| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| LittleMick |
Posted - 28/10/2009 : 19:02:29
Well it looks like 888 will be getting more money off of me as that is where I will be getting my snake from.
After all the research I have done over the last few months, I thought I was about ready for my Corn. Went to get it from the local store and they refused to sell me one on the grounds that I wasn't keeping it in a wooden vivarium. I looked astonished. Apparently they have had a few customers come back with their Corns because they weren't feeding, and the store said it was due to the fact they were keeping them in either glass or plastic tanks. I said no offense but I have been researching this for the past few months to make sure I have the right setup, I also told them my setup has been on test for the past month. And, out of the forums that I have visited NOT ONE person has said that they have had issues with Corns in glass/plastic enclosures. One of the store assistants then proceded to tell me how snakes need a basking light to thermoregulate properly as the heat mat wouldn't provide sufficient heat above the substrate. And also that glass/plastic don't hold the heat very well. Geez, the way they were going on, you would have thought I had just walked in off the street with no knowledge what so ever. I mean I know I'm new to the herp world but bloomin' eck, give me some credit. The owner also proceded to tell me about the importance of heat, and stated that the store can reach temperatures of 85f at night, so this tells me that their herps are too hot, unless they have some sort of air con or ventilation to give a cool side. And it suggest to me that their method of keeping herps may be the actual cause of their customers problems. They also asked where I was getting my information from, I told them, books and forums, herp keepers with experience ranging from new comers to 20+ years. But the main thing that has really annoyed me is, I rang them last Saturday to tell them that I would be in Wednesday (today) to watch the snakes feed, and that I would be planning on either buying one or putting a deposit on one. When I rang today to confirm teh feeding time they said they were out of pinkies and that they wouldn't be feeding.  . They had only got 25 pinkies left to feed the problematic feeders. So basically I wasted a half day holiday and drew out £120 for nothing. Now I have to go to the trouble of puting that money back in my account.
MY ROUND THE FAUN TEMPS - As you may knnow I have testing my temps over the last month and I have the following
Warm End Substrate Level - 27 - 31c (78 - 88f)
Warm End Above Substrate - 24.8c - 27.6c (74 - 80f)
Cool Side - 22 - 25c (70 - 76f) 25c is rare, just particularly hot days
A FINAL QUESTION BEFORE ORDERING MY CORN Well I know that alot of you use various means for enclosures including RUBS, Fauns, aquariums and wooden vivs, but if there is absolutely anyone out there that can agree with what they have said I would like to hear it please.
In short, that's twice now they have given me information regarding herps that contradict everything I have researched, both from books and forums. And I won't be going there again, I thnk I will even start getting my live foods online.
As a new comer, I can't help but 2nd guess all I have learned so far.
Anyway, sorry about the rant, I just can't stop thinking about it.
Mick |
| 11 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Paulusworm |
Posted - 28/10/2009 : 22:54:26
Can't really recommend a breeder but if you want a courier I'd recommend Sam the van man ( http://www.samthevanman.com/index.php ) He brought Suki down from Wrexham to Portsmouth for £53. Picked her up at 6pm and delivered her straight here at 2.30am because I didn't want her overnighting anywhere. DEFRA licenced, excellent comms and a damn nice bloke as well. |
| Chimp276 |
Posted - 28/10/2009 : 22:38:33
Oh some of the ppl in reptile shops have no idea how to correctly look after their reptiles, it really annoys me!
The advice you get on this froum will be a million times better then that bloke could get you!
Have never got anything from triple8 so cant give u an advice lol! |
| LittleMick |
Posted - 28/10/2009 : 22:22:11
Well I'd be in teh same boat either way as they are pretty far away from me, I'm in the midlands. But I will be checking out the various links you have given me, seeings you's have recommended them then they can't be all bad huh, lol. |
| n/a |
Posted - 28/10/2009 : 21:08:37
Just to agree with Hannah, Sue @ hissnhers is lovely. She can tell you everything about the snake you're buying and when I've spoken to her I always get the impression that she's all about the snakes NOT all about the money. She and I have been in contact quite a bit recently because she knows I'm looking for a Gold Dust next year and she's doing everything she can to make that happen for me. Worth giving her a try.
Another good person to try if it's anywhere near you is Kirsty in High Wycombe. She's a really nice lass who breeds from her bedroom (!) and does lots of the shows. Her snakes are great quality, reasonably priced (I've just paid £30 for my new Ghost Motley) and she treats them all as pets. If you want to contact her then mail me and I'll give you her number. (I'm bbsmog@hotmail.com). Just as an aside she's getting rid of the last of her 09 Ghosts and Anerys for £15 which is pretty damn good.
Maybe worth going for a breeder that's recommended to you than a website where you're not sure of the providence of the snake. I'm not knocking 888 though but I'd rather by from a breeder I've met every time.  |
| HannahB |
Posted - 28/10/2009 : 21:08:13
Sue is lovely - spoke to her at the donny show and you could see just how much she enjoys her snakes, am looking for a link but cant seem to find one.. will get back to you when i find it
http://www.corn-snakes.org this is the link but its not been updated in a long time..
i cant fault sue at all - she almost convinced me to buy some extras so i could breed my own gold dusts as i said i really liked them..and she thought i could manage with a non feeder of hers..turns out i came away with one anyway with Aura haha
like bbsmog has said i would rather buy from a person and not a website, they will be able to give you the full lowdown on the snake and all the shed/feeding records |
| LittleMick |
Posted - 28/10/2009 : 21:04:36
quote:
Originally posted by matty18714
First off, understand that contradicting advice is not rare with animal keeping. Everyone has their own view.
It is correct that a snake can feel threatened in a plastic or glass tank, this is because they feel they are in a large open area. You can get round this by covering the sides with paper. Its also true that plastic and glass tanks dont hold the heat very well (which to be honest is almost an invalid point if using a heat mat).
As for the method of heating, to me it doesnt matter if a mat or a bulb is used as long as they are set up properly and statted.
You took the words right out of my mouth! What I try to do is find as many sources as possible, sometimes I'll go with the majority but if even that feels wrong I'll go with other advice. At the end of the day we all have to start somewhere.
Hannah - You passed me the link for hisnhers, like you said, they are expensive, but obviously you had a good experience with them. Have you got a link for that Portsmouth guy?
I must admit, I am heading towrds 888 as they are about 13 miles away, they are not expensive and the courier is only £8.95. And I have already had a good experience with them I'll have to find out what records they keep. Although even my local only keeps records of when the snakes feed and guess the age.
Anyway, initial choices from 888 in order of most favourate, I tend to look at animals from an artists point of view, profile,colour and lines/curves:
A Carolina
This reminds me of fire and I loved the black around the saddles. This is teh one they had on offer, but it isn't on offer any more. They also had an Okeetee on their site, I thought Carolinas and Okeetees were the same as they are both from Carolina, although I'm not sure whether the Carolina is North or South.
A Ghost
I actually thought this was an Anery, but hey ho, I just like the colours on this, I liked the sort of silver sheen to it.
An Anery
As an artist I tend work alot more in black and white so this fits the bill nicely.
I realise that the images might not necessarily reflect the snake I actually get, if they are a good likeness to the images I would be happy. |
| matty18714 |
Posted - 28/10/2009 : 19:59:45
First off, understand that contradicting advice is not rare with animal keeping. Everyone has their own view.
It is correct that a snake can feel threatened in a plastic or glass tank, this is because they feel they are in a large open area. You can get round this by covering the sides with paper. Its also true that plastic and glass tanks dont hold the heat very well (which to be honest is almost an invalid point if using a heat mat).
As for the method of heating, to me it doesnt matter if a mat or a bulb is used as long as they are set up properly and statted. |
| kizzig |
Posted - 28/10/2009 : 19:58:34
Sorry to hear about the pet shop saga! Unfortunately too many shops sell herps with the wrong equipment, and many inexperienced keepers assume that the pet shop is giving correct information, so they don't question the shop keepers as you did.
We agree with FelineWolf, avoid the place and pass on your experience to friends and family.
You must be gutted, we can imagine that you were really excited about getting/securing your corn today!
We wish you all successes in getting your new snakey companion and would love to know how you get on with ordering livestock from 888! You're probably best to ring them rather than ordering online so you can go through your requirements.
All the best! |
| HannahB |
Posted - 28/10/2009 : 19:57:15
the only time housing can cause a problem is if it is too big for a young hatchling - it can freak them out a bit but apart from that there is nothing wrong with keeping them in fauns instead of wooden vivs...i know my mont has done a lot better in his faun than he did in his glass viv - hes out and about a lot more than he was before the move
if they want you to buy the expensive things then dont go there.. have you thought about getting a snake from a breeder and having it couriered up to you? i paid £25 for mont (hes a carolina) and then bout £55 for him to be shipped up to me from portsmouth.. jim the breeder was really nice and he made sure i knew exactly what was happening from him being picked up to him arriving at mine quite a few breeders will courier them to you..
another really nice breeder is Sue at hissnhers.co.uk shes a bit more expensive but shes fab - got 3 of ours from her and i would defintely recommend her.. shes got some normals/classics, amels, blizzards, ultramels, anerys and some gorgeous stripes and motleys from this years clutches plus she gives you the full lowdown on the snakes whereas im not so sure 888 would - shes had all the hatchlings from the start which i dont think 888 will have done
hope you can get a snakey soon! |
| LittleMick |
Posted - 28/10/2009 : 19:33:15
What is it they say in Bad Boys? Hoooosaaaaaaaaa, lol. Lucky I didn't write my post in one breath.
Whats frustrating as well is, the chap who I was going to get my Corn snake off has had a falling out with his family and they were the ones who were going to pick it up for me as he lives all the way up north.
So, as I said, looks like 888 will be getting some more of my hard earned cash. Just a little anticipation about live stock ordering online. Means I can't health check it before I buy it or check I like the colouration.
To be honest I have a feeling the local store had some of their Corns labelled up wrong anyway. But not sure. They had a Fire Mel there, which I thought was supposd to be a deep red blending into orange unnderneath, and this one was pure orange with a motley pale white pattern. So isn't that just an Amel? I'm loads hazy on morphs still.
I initially had my eyes on either a common, Anery or the Fire Amel, which ranged from £40 - £120. So they have lucked out, lol. |
| n/a |
Posted - 28/10/2009 : 19:16:01
That sucks 
Unfortunately people in shops can be a pain in the neck for believing they know everything and any research done by an alternative method to trusting their god-like knowledge is obviously a pack of lies. They want gullible customers who will come in and just trust them and buy exactly what they tell them to. I used to have this problem in body piercing, I'd do loads of research and then get told by some hack with a needle and a shop front that I was talking rubbish despite the fact that I'd been talking to people that had been in the business since before he'd been born.
Anyway, I know where you're coming from, I'd go with you on just avoiding that place from now on, even if what they said was true I still wouldn't give my business to someone who made you feel as small and frustrated as they've obviously made you feel. Give someone a shop to sit inside and they think they rule the world!
...and breathe  |
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