| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Gaz_1989 |
Posted - 23/11/2009 : 08:53:55
Saturday finally came! Lol. Some of you know i was due to collect my first corn.
I saw one last week that i liked in the shop, a 25 week old amel, but this one had been sold.
I handled a couple and fell in love with a baby Snow Corn (unknown sex but ive decided she's a she, lol). She has been in the shop for 16 weeks and was approx. 6 weeks when brought in, so she is about 22 weeks old. She has fed 15 times in the 16 weeks, refused once and has shed roughly every 3 weeks.
She is about 14"-16" long.
I got her at 2pm Saturday with her set-up. The guy in the shop said they didnt have any thermostats in stock and insisted that i wouldnt need one as the mat had got a cut off point. Its an ultratherm 6.5 watt.
The faunarium is a Exo-Terra Medium breeding box 11" x 7".
I put the mat 1/3 under the faun roughly and i have put a thermometer in each end, one above the water bowl in cold end and one above hide in hot end. Cold is reading 20c and hot reading 22c. I am assuming its alot nearer 30c in the hide though, but i think im going to struggle to get much of a difference in temp reading over such a small space.
She was due her feed on saturday, and despite the 7 day rule the guy told me to settle her in her faun for a few hours and try her with a pinkie in the evening as it would do no harm.
I did this and she took it almost immediately, it took her about 5 mins to swallow it all. She then went into the hot end hide and has'nt come out since.
I changed water yesterday but apart from that she has been left alone.
I still havent seen her leave the hide, but this morning i found a small poo about the size of a 20p piece just outside the hot hide, so she has been out and about in the night.
My few Questions...
1)Should i get a stat tonight? Regardless of him saying its got a cut off point and i dont need one?
2)Does her length, age, size etc seem to tie in and sound about right?
3)Is it normal for her to be hinding away still after feed sat night? When should i expect to see her out and about?
4)Is there anything to worry about with them temps? Am i right in thinking its okay as over such a small space im not gonna see 20c and 30c?
5)How do i know when to move her on to fuzzies?
6)I havent seen her drink, is this anything to worry about?
7)She is currently being fed 1 x pinkie every 7 days, is this about right?
8)Will this 'breeding box' be okay for her untill shes about 12 months old? Its alot smaller than i was expecting.
Ive called her Stella by the way!
Thanks alot to all who helped last week,
Gaz |
| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| gingerpony |
Posted - 02/01/2010 : 17:08:31
i wouldn't be that worried about the cool end, there's not a lot you can do, it's just ambient room temp.............. or is the faun/viv near a radiator? |
| n/a |
Posted - 02/01/2010 : 14:24:56
thanks i'll deffinatly buy one. according to the crappy dail thermometer it's 25 in the cool end. that's way too hot isn't it? how can i make it cooler when 25 is room temperature? |
| HannahB |
Posted - 02/01/2010 : 14:06:23
congrats on the new arrival 
she will be fine without a feed..snakes can easily go for weeks without food so its nothing to worry about
tbh im not entirely sure about what to do with the heat mat while you dont have a stat.. i was told you can put a lukewarm ho****er bottle in the warm end but i dont know how practical that is..sorry its not much help but im sure someone else can help you out more!
you need to get digital thermometers..there are some good ones on ebay - the aquarium ones are good such as this one..
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Aquarium-Digital-Thermometer-with-Probe-fish-Tank_W0QQitemZ160387498935QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Pet_Supplies_Fish?hash=item2557d703b7
|
| gingerpony |
Posted - 02/01/2010 : 14:05:31
oh and just to add, 2 weeks without food is nothing, even for a youngster so don't panic hun, although if you wanted to i'm sure there's no harm in feeding her a day or two early for your own peace of mind |
| gingerpony |
Posted - 02/01/2010 : 14:04:03
quote:
Originally posted by Scissors
"...people can make up any old rubbish, I wouldn't believe them"
actually he's right in THAT respect, anyone can tell you anything and if if you don't know for yourself and that person sounds 100 convincing then i'm sure people would believe him.
what we try to do on here is to advise on 'best practice', any heatsource that is controlled and regulated by a thermostat has got to be safer than an uncontrolled heatsource.........to me that's common sense. what i am surprised about is that the bloke in the shop wasn't interested in taking your money for a stat lol unless he didn't have any in stock so it wasn't worth his while 
and finally, with regards to his 40 years experience, keeping reptiles has come a VERY long way in that time! just for an example of how much technology in general has progressed - think of a 40 year old car compared to a modern one....
or imagine how much knowledge has been accrued in 40 years of trial and error with reptile-keeping............ |
| n/a |
Posted - 02/01/2010 : 13:39:52
this is the 3rd time i'm gonna type this out my hands are tired!! (doesnt seem to post it) Can i ask a related question on this topic, because i feel that i've made too many new topics recently without doing enoug searching! I'm in a very similar situation to the one Gaz was in but I've taken different actions and was wondering if I could have some advice.
I got my corn snake called sibilance 3 days ago, she's a lovely amel and comes complete with the "starter set" however it did not come with a theremostat and the thermometers are dail just like Gaz. I asked the pet shop man for one and i told him that i had been doing research on an internet forum site and that i think i really need one. his response was something along the lines of (be prepared to be angry!) "I would never trust those sites, people can make up any old rubbish, I wouldn't believe them, I have been breeding snakes for 40 years and you do not need a termostat" he also told me that i needed to feed sib the day after i brought her home, he said I could handle her before that aswell so i really do not trust him! i hope he's not reading lol
so anyway here are my questions, sorry that i ramble a lot
1. I have purchased a theremostat off the interent, recomended by Hilzi (thanks tom!) but i predict it will take 5 days to come. Shall i turn the heat mat off during this time? is there any danger of over heating in a few days?
2. this may seem confusing and complicated i'm not very good at phrasing things in an understandable way but........
Sibilance has been eating 2 pinkies every tuesday. however, i brought her on wednesday and she was not fed because the shop didn't have enough time. according to her notes, she was last fed on 22/12 with only one pinkie. Therefore when i collected her she was overdue for a feed. If i stick to the 7 day rule (which i have been) she will not be fed until 6/1. that's over two weeks without food! will she survive comfortably? she's almost 6 months old and remember she was only fed one pinkie last time.
Thanks
Hattie
Oh and I haven't got a signiture because sibilance hates having her picture taken! When i try to she goes all stiff and still and looks really scared by the clicking noise so I don't wanna scare her too much, i'll try again when she's settled completely in a few weeks time. I deffinatly don't think I can take a pic of her while she's feeding she'll just stop dead still and won't move/eat and that would just disrupt the whole process especailly as she'll be a hungry little snakey. ramble ramble ramble bye. |
| Kellog |
Posted - 26/11/2009 : 04:14:50
quote:
Originally posted by SexyBear77
quote:
Originally posted by Kellog
Glad that SB has been able to answer your questions so well (you see SB, you are so needed on this forum!!).
 Thanks Kellog, sorry for the grump on the other post but it was just a few too many ignored answers for my liking! 
I do know how you feel SB and can also understand the frustration, especially as your advice is always so good. But unfortunately all we can do is offer the advice and it is up to them to read it and then use it or ignore it. 
What we mustnt do is scare them off  or start an arguement with them...it just isnt worth it, for you or the forum. 
xxx |
| SexyBear77 |
Posted - 25/11/2009 : 10:23:20
quote:
Originally posted by Kellog
Glad that SB has been able to answer your questions so well (you see SB, you are so needed on this forum!!).
Thanks Kellog, sorry for the grump on the other post but it was just a few too many ignored answers for my liking! |
| reptiledanny |
Posted - 25/11/2009 : 07:36:21
congrats on your new corn. they are the best pets. it's nice to see you asking all these questions. don't be scared to ask anything. nothing is silly. that is wat sexybear is here for. lol |
| Kellog |
Posted - 25/11/2009 : 03:55:03
Glad that SB has been able to answer your questions so well (you see SB, you are so needed on this forum!!).
Am looking forward to hearing about your 1st handling session and 1st feeding session....and seeing your pics of course. Your sig is great!
xxx |
| Gaz_1989 |
Posted - 24/11/2009 : 15:16:37
Thanks alot, youve been very helpful.
Will get some more pics up next week when hopefully im handling her :-) |
| SexyBear77 |
Posted - 24/11/2009 : 14:56:39
They will usually just take them one after the other. You can either put both in the tub at the same time and allow her to suit herself, or offer one, wait for it to go down and then offer another.
Personally I think its best to just let them get on with it and interfere as little as possible, but of course being involved is more fun! |
| Gaz_1989 |
Posted - 24/11/2009 : 13:12:19
Thanks very much SexyBear77, And thanks for your help yesterday.
I cant wait to handle her, she has been out and about this morning and coming to the glass, she is lovely.
While im asking questions... When i do move her onto 2 pinkies instead of 1, do you feed them both together? Or have a break in between? And Will she take them 1 after the other?
Thanks
Gaz |
| SexyBear77 |
Posted - 24/11/2009 : 12:18:57
Hey Gaz
Glad you got the stat sorted, it sounds like a good model.
With regards to handling, it is natural for a hatchling corn to be pretty skittish when handling the first time. After all, we are huge compared to them! What can help to put an item of your worn clothing into the viv overnight (a glove is good because it smells like the thing you will be picking the snake up with) so that your snake can get used to your scent.
When picking up you just need to be really confident. Pick the snake up gently but firmly, making sure to support the body well. Let the snake move freely through your hands, dont restrict, and keep handling sessions short and sweet-5 mins is fine to begin with. |
| Gaz_1989 |
Posted - 24/11/2009 : 11:11:03
Anyone? |
| Gaz_1989 |
Posted - 24/11/2009 : 08:40:10
Last night i got a digital thermometer and a digital thermostat for the faun.
I set the stat up, put the probe inside the hot end hide, in the substrate. Got it set to 29c, and its reading between 28.2c and 28.8c. I put the digital thermometer in there to verify the stat was accurate and they were pretty much spot on.
So i have now got the digital thermometer in the cold end reading 22c.
So temps are 22 - 29.
Last night was the first night shes been out since i had her, she was all over the place, and i saw her have a drink! She isnt shy about coming out at all, but when i put my hand in and was placing the probe in the hot hide she was really skittish!
What can i expect when i try to handle her for the first time? Will she be crazy and try to get away? What do you do if she is like this? Will it stress her more being handled for the first time?
Thanks
Gaz |
| Gaz_1989 |
Posted - 23/11/2009 : 13:18:53
Has anyone got experience with the Thermo Control 2 Digital Thermostat?
This is the only one that 'pets at home' have got in stock. I am trying to find somewhere i can go straight after work you see.
Thanks
Gaz |
| Gaz_1989 |
Posted - 23/11/2009 : 11:44:03
Thanks, im pretty disappointed with what they told me. I told them that money was not a problem when i was asking about different things.
Will get this sorted tonight anyway.
Thanks alot. |
| SexyBear77 |
Posted - 23/11/2009 : 11:42:03
Many pet shops tell you that, because they want you to buy the snake and the very basics for it, without getting scared off by the price (mat+stat= £40 ish + snake= £80 plus) etc etc.
And yes they are wrong, but its just sods law. A stat is only a waste of time if you are intent on barbecuing your new pet!
I have 2 exo-terra Habistats and a Microclimate ministat 100, they are pretty much the same, and attached to a variety of mat sizes and wattage. |
| Gaz_1989 |
Posted - 23/11/2009 : 11:36:30
Also will any mat stat be okay? Or do they have to be matched to the mat?
Gaz |
