Posted by:
wombat
at Fri May 13 11:51:44 2005 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by wombat ]
Twixy-
I advise you to read a lot on these forums, especially any threads labelled "help I just bought a snake on impulse" etc LOL...there are many very kind, patient and helpful people here.
You are asking lots of good questions- in advance of getting an animal- very wise. There are too many q's to really answer but a few points to make:
Temperature and Humidity are important in this- and mesh is bad at keeping either in, poor as well at keeping snake secure and feeling secure, ie from other inquisitive pets.
Proper temps are needed so a snake will be active and have some extra warmth to help digest. Often this is accomplished with an undertank heating pad on one end- the dial thermometers can be laid on the substrate to get the real temp the snake will experience, not stuck to the side above the snake's usual haunts. I advise not sticking the heating pad on the tank(some versions you don't have to at all) until you're sure you've got it right- often pads are too hot, even with a dimmer. Bigger is not better! Lifting the tank on crossboards will let some heat out.
Humidity- for most beginner-type snakes this is mostly a shedding issue, a large surface area water bowl, partially covering the mesh top of an aquarium-type setup with anything waterproof, and occasional misting are soem tricks to keep the humidity up- when you see your snake start to get "blue" step up the misting and maybe tuck a moist paper towel into it's hide for a few days, no problems.
Corns(which are rat snakes)as well as kings and milks usually manage to stay healthy even if conditions vary a bit from optimum- strive for high standards and you will fall within their tolerance range.
Corns, milks, kings etc generally tolerate lots of handling, and are substantial in size at maturity. Corns in particular are very easy, have long captive bred lineages and come in a great variety of morphs.
Some kings/milks are more particular about specific habitat/food, others are very easy, see which ones are most common on the forums and what problems folks have... you really can't go wrong starting with a calm, healthy, well-feeding baby corn snake of any morph, and one's just like that are commonly available.
Feeding is the other area to investigate- choosing between f/t (many advantages, ease of storage, no danger to snake, etc) and live (well, some snakes never learn to eat f/t and some folks like to see their snakes in action). Feeding in a separate enclosure is one option. Putting the prey item in the feeding enc. before the snake, means the snake will never eat substrate accidentally or learn to associate movement towards it (ie your hand reaching to pick it up) with prey items.
Did you ever figure out why your other snakes died? Wrong temps, wrong food, wild caught specimens that didn't ever eat? This is an important element to figure out and overcome before getting more animals...
BTW great idea to share your interest and help educate- almost all kids love snakes- and kids are the best teachers of grown-ups around!
Good luck- please post pics of your new pets and ask lots of questions on these forums!
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LP RE: Newbie, Considering A Snake. Need Advice. - wombat, Fri May 13 11:51:44 2005