| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| DJRenegade |
Posted - 07/04/2011 : 17:55:25
As requested, im gonna post this here too :)
Been interested in a snake for a while but had to persuade the missus ;) Managed to get her to agree and I think she is happy with the idea now :) Im looking to get either a corn snake or a king snake for now. How different are these 2 snakes to care for? if any different?
I am going to be moving house soon and the #1 thing on my list after getting sorted is buying me a snake :D
Ive been looking around for over a year at stores and seem to have found a decent one which are selling hatchling snakes ranging from £50 upto £100. They all come with a basic setup which should last around 3 months (or so they say) by which time im hoping to have got a bigger setup ready for my lil baby!
I got loadsa questions lol as i dont want to do something wrong and want everything set in my head. I have done my research and read a lot from these forums.
Anyway lets start with my suggested setup (saving over the next 4-5 months so money isnt really a problem, lets just get this right :) )
Vivarium - VIVEXOTIC 24IN COMPACT VIVARIUM WINCHESTER OAK - £34.69 (24"x15"x16")
Substrate - PROREP ASPEN BEDDING - £4.31 (10 litre)
Water - EXO TERRA WATER DISH (Med) - £4.05
Heat - HABISTAT HEAT MAT - £17.58 (11"x11")
Thermostat - HABISTAT MAT STAT - £25.07
Light - HELP! (Do i need a light? it would be nice to see my snakey if its a dull day, had my eye on a EXO TERRA GLOW LIGHT either 8" or 10" to hang above the viv, suggestions please :) )
Thermometer - LUCKY REPTILE THERMOMETER DELUXE - £6.38 (measures 2 areas)
Hide - EXO TERRA REPTILE CAVE (large) - £5.62
Cave - Exo Terra Snake Cave (Medium) - £10.55
Plants - EXO TERRA ABULITON (SILK - MEDIUM) - £5.80 AND EXO TERRA BOSTON FERN (Medium) - £8.08
Lock - Komodo Habitat Lock - £3.20
total is around the £125 mark (cba to add up lol)
How long will my 2' viv last me before upgrading? (i want my snakey to hit 4'+ if possible)
is the site http://www.reptiles.swelluk.com/ trustworth, it seems cheap! (any others that you would recommend)
My viv would be 24" long and 15" deep, would an 11"x11" heatmat suffice? (next size is 17"x11" on here)
Have i gone OTT/not enough plants in the viv?
Anything else you would add/remove?
Sorry for all the questions, excited about getting my snakey and want it to be perfect for him/her!!
Thanks for now :)
Michael. |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| a33272 |
Posted - 08/04/2011 : 10:35:46
also for hides etc i use alot of hides an toys intended for furry pets too |
| a33272 |
Posted - 08/04/2011 : 10:34:29
im with gp on viv i had marmalade in a rub approx 9 ltr rub from when i got her while she was in that i got a 3ft vivexotic then when she grew to big for rub she went straight into the 3 ft with out any issues what so ever |
| herriotfan |
Posted - 08/04/2011 : 08:39:16
You've had great advice and help with all your questions so all I can say is good luck in your search! |
| DJRenegade |
Posted - 08/04/2011 : 02:30:45
thanks to everyone on the IRC tonight, gave me some awesome advice. Dues to this recent advice I will be looking at getting a hatchling in the next 6 weeks or so! rather than the 12-15 weeks i was looking at previously :D
Keep any advice you think can help me coming in - the setup i mention in my original post is still going to happen, with some changes, but closer to when my hatchling will need it. So a while yet ! :D |
| DJRenegade |
Posted - 07/04/2011 : 23:01:50
lol thats good then as im from huddersfield ;) |
| gingerpony |
Posted - 07/04/2011 : 22:49:11
yep!! lol lots of us in Yorkshire and eeji is Manc (but he's even later pairing his corns up than me lol)
tbh, you won't go far wrong going to Paws For Thought on York Road in Leeds and having a chat with Martin or Tom. their starter kits are very comprehensive (including a thermostat that many starter kits don't!) and they know their stuff 
(and if you do go, tell them Alison with the Dumerils, Day geckos and Argentine boas sent you  ) |
| DJRenegade |
Posted - 07/04/2011 : 22:30:42
im just debating now wheter to get my snakey from a store, or find a reputable breeder, i reckon i can make the setup id get from the store for less than £10, so getting a snake from a breeder i know will have looked after it sounds like a better way to do it!
If i pick breeder tho, does anyone know one in the Yorkshire (West pref) area? Is there anyone on here? |
| gingerpony |
Posted - 07/04/2011 : 22:18:42
oooh and digi thermometer too - should last thesnake's lifetime |
| gingerpony |
Posted - 07/04/2011 : 22:16:58
i'd agree corns are more placid to handle whereas kings can be a little feisty!
for a youngster that's going to outgrow everything you buy it quite quickly i'd personally go for initially:
9L RUB (Really Useful Box)
11"x11" heatmat (should be ok for size for a while)
matstat/ministat (can be used for whatever heatmat you plug into it, so for the life of the snake)
ceramic dog bowls are cheap, easy to clean and un-tippable (E-Ts look nice but are an ar$e to clean!)
small hides made from toilet roll tubes/little cardboard boxes etc
kitchen roll as substrate
then i'd probably go for a 36" viv and section it off, using half for snakey and half for storage, then as it grows simply move the divider across. after about 18-24 months it's likely to be of a size that buying expensive hides is more worthwhile as they'll last the rest of it's lifetime
(but that's me with lots of snakes and on a budget lol ) |
| gmac |
Posted - 07/04/2011 : 20:42:03
the care between corns and kings is slightly different in only the king needs it a wee degree or 2 hotter. Both snakes are good beginner snakes, however kings have a rep for being bitey maneating killing machines a bit far fetched i think but the do have a tendency to musk until they get used to being handled, corns are generally more docile, but its downto personal choice. Find a good shop and go and handle both types of snake and just get a feel for what you want because in the end all sakes are different. |
| Strawb |
Posted - 07/04/2011 : 20:12:16
Hello Michael,
You've been given good advice on the housing of your snake, so I'll just give you my opinion on which snake.
I've got a young corn which screams around my arms and jumper and I'm hoping it will mellow with age. I've also got a California king, which I've had for about 6 years and was an adult when I got her.
Of the two I must say I find the cali the easiest. She is so mellow, predictable in her habits, easy to feed and handle and, apart from having the unnerving habit of climbing up my trouser leg, is a joy to own. She is also one of the few snakes that like to see your hands when you pick her up. My royal definitely does not like that. |
| DJRenegade |
Posted - 07/04/2011 : 18:50:47
The setup from the store is really basic, a 5l plastic fishtank style thing with a small hide, heatmat and strip thermometer.
Since most of this stuff is cheap anyway i dont see a problem buying bits and bats early. i was gonna use kitchen roll as a substrate in the lil 5l tank - this list is mainly for when i move lil snakey into a bigger tank. I kinda like the looks of the wooden Vivs, this is why i picked it and was wondering if a heatmat would be sufficient, i was looking at a ceramic heatmat or something but was unsure. If all else fails i might go for a faunarium, this could save me a lil bit of cash too. When snakey moves into his bigger home im probably gonna look at getting a second snake :)
I like the idea of going to dunelm mill for plants, so will probs do that, and with lighting, i only wanted it so i can see in the tank if its a dull day not really for heating.
Thanks for the help so far, hopeing to get snakey in 2-ish months and the setup 3-ish months after that so plenty of time yet :D |
| kdlang |
Posted - 07/04/2011 : 18:33:41
Firstly I would say do check what the basic set-up that the shop provides is. Many shops sell setups but only use dial or strip thermometers and don't include a thermostat. As you are buying them for your bigger set-up then you may have to buy them earlier than planned to use with the basic one.
In regards to hides, you will find quite often that they prefer cardboard boxes, egg boxes and loo rolls etc to the 'official' hides. One of my butters has a small teabag box as a hide and is really too big for it now but he loves squeezing himself in. I havent the heart to take it off him. My other butter had a half dozen egg box and I have just moved her up to a dozen box as she would crawl in the smaller one and lift the lid up lol.
In regards to the plants, get yourself over to a dunelm mill shop. I always buy my fake plants there and it works out much cheaper than buying exoterra ones. They do some great pieces of morpani wood too which look great |
| Lixra |
Posted - 07/04/2011 : 18:33:07
Can't really help you on the kingsnake front as I've never owned one before, but there is a sister site http://www.thekingsnake.co.uk/ that you can get loads of information from if you want to go that route. Corns snakes do rule the world though, just so you know
Your list looks good, if you're getting a hatchling, I would definitely not house it in a 2ft viv right off the bat, as they tend to get freaked out by large empty spaces. I house my hatchlings in 5L RUBs which they do quite well in. I'd also recommend housing them on a solid type of substrate for the first month or so you have them. This way you can monitor stools for any problems, which is hard to do with aspen! Kitchen roll, or unprinted newspaper is great for new comers.
I also like to leave the whole system running for at least 48 hours before putting a snake in the viv to make sure there's no problems with the electrics. Heat mats and/or thermostats can be faulty, and this way you'll know beforehand if you've purchased a faulty product. Of course, you'll need to continually monitor the temps to make sure everything's working correctly there on out
An 11x11" heat mat will suffice for a two foot viv, as you want a variant between temperature (warm end and cool end) so the snake can thermoregulate. I'm just uncertain as how that would be in a wooden viv... Our boas are in vivexotic vivs, and we use reptile radiators which you can screw to the top of the viv and it'll radiate heat down. With something like that, you really want a guard on it, so if you're snake goes on a climbing session he/she won't burn themselves. You won't need supplemental light for heat, with using either type of heat source, but again, I'm not sure how safe a heatmat would be with a wooden viv. We also use a pulse thermostat with the reptile radiators instead of the simple on/off mat stat that we use with our heat mats.
Never used Swell Reptiles before, we usually order from Blue Lizard Reptiles, and we've always had good service and fast delivery with them.
Any more questions, don't be afraid to ask! |
| Red123 |
Posted - 07/04/2011 : 18:20:06
If you are planning to get a hatchling then the viv will be too big. Most people use a small faunarium or a really useful box (RUB) for hatchlings as they don't like big spaces. Hides would also be too big for hatchling again most people use the inner of a loo roll cut in half length ways they like to be tight in their hides, you can by the samller exo terra caves but to be honest its just a waist of money as they won't last that long. Its good that you are asking questions before you get your snake :) |
