and it being connected to feeding in the viv, but I dont really understand it unless you put your hand in smelling of mouse each time ! I would suggest that you try feeding him outside his viv, either in a RUB or even on a towel on the floor as he is an adult (thats how I do mine). It just minimises the risks of him ingesting some substrate while he eats, removes the problem of viv defensiveness (if it is that) and gives you a great chance to get some brilliant feeding pics !!
quote:
Originally posted by kdlang
........Herriotfan gave good advise about feeding him in a seperate tub. I will warn you that he may not eat outside his viv if he is used to eating in it.........
KdLang is right to warn you that Sonic may not like the change in his feeding routine, but when I got Kellog (aged 4yrs approx at the time) he had always been fed in his viv and I changed that to feeding him on the floor without a problem. It is just a case of try it and see .
Changing the substrate is a definite must. HannahB has given you some great advice about what to use. These threads on Substrate and Substrate Advice may be worth a read. HannahB mentions Aubiouse, which is what I use and I know a lot of other forum members use. Checkout their website to find the nearest place that stocks it.
Dunelm Mill is definitely the place to go to for cheap plants (I think the forum should get commission for the amount of people who land up buying from there for their snakes !). If you are wanting to put in a branch (which my snakes love climbing at times and just makes the viv look so much nicer) then these threads on Branches, Making your own decorations, Driftwood (do corns climb?) and Toxic Plants may be helpful.
quote:
Originally posted by sarahw
........think he needs something to help him shed as when i was holding him earlier i noticed a few small pieces of skin the size of his scales that were hanging so he obvioslly didnt shed properly, i got a damp towel and let him wriggle through it and they come off ok
Well done for getting that bit of retained shed off him, its sad as it shows how neglected he must have been for his previous owners not to have seen that he hadnt shed cleanly  . If you look at Shedding and dealing with shedding problems you can pick up some hints on what you can do next time he goes 'blue' to help him shed cleanly.
quote:
Originally posted by sarahw
kellog suggested looking on there to see if i could see what morph sonic was and i looked all the way through
so i shall blame kellog for me wanting more! lol
Think I get the blame for most things on this forum !! Did warn you about looking on IansViv and how addictive corn snakes are though!! Thats quite a wish list....hope your OH has deep pockets for some of them !! For some reason I think I will soon come across a thread from you about getting a new hatchling.....!
Oh dear....another epic post from Kellog  , sorry but hopefully some of it will be useful to you and Sonic .
xxx
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| sarahw |
Posted - 11/10/2010 : 21:07:51
will get hold of some aspen substrate foe him then, he needs his viv having a good clean, as previous owner said they never carried out a complete clean in the 2 years they had him!
now i know i can handle him then i can sort out his viv.
he strikes quite a bit still on approaching him but immediatly calms down when hes out and sat with my son for about half an hour while he was watching the telly,
hes sitting with me now on the seatee ijust had to rescue him as he tried disappearing down the back of it! |
| HannahB |
Posted - 11/10/2010 : 12:59:59
yeah its used for incubating eggs as they need the high moisture/humidity levels..corns dont need high humidity for every day living, aspen or woodchips are generally the best ones to use although a lot of people are starting to use auboise as it is so cheap, mine are still on kitchen towel and newspaper as its so easy to use but will probably go onto aspen or auboise at some point soon |
| sarahw |
Posted - 11/10/2010 : 12:42:44
i was wondering about the substrate as everyone on here recommends aspen or wood chips
hes on wvermiculite and always has been
but isnt vermiculite used for incubating eggs? |
| HannahB |
Posted - 11/10/2010 : 11:50:46
hes lovely - what substrate is he on though? looks like sand or something? if it is you should change to aspen or wood chippings as the sand can cause scale problems ect..
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| n/a |
Posted - 11/10/2010 : 02:09:24
He's pretty! I'm no expert on the morphs though, I have a mix between Miami and Bloodred but I'm told it's "normal" so. |
| sarahw |
Posted - 10/10/2010 : 21:03:34
thanks
i have had an idea of getting another 3 i could say to my other half that there is 1 each for me and my other 2 kids
he prefers royal pythons but dont think i could handle something that would be eating full grown rats as i have pet rats wouldnt seem right
unless he would feed it i guess
im fine with the mice thou that doesnt bother me |
| kdlang |
Posted - 10/10/2010 : 20:42:39
And so the addiction begins lol.
Sonic is gorgeous. Herriotfan gave good advise about feeding him in a seperate tub. I will warn you that he may not eat outside his viv if he is used to eating in it. My Izzy was always fed in his viv and when I tried to feed him out of it he just ignored the mouse. Saying that he can be a finicky feeder anyway. |
| sarahw |
Posted - 10/10/2010 : 19:40:44
oh dont! if i get another then i know i will want more! |
| herriotfan |
Posted - 10/10/2010 : 19:35:36
Ummm, sounds like a good wish list to me, just for starters!! |
| sarahw |
Posted - 10/10/2010 : 19:31:08
thats where i see them!
kellog suggested looking on there to see if i could see what morph sonic was and i looked all the way through
so i shall blame kellog for me wanting more! lol
the ones i like the look of are
charcoal
lavender
or anery lavender
ghost
snow
or snow motley |
| herriotfan |
Posted - 10/10/2010 : 18:37:59
I'm glad the retained shed came off ok. Letting them slither through a damp towel often works wonders.
You've got the bug already then!!!!!!!
So what other morphs do you like? Have a look on www.iansvivarium.com You'll end up with a wish list so long you'll need to cut down a forest for the paper to write it on!! |
| sarahw |
Posted - 10/10/2010 : 18:13:07
hi heriotfan
thanks he is nice looking
i know i shouldnt but ive already starting looking at the other colours and seen some that i like the look of!
i was starting to think it may be that as he is no bother once out
as far as i know he has always been fed in his viv
so will get myself a rub and feed him in that
only had him out for 5 mins today and wil increase each day
i will def get some of those jungle vines they look good think he needs something to help him shed as when i was holding him earlier i noticed a few small pieces of skin the size of his scales that were hanging so he obvioslly didnt shed properly, i got a damp towel and let him wriggle through it and they come off ok
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| herriotfan |
Posted - 10/10/2010 : 17:42:29
I'd agree that he may well be happy enough in that size viv and never need a larger one.
You could easily liven his viv up with some jungle vines, branches and artifical greenery.
I'd say he's a normal/wild/carolina morph.
You mention you think he might be viv defensive...do you feed him in his viv? That can make some viv defensive. Try feeding him out of his viv and see if it makes any dfference after a while he should improve!
He's certainly a handsome chap. |
| sarahw |
Posted - 10/10/2010 : 17:10:20
hes my sons snake and hes a fan of the sonis ds games!
thats what i was thinking some wood of somesorts, have just had a look at the set up photos so got some ideas from there |
