| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| purplehay1978 |
Posted - 13/11/2011 : 22:01:28
Hey all,
my name is Haley and ive recently become the owner of cornsnake called George! I had no notion of getting a snake, however i saw him and knew he wasnt happy. His old owner had lost interest in him and wasnt feeding him, cleaning his vivarium out or generally taking care of him. The snale itself seemed very skinny for its length? and his old owner told me he had definitely shrunk in size??? he kept asking me to take him so i did! this is where the help is needed from you guys n gals!
Ive not been told much about him. Ive no idea of his age, or how to find out! hes about 2.5ft long and quite slim...the last time he was fed by me was the day i got him, which was thursday. As it has been at least 6 weeks since he was fed before that i followed advice from the petshop owner who said feed him a pinkie, and if he took it and munched it straight away, then give him another, which i did. I have to say, not one made any kind of lump in his body lol!
George came with a vivarium, with sliding glass doors, which ive since purchased a lock!(he kept escaping!!) I had to get some snake friendly disinfectant as the smell from his viv was disgusting! so ive cleaned and freshened up his viv and the two hides, i bought him a large water bowl as he only had a small one, ive ordered thermometers to check temperature. He has a heat bulb in the roof of his viv, which is red....is this all he needs?? its slightly over to one side so he has a cooler and darker area on that side??
Ive covered the base in small wood chips? this is what he had previously so didnt want to change too much for him!
im trying to think of what else you would need to know! its all so much to take in for me! he was very snappy when i first got him, so after cleaning his viv out and feeding i left him well alone. just to let him settle.
Ive started to handle him more yesterday and today and there is such a difference! He seems so happy! he loves exploring his new clean home and seems happy enough with me handling him, he even holds tight to me when i go to put him back in!!
Anyway, hi to everyone on here...hope someone out there will guide me through my first few weeks with George!
Am i right in thinking itll be at least a week until his next feed??? poor wee pet i feel like hes been starved long enough!
When i work out how il add a photo of him!
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| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| tordyjo |
Posted - 15/11/2011 : 09:58:35
the heatmat should cover 1/3 to 1/2 of the floor space allowing the snake to thermoregulate. The heat of the mat should then be controlled by a thermostat, so the probe sits on the mat and you set the temperature on the stat box, the mat then turns on/off (bit like an oven) when it reaches the desired/programmed temperature so as not to overheat your snake. The exact temperature can also be measured by using the digital thermometer with the probe also on the heatmat. The opposite end would just be the ambient temperature of your room. |
| purplehay1978 |
Posted - 15/11/2011 : 09:52:20
Hi again and Thanks for the advice and warm welcome! I've another quick question...the woman in the pet shop says she doesn't agree on snakes having heat mats cos they burn easily, and therefor wasn't overly helpful! There are different watts and sizes and makes etc? Which is the best one to get? Should it only cover one side? Then does the other side stay cold?? |
| smart bunny |
Posted - 14/11/2011 : 18:53:53
Hi there, sounds like George is lucky you came along just when he needed you. Welcome from another newbie :) |
| Okeetee Mick |
Posted - 14/11/2011 : 17:53:59
Hi, welcome to the forum |
| gingerpony |
Posted - 14/11/2011 : 14:25:11
heya and welcome |
| nusnakemum |
Posted - 14/11/2011 : 12:04:49
Hiya and welcome - i think George is going to have a lovely life with you now and this forum will help with everything you should need to know - enjoy |
| Daniel_G |
Posted - 14/11/2011 : 08:29:40
Welcome to the forums, and congrats on your new snake!
I don't own a snake, but pretty much everyone here will be able to answer your questions. |
| scottishbluebird |
Posted - 14/11/2011 : 01:42:04
Hi and welcome, really glad you took George in, personally id say get rid of bulb, get the heat matt, try him on a fuzzy. Did you leave him alone to settle in for a week? let him get used to being in a new place (and the shock of now getting proper care and attention!)just spot clean/change water.
Look forward to the pics, and you soooo did the right thing |
| purplehay1978 |
Posted - 13/11/2011 : 22:59:48
ok, no probs, il head out tomorrow and get a heat mat and take the bulb away altogether! thanks guys!! |
| tordyjo |
Posted - 13/11/2011 : 22:55:21
hi there,
both my yearlings are approx 2 half feet, so would imagine he's somewhere around that age, but snakes vary so much in size and age its so difficult to tell exactly.
Sounds like he's found a good loving home |
| Casta |
Posted - 13/11/2011 : 22:45:59
definitely get a heat mat as its a constant source of accessible heat when the they need it, especially for digestion. get a guard for that bulb pronto. you don't want a burnt snake if he manages to gut up and wrap himself around it.
http://www.thecornsnake.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5413
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| purplehay1978 |
Posted - 13/11/2011 : 22:21:24
Hi and thanks for the replies!
There is a thermostat for the bulb,but no guard at the minute, however im planning on getting a heat mat for him, instead of the bulb..is this the right thing to do?? ive heard good and bad things about the heat mats! i also added more wood chips into his viv as he loves to dive under it and hide, with just his head sticking out!
ive a fuzzy for him in the freezer for next week..am hoping this will help. how do i go about finding out how old he is?? would my local vet be able to tell me?
|
| garrie |
Posted - 13/11/2011 : 22:19:54
Hey Haley, welcome to the forum. Sounds like you are doing an awesome job so far! I'm sure George is much happier. Virtually all the information that you need to know can be found on the care sheet - Here
I notice that you haven't got a heat mat & stat - this would certainly be preference over a bulb (which isn't guaranteed to give a constant 30degree max temp for the warm end).
I would have also recommended giving him a week to settle, but actually it sounds as though he is doing okay - perhaps just leave him be until next feed? Now that you know he is happy to eat, you can jump up his food size to match the "maximum of 1 1/2 times the width of the widest part of him.
Weight wise, there is a good thread Here that will give you a good indication as to how thin/underweight he is.
You are correct that feeds are generally once every 7 days for your age snake - someone else may be able to confirm this, but if he is underweight it may be worth feeding more frequently (5 days) or possibly feed him rats rather than mice, which have a higher fat content.
Anyway...keep asking questions as you need to, and well done again on giving George a much happier home |
| Mort13 |
Posted - 13/11/2011 : 22:13:36
Hi and welcome.
Do you know how old George is? Pinkies seem small for a 2 and half foot snake.
In regards to the heat bulb,I've never used one so can't really comment as to whether its enough to heat his hot end. The majority of people use heat mats,but some do use other heating methods so I'm sure someone will come along and advise you better on that.
Is the bulb controlled by a thermostat? This stops it getting too hot and does it have a guard around it though as if not he could squeeze himself around it causing the glass to break and injure him.
Oh,and congrats. It sounds like he's got a good thing going with you. |
| gmac |
Posted - 13/11/2011 : 22:11:40
hi and welcome,
seems you got it under control so to speak, shall only ask if you have a dimmer thermostats for the light, its essenstial.
And yes dont feed until next thursday. and of there is no bump after feeding perhaps offer him a fuzzy. Snakes are very resiliant.
have a look through the caresheet on the homepage of the site and thats a good starting point for you. |
