Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've been considering getting a corn snake due to everything I've read about them so far makes them out to be easy care low maintainance. But a person I know, whose late husband did wild animal rescue, said that snakes are not as easy to care for as I've been led to beleive by these sites.
So which is it Low or high maintainance? Around how many minutes/hours per day/week am I looking at in care?
And is there places to get snakes that are more likely to eat the frozen mice rather than live?
Any advice would be nice as well as good books or websites you could suggest.
Thanks.

Looking after wild caught rescue reptiles is a whole different ball game to looking after captive bred Corns.

For starters, most wild caughts are going to be terrified of humans, and aggressive/difficult to interact with. Captive bred Corns are more likely to be hand-tame when you get them (with the occasional exception), which makes routine maintenance and feeding a lot easier and faster.

Setting up the viv takes research and tinkering and I'd say that was the most high maintenance part of caring for a Corn.

Thereafter, there are a few regular chores that don't take too long in my view. I had a cat for a few years and even though she was out of the house all day, she was far more work than my 14 Corns put together.

Regular tasks:
- Visual check of vivs, a couple of minutes, two or three times a day.
- Spot clean, five minutes per viv once or twice a week (determined by visual check and how often the Corn is eating).
- Change water/clean water dish, ten minutes every other day (more often if they poop in it).
- Feeding, half an hour per snake, once every ten days to a fortnight for adults. I also combine feeding time with a thorough spot clean while they're out of the vivs.
- Full emptying/disinfecting of the viv - an hour or two (depending on size of fiv and how many hides/foliage etc), once every few weeks.

Did your friend say why they thought snakes were so high maintenance? Some organisations opposed to keeping reptiles as pets will tell you that they are difficult to care for, have a high mortality rate, are too time-consuming etc. Some of them pass on this misinformation in good faith, whilst not having any direct experience or knowledge themselves.

Not saying this is the case for your friends, but I expect they have a very different experience of caring for reptiles than the average pet Corn Snake owner.

the enclosure can be as simple as paper towels, tissue boxes and tupperware, which makes cleaning very simple
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jake

my addiction:
2 normal ball pythons (lazlo and izzy)
1 amelenistic corn snake (zyklon)
0.1 blizzard corn (blizz)

I agree that the viv itself can be a very straightforward affair.

The more complicated side of the setup I was thinking about, was choosing the right heating & thermostatic equipment for the type of viv you're using. Then you'll need to set it up in advance of getting the snake and tweak it for a while until you get the ideal temp gradient.

And to be honest, with the quality of equipment available these days and the array of Corn-specific web sites/mesage boards for advice, even that shouldn't be too much of a chore.

I'd say in between cage cleaning, regular handling, feeding and changing the water I spend about 2 hours a week taking care of my girl.

I did a full cage cleaning after a couple of months that took an hour or so.

She's healthy as an ox, grown 10 inches in the 4 months I've had her.

You can't simply put it in a box and forget about it, but you don't need to walk it 3 times a day either. Plan to spend 15 min. a day giving fresh water and spot cleaning, and an additional hour or so a week cleaning the cage and feeding.

If you really like snakes and want to try it then do it. If you just want a hassle free pet get a rock or maybe a goldfish.

I think that a goldfish is higher maintenance than a corn snake. YMMV.

My corns liked having a nice pet rock in with them.

Paul Hollander

Actually a goldfish is very high maintainance if you take proper care of them. My goal here is to actually replace mine! I was just trying to see if I should wait untill my elderly guinea pig went so I would have more time. Just like to know what I'm getting myself into!

Asking is the first step in the right direction. i would say go to a local breeder or a reptile show if you have one near you. Once you get into a routine, its not a big deal. The most time is in the feeding for me because I feed out of my enclosure and have over 30 snakes to feed. Aspen bedding seems to be working good for me, but everyone has their own opinions on just about everything in terms of care. I check my snakes everyday, to make sure everyone has water, has not defacated in it, spot clean the cages, and make sure everyone is alive and well. I change water every other day, and feed ever 5-8 days. Because I have a wide range of ages in my collection, some do not eat on the same days as others. But, if you are just going for one, you do not need to worry about that. I also have lizards and stuff that need fresh food everyday, so everything fits nicely in a routine, as I said. Good luck. After you decide to get a corn, one of the hardest decisions is which color!! LOL. have fun, and keep asking, researching

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**********Misty**********
I try to take one day at a time but sometimes several days attack me at once!

Was it you misty who just started getting snakes in like september or someone else, and you have 30 now.

Thats awesome
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Cameron

Wasn't me. I started about three years ago. Had three snakes for a year and then exploded after that. I got the majority of my collection with in the last 12 months, though. I have 20 corns, 4 kings, 2 jungle corns, 2 milks, 2 ball pythons, 2 water cobras, 1 rat, 1 sand boa, many lizards, and creepy crawly things as well. Hope I did not leave anyone out!
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**********Misty**********
I try to take one day at a time but sometimes several days attack me at once!

I think you are possibly thinking about me. Got started the last day of September, and am holding at 15 snakes....until the reptile show on Saturday!!! (Grin)

Leslie

LOL. I think goldfish are more of a pain and less enjoyable!!
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**********Misty**********
I try to take one day at a time but sometimes several days attack me at once!

i've had goldfish, fresh water fish, salt water fish. they are all a pain and high maintance. i got so burnt out taking care of them i got rid of them all.

i started with a corn snake and now have 4 corns, a 7 foot python, small soloman island ground boa and a milk snake. they are really not that high maintance.

once you get their enclosures set up with the necessities and learn what they need they really don't need that much tending to. like other posts talked about the necessary cleaning, monitoring, feeding, etc. its a piece of cake. but you have to WANT to be into snakes. other wise they will be considered a chore and high maintance.

another thing no one mentioned is handling. if you want a handable (sp?) snake you have to handle it. but there are some that don't really like handling. corns are one of the best snake for handling. mine have never tried to bite. i even feed them in their tanks and still no bites.

Your right. No one really mentioned the time you must spend holding them. Although, some corns are calm without handling. Most of them you would want to spend a little time every few days to hold. Some people say 5 minutes to an hour a day. I don't think you need that much time. I handle mine every couple of days and they are all fine.
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**********Misty**********
I try to take one day at a time but sometimes several days attack me at once!

Unfortunatlly I don't have as much time as I used to to hold my snakes. They get handled maybe 2x a week for 15 minutes or so at a time. Some snakes require more to calm down. I have had my MBK for a few months now and still get nipped because he is scared of me. Anyone wana trade? j/k But everyone is making handling sound like a chore. You can just pick them up, sit down, and watch T.V. It isn't like you have to keep a constant eye on them. Just be aware of where they are on you and what they are doing. This doesn't mean you can set it on the floor and expect to find them on a commercial break...
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0.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
1.0 Ball Python "Wilson" (Castaway)
1. Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Chunk" (Goonies)
.1 Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Peaches"
0.0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake "Onyx"