| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Thante |
Posted - 20/03/2012 : 20:38:40
I'm planning to get another corn (Seems pointless to have a empty viv now cherry is gone) But i can't decided wether to buy an adult or a baby. I have the set up for both, but can only afford one.
Originally i decided to get another baby. Tequila had been in the shop for a couple of years when i got him and he was so scarred of everything, he is only now really tarting to improve. I thought if i got a baby i could get it used to being handled when it was little, like i did with Cherry.
But then i went to the reptile shop .......
They have a beautiful adult female Amel. Handled her briefly and she seemed to have a really good temperament. Sadly she was in a large tank with 4 other adult corn snakes, male and female!!! so there is a chance she might be pregnant. Half of me wants to rescue her and give her a good home, the other half says to go with my original plan so as not to risk having 10+ corn snakes that i can't house.
What do you think? Do you prefer getting snakes as babies or adults? |
| 12 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Casta |
Posted - 28/03/2012 : 09:53:00
depends where you get the hatchie from... most breeders wont let them go till they have eaten and shed a few times... my 3 little ones came from breeders and have had no probs. my yearling/ 2 yr old is a big lad and lovely to handle but i didn't have a lot of info on him so i wasn't sure how he'd be. to me the only real difference as people have pointed out is the size and speed coz hatchies are naturally nervy about new things. if your gonna get one though put it in the noiseiest part of the house. they'll hide for a while but will get used to more sights and smells. something i've noticed from mine being in my bedroom people are hardly ever in to my neighbour whose got hers in her front room with an 8 yr old.
i love the adult size etc but nothings better than seeing a hatchies colour change! my tippexed worm is now developing some beautiful strong yellow. she won't stay pink for long  |
| fonzie12 |
Posted - 28/03/2012 : 01:41:20
quote:
Originally posted by Sta~ple
I prefer adults. They are so much nicer to handle plus there are so many without a home (there are babies too but they are easier to find homes for, kind of like how kittens are easier to get homes for than cats) I got an adult king I feel it was a bit risky given the descprition of the typical king attitude but nope! He's a cuddly mush, much more cuddly than a baby.
i agree i got my 4 year old daughter a 4ft/2inch normal i think its a normal and she loves it havent had it probed yet so cant say the sex but its very very placid now my older daughter wants a snake and im saying go for a sub/ aduldt as they can be found easer than a hachling and some dont come with feeding problems . tony i only paid £30 for him/her compared to £50 for a hatchling???? |
| Sta~ple |
Posted - 24/03/2012 : 11:20:07
If it was female and housed with males it was probably miffed! All my adults seem to get a tad angry this time of year. |
| kev 5 |
Posted - 23/03/2012 : 22:23:42
i'd rather a baby,it's nice to watch them grow |
| Thante |
Posted - 23/03/2012 : 18:18:42
Ok i just got home from seeing the Amel and i think i have made my decision.
I decided not to get the adult, mainly because as i was stood talking to a member of staff .... it started biting the other corns it was housed with. Not good. Girl was proper going for it, repeated striking holding on and everything. So i thought ..... no i don't want that snake. Think the staff member knew he had lost his sale haha.
So i am still on the hunt for a Female Amel or Amel Motley. As it is getting towards baby season i may just follow my original plan and get myself a new little shoe lace. |
| SamanthaDean |
Posted - 23/03/2012 : 17:29:29
i would choose an adult mainly cos my little ones are suck escape artists and i just cant wait for them to grow |
| Thante |
Posted - 23/03/2012 : 14:52:38
I'm like the Idea of writing a pros and cons list Kdlang, i think i might give it a go.
I'm going back to the reptile shop today to ask them some questions about the snake. See if i can find out if its been in a shop all its life or if its preowned, age, how likely it is that she is pregnant.
Everyone has made some good points, I like the idea of giving a larger snake a home that it might not otherwise get, and after having had a snake with big problems from birth the idea of having a larger snake and not risking going through that stress again is very appealing.
Whatever happens i will not be buying the snake today (not been payed yet haha:P) but getting some of my questions answered my help me make up my mind. |
| kdlang |
Posted - 21/03/2012 : 09:42:09
I think there are pros and cons with both. Hatchlings can come with feeding issues and have a higher mortality rate and bigger risk of escaping. Adults come with their own complications. Personally I prefer adults.
I will say though that if the amel you like is gravid then that doesn't mean you will have to have lots of babies to house. You could give the eggs to someone else to incubate or you could freeze them as soon as they are laid so that they don't develop. Having said that, you do run the risk of her having problems laying which can turn expensive. If I were you I would make a list of pros and cons of both of them and then decide based on what you think is best for you. |
| Sta~ple |
Posted - 21/03/2012 : 09:31:35
I prefer adults. They are so much nicer to handle plus there are so many without a home (there are babies too but they are easier to find homes for, kind of like how kittens are easier to get homes for than cats) I got an adult king I feel it was a bit risky given the descprition of the typical king attitude but nope! He's a cuddly mush, much more cuddly than a baby. |
| nickyff |
Posted - 21/03/2012 : 03:08:22
hm- the opposite argument- adults over babies, every time.
We got the tiddler last year, and tho now twice the size she was, she's still a tiddler... with all the attached scary stuff- when she got out of her viv she could have gone anywhere at all- finding her was pure luck. Its taken 6 months just for her to trust us enough to not freak out at everything, and she's still really nervy and shy and hides most of the time. I still worry about her getting hurt/lost/sick/stuck in something, every feed and every shed is an emotional lurch until she gets through the process unscathed. She can't be put down on a surface to explore cos she'd be off like a wiggly bullet- and you can guarantee that whatever surface you did put her on, there'll be a tiny gap in some object that you wouldn't be able to get her out of, and of course she'll go straight for that danger-gap....
A while back I got 2 big corns (2.5 ft and 3ft) followed by a big king snake. (4.5ft) They're all confident and relaxed about people, to the point of being actually quite sociable. Spot knocks on the glass with her nose, to come out when she's bored. IF they got out (highly unlikely) we'd find them fairly easily. When they're taken out of the viv they can be put down on the sofa, floor, table, and allowed to explore, and I know they're safe from getting lost in a tiny space, cos there aren't so many spaces they'd fit in. The size of them makes handling a more satisfying sensory experience; the sensation of that muscly grip on yr wrist is way nicer than the slippy wriggle of a shoelace between the fingers. The tickle of a cold snake down yr back is lush. 
Feeding bigger snakes is far more interesting/exciting- they don't tend to want to hide away like the baby does, and are fine about being watched while eating. Mine like swimming in the bath, and I'm really looking forward to warmer weather when they can be allowed out to play in the back garden...
I'd get a bigger sized snake every time. It'll usually still be relatively young, but not have any of the practical problems of a shoelace
edit- I wouldn't get it from a shop tho- I'd wonder why it was still there??? I'd get a pre-owned pet. in fact that's what I did do.
but that's me. You will have your own reasons pro/con babies or big'uns.
good luck in making the decision x (careful you don't wind up with both, by 'accident'!!!!) |
| Okeetee Mick |
Posted - 20/03/2012 : 20:54:33
I personally like young ones as I like to watch them grow and develop. Bought a couple of baby Kings this week, surprising how soon you forget how small they are at 12 weeks but great fun. |
| Corns7 |
Posted - 20/03/2012 : 20:53:01
Hi,
Personally I would go for a baby, even though you like the amel. Having them from baby's until they are adults is a great experience.
Hope this helps :) |
