| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
n/a
deleted
20 Posts |
 Posted - 14/09/2008 : 00:44:38
|
having read through some of the threads i feel absolutly horrible now ive had pinky since mothers day when my daughter got me him with a bit of help from her dad (shes 3 and yes she named him lol) i had the viv set up correctly or so i thought heat one side cool the other water bowl big enough for him to lay in plenty hidey holes and plenty wood chip so he could bury him self (still not sure what sex he is had him probed when he got his health check and they couldnt tell) when i went for his health check they told me the water bowl should only be big enough for drinking so out came the water bowl then when i went again i got told to he needed a big water bowl but didnt need the heat mat because he is in the kitchen and with me having a new baby and toddler my house would be to warm with the heat mat aswell he eats like a pig never any problems as far is feeding is concerned but im desperate to what is actually right
water bowl to bathe or not ?
heat mat or not ?
also lately he has been getting very funny ive been in hospital with my baby son who was seriously ill for a while so he was left unhandled for 2/3 weeks normally when he has been ready to shed or just shed he was still fine to be handled but now im really struggling to handle him he has become very flighty is the only was i can put it he has also actually bitten my daughter quite severely she was handling as normal she has a knack with all animals (probably cause with live in what can be classed as a zoo!) very gentle no swift movements when he bit her not once but from what i seen and off counting bite marks 4 times i had thought only 3 is this normal ? or is it because my daughter did what she has always been taught(i train dogs aswell) dont move incase you frighten it so very bravely she didnt move she kept the arm he was biting and the arm holding him completely still should she have moved? we dearly care about him and could this be a sign he is ill or just needing more handling ?
this is my first snake so still working out whats right
thanks toni |
too many mice
1 cornsnake
2 dogs
1 hamster
1 rabbit
2 1/2 children
2 fish
|
|
|
n/a
deleted
253 Posts |
Posted - 14/09/2008 : 01:18:27
|
King Snake?
Corn Snake?
Age of snake?
Glass viv? Wooden viv?
Size of viv?
What are the viv temperatures?
Some snakes will bite so that they can `hold on` (strangely they have no hands) if they dont feel safe and think that they will fall.
It maybe that your daughter was not holding him right. Shes 3? Surely she can not have any concept of how tight to hold the snake without hurting it or letting it fall.
The water bowl should be big enough to allow the snake to get in and cool itself, not really to fully immerse itself and not too full incase it overflows. Dont forget, the mat is electric. Electricity/water.
The heat mat should be on a thermostat and if your house is hot enough, the stat will turn the mat off.
Find a happy medium with the water bowl position, as some snakes will benefit from the bowl being over the mat(not directly on it) as the water will warm and add humidity to the air. Not on the mat, will cause a lower balance of humidity, but that depends also on the amount of air vents/flow.
When he was left unhandled, was he fed, watered and cleaned? Did he have any heat or light?
Why is he in the kitchen?
|
1.0. Albino Burm
2.0. Carpet Python
1.0. Cali King
11.6. Corns
1.1. Royal Python
1.1. Thick Tail Geckos
1.0. Bearded Dragon
1.0. Spur Thighed Tort |
 |
|
|
saddleninja
Sub Adult
United Kingdom
1400 Posts |
Posted - 14/09/2008 : 08:03:19
|
is he a tail shaker, when you go past the viv?
how is your son hope all is well |
1 amel
1 okeette
2 normals
1 rosy rat x
3 royals
1 cali king
1 publean milk
1 yemen chameleon
2 orange spotted agamas
1 colombian rainbow boa |
|
|
|
Blackecho
The Corn Snake Admin
United Kingdom
4379 Posts |
Posted - 14/09/2008 : 08:17:27
|
Hi, welcome to the forum.
Firstly, yes you need the heatmat and it should be connected to a thermostat to turn it off it it gets too hot.
The water bowl should allow snakey to have a dip to cool down if they want to, not just for drinking.
If the snake was used to being handled and fine, then left for 3 weeks and is now a bit skitty you will have to get it used to being handled again - frequent short periods work well.
I'm guessing as you're on here that it's a Corn, if so, biting is not normal behaviour, so don't expect it to be the norm, something probably spooked it.
Good luck  |
 
www.theroyalpython.co.uk/forum
Location: Rotherham
 |
|
|
|
Kazerella
The Corn Snake Admin
United Kingdom
3093 Posts |
Posted - 14/09/2008 : 08:56:09
|
I hope he calms down for you- it is rare to have a corn so eager to bite. Normally they are quite placid.
I don't think it's an illness response, just needs to get accustomed to you a bit more. Try handling as much as you can can and he should calm down when he realises he's not a threat.
Hope your son gets well soon x |
|
|
|
|
gingerpony
Queen Bee
United Kingdom
10455 Posts |
Posted - 14/09/2008 : 15:20:48
|
sorry to hear pinky tagged your daughter, just reading your post you mentioned you personal zoo is it possible your little girl's hand smelled like one of your animals and pinky mistakenly thought she was food?
I'll make sure my daughters hands are scrubbed before she touches the snakes in future as I hadn't thought of it before reading your post but would automatically wash my own hands! |
cornsnakes, ratsnakes, bullsnakes, boas and day geckos
Location:Leeds/York/Selby area |
|
|
|
n/a
deleted
20 Posts |
Posted - 15/09/2008 : 12:44:44
|
wow thank you for so many replies so quickly pinky is a corn snake im unsure of his age he is i think its called a amel orange with white edging round his markings he is roughly 2/3ft more near 3 now il find out shortly as he is due shedding he is in a glass viv 1ft wide by 3/4ft long but this is in a wooden cabinet so all back is covered and half of both sides for his security the viv temp at the minute without the heat mat is around 15/20c room temp although after reading the replies his heat mat has been turned back on which is set by a thermostat automatically to the correct corn snake temp as i got the reptile shop to set it for me and is under one of his hidey holes and not near his water codey my daughter was actually holding him as such she puts her hands out in front of him while he goes from one arm to the other but making sure the arm that the arm he is most on is held against her body for extra security while i was in the hospital he was fed by me still when i popped home and his cage tended to etc although not handled unless he pressured me to do so which normally he does by wrapping round my arm at the top of teh cage while trying to escape he is in the kitchen as i didnt want to put him in the rooms where the mice/hamsters/rabbits/guinea pigs/dogs are mainly kept for mainly the obvious reason incase he escaped or incase the dogs knocked the tank as the are extremely big / clumsy dogs dogue de bordeux x cane corso and staff x big and dumb enough not to feel a tank getting knocked over by them so really for his and the others safety he has never actually shaken his tail and thank you for your concern my son is doing brilliantly now come back from the brink of death he had menigicoccal septcemia which is when the menigitis enters the blood stream they are sent to turn us grey lol i will be handling him more again he used to reguarly clean the house with me on a day time well curl either on my hair bobble or round my neck and watch or slither round me while i tidied but since he has bitten my daughter isnt so keen on him so he is only out on a night now i use antibacterial alcohol wash stuff the same one as the hospital use reguarly all day on both me and other family members as ryley my son still has a weakened immune system so we go through bottle loads so there shouldnt be any other pet smells as we do before and after handling pets incase of cross contamination with us and from pet to pet its only really the dogs that could have been smelled by him could this have caused it ? thank you all again for all your responses
toni x |
too many mice
1 cornsnake
2 dogs
1 hamster
1 rabbit
2 1/2 children
2 fish
|
|
|
|
Blackecho
The Corn Snake Admin
United Kingdom
4379 Posts |
Posted - 15/09/2008 : 13:29:12
|
Sorry to make life harder for you, but even if the pet shop set the thermostat at 29/30C for you they can be quite inaccurate so if you have a digital thermometer (an aquarium type one is fine) just check that the thermostat is giving the correct temps.
I'm sure if you handle him more and with the extra heat he will be fine.
|
www.theroyalpython.co.uk/forum
Location: Rotherham
|
|
|
|
n/a
deleted
259 Posts |
Posted - 15/09/2008 : 14:33:16
|
| great news about your son, I'm glad he is recovering :) and good luck with snakey too! I'm sure he'll chill out once you're handling him more. |
1.0.0 miami x crimson corn snake (sirius)
0.2.0 leopard geckos (esma and gytha)
2.0.0 emperor scorpions (bebe and jim)
2.0.0 moggies (othello and tachikoma)
|
|
|
|
n/a
deleted
20 Posts |
Posted - 15/09/2008 : 21:47:04
|
| im waiting alittle bit before giving him extra handling as he is shedding so im just leaving him be so as not to disturb him but he seems to be enjoying the heat he hasnt come out of the hidey hole lol |
too many mice
1 cornsnake
2 dogs
1 hamster
1 rabbit
2 1/2 children
2 fish
|
|
|
|
Kazerella
The Corn Snake Admin
United Kingdom
3093 Posts |
Posted - 17/09/2008 : 19:17:46
|
Glad to hear your son is getting better  |
|
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
Topic Locked
