| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Sydney |
Posted - 25/03/2017 : 21:01:59
Hi,very new to forums, and snakes, ha. I now have Sydney he is 8 months old seems very healthy and eats well,I have been told to feed him in a separate tank, but he seems stressed after dinner? Anyone can help would be great, cheers |
| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Sydney |
Posted - 04/04/2017 : 18:13:21
I bought same the one, however my wife and daughter were with me so I ended up with a Pink one! haha. I have also bought a 3 ft Viv, which I am going to use for a couple of years until he is ready for the 4 ft one!
The viv comes with a heat lamp, however I have a heatmat from his starter tank, what would you recomend to use for his new Viv?
Many thanks
Dan |
| Razee |
Posted - 02/04/2017 : 21:42:12
What kind of thermostat do you have, ON/OFF or pulse? Generally, with any thermostat, the thermostat is plugged into the electric socket. Heat mat is plugged into thermostat, and then the thermostat probe goes straight on the heatmat - if the heatmat is in the vivarium. If you have faunarium ( or glass Viv ) with the heatmat underneath, the probe needs to go in the faunarium, on the floor, where the snake is. It's a good idea to put a digital thermometer probe right next to the thermostat probe ( you can always rubber band them together ) -so that you can check the temperature all the time.
Thermostats are really important, without them, any heater can get way too warm. Then the snake will not use it ( or will use it and get burned )- which means it has no warm side :-0 . Another good thing about thermostat is that it saves you lots of electricity.
For heatmat, pulse thermostats are the best, as they keep very stable temperature ( they reach the programmed temperature and then just keep sending small pulses of power to the mat, keeping it at exact temperature ). On/ off thermostats aren't that good,as there's quite a big swing in the temperature. This is because they reach the required temperature, then switch off. The heatmat s starts cooling, then when the ttemps goes down a degree or 2, the thermostat switches the mat on again, but by the time the mats heats up again, the temperature continues dropping for a short time. When it reaches the right temperature, it switches off again etc.
Of course, there are now digital thermostats ( l just got Microclimate Evi lite - brilliant! )
Nice to know you snakey has managed a fuzzy :-)
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| Sydney |
Posted - 02/04/2017 : 16:40:31
Hi i took your advice today down the reptile shop and chose my own fuzzie size, great tip thanks. Sydney eat it with ease, and has a nice little bump for a belly, yay!
I also bought a micro climate control, very tech! think its going to take me a long time to get my head round it, do you know if they are worth it? I had no idea how hot the heat mat was getting, he always stayed down the cool end alot?
Hope alls well
Thanks Dan |
| Razee |
Posted - 31/03/2017 : 08:29:54
It depends on the size...there are 1 gram pinkies at smallest and 4 g pinkies as biggest ( and l've seen pinkies bigger than fuzzies! ). So, if you feed 2x 1 g pinkie, the snake only gets 2 g of food. If it's 2 massive pinkies, then the snake got 8 g - more food than if you feed a fuzzie!
Generally, if the food doesn't leave a bump when it settles in the stomach ( or only leaves a barely visible bump ) any more, and when the snakes eats it really fast, and the poops are tiny, it's time to up the food. There's a rough feeding guide in "stickies" on this forum, which says how much to feed, how often, to how heavy snake...but that's only approximate. You weigh your snake, and it will tell you what size of food it should be eating and how often...
You'd go from 1 pinkie to 2, then a fuzzy, then hopper, then small. But there's nothing stopping you giving a fuzzy and a pinkie, if the snake is due to move up from fuzzies, but there are no hoppers and the snake is too narrow to eat a small mouse, but needs more food, for example. Generally, you shouldn't feed any food that's wider than 1.5 x the thickness of the thickest part of the snake.
If you worry about going up a size, try to buy your mice from a pet shop that lets you choose the mice. Then you can select the biggest pinkie just before you move onto fuzzies, or the smallest fuzzies for the first feed on fuzzies. ( you can tell l am a right pain selecting mice for my snakes :-) ).
When you move your snake onto fuzzies, you will probably notice a growth spurt. The older the mouse, the more calcium they have ( so pinkies skeletons have hardly any, but once the mice are weaned, the calcium content is much better ). If yours is 8 months old, unless he is really tiny for his age, he should be ok to eat fuzzies already. :-) |
| Sydney |
Posted - 29/03/2017 : 19:37:07
Hi Razee, haha yes a bit of a panicker, But really enjoying having him, sounds like Bazil likes dinner time. Sydney has not rolled yet with dinner, but still time. Sorry for all the questions, I fed him two pinkies last dinner time, do you think a fuzzy maybe a better idea?
Thanks Dan |
| Razee |
Posted - 29/03/2017 : 09:47:37
Don't worry too much about the aspen, it's only a problem if the snake is absolutely tiny and swallows a large, very sharp piece. Most of the time, even if the swallow a bit, they'd pass it no problem.
I was exactly like you when l first got Bazil ( she is my first snake ). I really had to feed her out of faunarium as she used to really roll the pinkie in the aspen, drag it backwards across the whole tank etc., and l was stressing so badly :-)
You might find that yours is a lovely, calm feeder, and will eat politely from a piece of paper without dragging the mice backwards through the bedding, in which case you could feed in his Viv. But don't worry too much, there are no hard and fast rules, it's what you find works best for both of you. You shouldn't handle the snake at least 48 hours after feeding, even better to leave them till they've pooped. But there's no problem moving snake from a feed box back to Viv, as long as the snake isn't massively stressed out. |
| Kez |
Posted - 28/03/2017 : 22:50:27
Great news, Dan  and good boy, Sydney  |
| ScalySituation |
Posted - 28/03/2017 : 19:30:21
:) |
| Sydney |
Posted - 28/03/2017 : 18:56:50
Hi all, Sydney finally came out of his big sleep after 48hrs, first dinner with two pinkies, so worried about the aspen but all good, will stick with the separate tank in future.
Thanks all for advice,
speak soon
Dan |
| Sydney |
Posted - 27/03/2017 : 15:06:14
Thank you, I will see how he is on his next feed out of the Viv.
Many Thanks
Dan |
| Sydney |
Posted - 27/03/2017 : 15:04:40
Thank you so much for that, its a great help as I have been in such a panic as the whether I have been doing thins right or wrong.
I was so worried about the aspen, on Saturday I fed him 2 pinkies for the first time and haven't seen him since.
Many thanks
Dan |
| Razee |
Posted - 27/03/2017 : 09:34:15
Re feeding in or out of Viv - you just have to work out what suits you and your snake.
When mine were tiny hatchlings, they were on kitchen roll as substrate, to make sure l can monitor any problems with poop -and l fed them in their tubs, to minimise stress. Once bigger and more confident ( like yours ) l started feeding out of tubs ( by then l knew they were pooping ok, and they were on aspen ) to stop them eating bedding and getting impacted.
With my adult snakes, they all get fed out of Viv in RUB, apart from Baz. She is so stressy, that l save her the hassle, and she normally sits in her cave so no substrate to eat...ha. So l thought. She became so used to being fed there, she now explodes out of the cave if she so much as catches a whiff of a mouse. Cue mouse being dropped, Viv decor flying everywhere...so it is becoming a problem now.
I have to feed the other 3 out of their Viv's, as1) they really are very keen strike feeders, and in the Viv end up rolling mice in substrate, ( one got piece of aspen stuck in his mouth just after feeding and couldn't close his mouth, cue battle with freshly fed cheesed off snake still in feeding mode , to extract the sharp piece of aspen. They are now on lignocell, but still., sending half of their hides and Viv decor flying isn't all that good. 2) l only fed them in their Viv's 2x out of necessity, but even in that short time, Twiddie came to expect feeding every time the Viv opened - and l got bitten. Feeding bite. The only time in his life he'd bitten me.
Seb is a rescue, and he ended up fed in his Viv in his old home - and biting. It took well over a year when l got him, for him to learn that Viv door opening doesn't mean that mouse is entering. He would always longe towards you, stopping only in the last moment when he realised l wasn't a mouse...
I leave mine in feeding boxes until the food settles in their stomach, and in Seb's case minute or 2 longer, until he stops trying to bite at my hand through the tub if l move :-). Then l simply open the tub and let them crawl into their Viv's ( l can pick up 2 of them, but with Seb, you are risking a feeding bite ). |
| Sydney |
Posted - 27/03/2017 : 09:11:56
That's great,thanks for the advise, he's still only small,8 months old, so have time to look, many thanks Dan |
| Razee |
Posted - 27/03/2017 : 09:05:49
I'd go for 4 foot, even if your corn snake ends up smaller as an adult ( and he might end up larger than usual, you can't tell ), they are still pretty active snakes and need the space. My smallest adult rescue corn is in 3 foot Viv, and he seems pitifully cramped in there. I have a massive Viv ready for him, just haven't finished installing everything yet. |
| Sydney |
Posted - 27/03/2017 : 08:56:16
Morning all,just seen a Viv for sale,3ft wide by 18inch deep,do you think it is roomy enough for a full size corn snake? Many thanks Dan |
| Kez |
Posted - 26/03/2017 : 22:16:44
Long may it continue  |
| ScalySituation |
Posted - 26/03/2017 : 19:13:36
quote:
Originally posted by Kez
You're very welcome. It's a fab site and a real hub of information, it's just a shame that it's much quieter than it ever was since Facebook came along 
It is although there's been a bit more life the last few weeks |
| Kez |
Posted - 26/03/2017 : 18:48:56
You're very welcome. It's a fab site and a real hub of information, it's just a shame that it's much quieter than it ever was since Facebook came along |
| Sydney |
Posted - 26/03/2017 : 18:43:59
Thank you so much for your help, I am so glad I found this forum.
Many thanks Dan |
| Kez |
Posted - 26/03/2017 : 17:04:57
Hi Dan, no problem, ask away! We will always try to help when we can
It's a natural thing for snakes to do, hide away; after all, in their natural environment, they are prey for many predators so it's what they do for the majority of the time unless they're out hunting for food. You could find yourself waiting a long time for him to come out of his hiding place of his own accord, so it's fine to just gently bring him out and put him into his feeding tub. Just be confident about bringing him out; if you hesitate, he could end up becoming nervous of you and you don't want that  .
As for the length of time to leave him after he's eaten, once he's slithered around for a bit to move the food down his body (about one third to half way), gently pick him up, supporting his body where the food item is located, and put him back into his viv. You'll then want to leave him for at least 48 hours before handling, so that he has time to digest. If you handle him any earlier, you could stress him out and cause a regurgitation; if that happens, it then takes 10-14 days for his gut flora to be ready to digest a food item again.
I hope the information helps to explain. Anything else, please ask |
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