| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| tahleeuk |
Posted - 26/07/2011 : 08:32:06
hi my names lisa im new to the forum and corn snakes although a long time ago i had a boyfriend for 4 years who had 100+ snakes. i live with my 18 year old son. 2 parrots and 4 siberian huskies. on friday i inherited a 6 month old corn snake called dave as seen in my sig. now for the random questions. im not sure what colour morph he is. i have moved him from a small plastic box ( not sure what its called) into a 3 foot viv with aspen substrate although once the aspen has been used up id like to change him to something less ingestable. he has a heat mat and thermostat. since i got him home he has been striking at me. since reading the forum i now realise i should have not tried to handle him for a week or so to let him get used to his new home. he was a very friendly snake so when will i know that he is ready to be handled again? if he continues striking after a week or so what should i do? also he has been taught to strike at his food i would rather he took it off the floor although its not a major issue if its not possible how would i go about retraining him to pick up his food. and for the really silly question. i have dogs i would assume that they would smell of food and that he would be in hunt mode if he could smell the dogs. is this a myth i have made up as i have seen pics on here of a snake in close proximity to dogs. sorry for the long post and the bad spelling just thought id get all my questions out the way so i could enjoy the forum.
Lisa |
| 11 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| tahleeuk |
Posted - 26/07/2011 : 15:53:21
yes i have a thermostat the thermometer is just a guide it was already on the viv :) |
| tarotpodge |
Posted - 26/07/2011 : 14:17:21
do you have a mat stat to regulate the heat safetly?? Also, crystal thermometer is not an accurate way to record heat mat tempretures as it only measures the air tempreture not the heat mat temp. Ebay is great for digital thermometers. Place it directly on the heat mat under substrate. |
| tahleeuk |
Posted - 26/07/2011 : 13:15:15
thanks guys will fill it up with lots of hides and get a new heat mat . great advice for a newbie x |
| tarotpodge |
Posted - 26/07/2011 : 12:45:17
just an idea, i would swap the hides round so that the cork is over the heat mat. otherwise the heat has to get through the woven bird nest before he gets the benifit of it and will not get the full benifit or required tempreture of the heat mat.
But it does look very open. Going from a small faun to such a large viv will be daunting for him. Pack it out with cardboard boxes and upturned flower pots, toilet rolls, foliage.....
EDIT::::Heat mat should be on the floor of the viv, wiv very little substrate over it, thermstate probe on and digital thermometer directly on the heat mat to regulate a safe heat. Also that heat mat looks 2 small for that size viv. should be 1/3rd of the floor surface |
| tahleeuk |
Posted - 26/07/2011 : 12:41:15
nothing on the side except the door handles and thermometer on glass door. the heat mat is on the back of the viv and a vent. he deffinately cant escape through the gap between the glass he is bigger than the gap by quite a lot thats the first thing i wondered about but in his faun he had bigger gaps and didnt escape |
| Sta~ple |
Posted - 26/07/2011 : 12:26:26
Dog wont make your snake hungry, if anything it would make your snake more wary. The viv maybe a tad big for something that looks so tiny! He may also be able to escape through the glass doors of the viv through the little gap inbetween. What is that on the side of the viv? |
| tahleeuk |
Posted - 26/07/2011 : 12:03:04
a pic of dave and his viv |
| tahleeuk |
Posted - 26/07/2011 : 11:55:13
sorry forgot to mention all the other things he has in his viv. he has a large peice of cork at the cool end and lots of branches that have been boiled to sterilize and then frozen then allowed to dry out. he also has one of those woven bisd nesting baskets at the warm end with a little aspen inside he did have a very small water bowl. from previous experience i remember lots of our snakes liked to get in the water bowl so last night i exchanged the small bowl temporarly (untill i can get a bigger purpose made one) to an individual lasagna dish with half inch of water in it which he used for a lay in last night. ill get some pics and upload although dave is in hiding he loves to tunnel in the aspen x |
| ravensgirl |
Posted - 26/07/2011 : 11:23:57
He will settle down, he could feel nervous after being in the small faun and now being in the larger viv, give him plenty of hides to feel more secure but in all honesty he's probably just a bit stressed with the move and he will settle down given time and once he gets used to your smell too.
All snakes are different in their feeding habits, we have some who strike feed and refuse to eat off the floor of the viv and others who eat off the floor and refuse to strike feed, every snake is different and you'll soon find the way that works the best for yours. |
| andyj |
Posted - 26/07/2011 : 11:20:17
Hi Lisa,
At six months old he/she may well be finding the 3ft viv a bit too large. They tend to like smaller more enclosed areas as they feel more secure. On this forum I have read that the snake can be the length and width of the viv to be comfortable for example a 3ft x 1ft viv would take a 4ft snake. You can compensate for having a larger viv if it has plenty of hides, foliage and other things such as cardboard tubes where the snake can hide.
You mention a heat mat and thermostat but no mention of anything else in the viv. You need to have at least two hides, one at the warm end and one at the cooler end and a water bowl is another must have. Add to this some plants or other items like cardboard tubes, pieces of wood or bark and the like and you can create a secure environment.
I'm not sure if corns can be taught/trained as to how to take their food. Our two usually strike feed but occasionally will just creep up and start feeding.We tend to feed in a RUB (Really Useful Box) which is just a plastic box with a lid that you can seal if required - available form Staples and other shops. This removes the chance of ingesting the substrate and the box is also useful for placing the snake whilst cleaning the viv. I find aspen to be a great substrate: have it quite deep at the cooler end (5cm or more) and you will find that you corn will happily tunnel away. You only need a very thin layer on the heat mat end.
As for the striking, once the viv is fully set up with hides and places he/she can take cover leave for a week or so before handling. He/she may strike at first (it doesn't hurt!)but persevere and as they get used to you and being handled again the striking will cease.
Hope that helps
Andy |
| Kehhlyr |
Posted - 26/07/2011 : 09:54:15
The striking could also be because he's moved from a faun (small plastic home) into the larger viv, especially as he may feel threatened by it being so wide and open, combine that with just moving and he may well be strikey, he should calm down though.
In regards changing him onto something less digestible, if you keep his old faun and put his dinner into that and when it's feeding time just lift him out of the viv and put him into the faun then that'll stop risks of eating something he shouldn't and as the prey item wont be getting wiggled he may well start doing his food responses a bit less enthusiatically. Then again he may not, he might be one of those ones that simply love their food. 
The smell of dog should not produce a feeding response I've never had it with any of my snakes/dogs. |
