Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey guys, i have maybe a few questions that I myself cannot seem to find or clarify:

1. In books and caresheets they say to use an under-tank heat pad..well i know that Iguanas or lizards in general cannot really sense heat well from their bellys. Is that the same for snakes? Is it possible that my exo-terra heat pad might burn my snake?

2. It seems that most people feed their new corns after they bring them home, but what if i ask the pet shop owner and he says that he just fed it? Should i wait till his next feeding date to feed him? Or just feed him?

3. The best way to thaw a pinky is put it in warm water right? Must the pinky be in a plastic bag when i thaw it? or just put it in the water like that? Just wondering about this one, is there a certain amount of time it usually takes to thaw a pinky when in warm water?

4. I dont have feeding thongs, are those really necessary for feeding snakes? Can i use rubber gloves instead to handle the mouse?

Thanks guys! Sorrie for the questions!
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Rawr.

1. Are you going to put the heat pad under the tank? If so, I don't think it should be a problem. Snake do prefer heat from the ground, Iguana's are baskers, they like the heat lights. Ummm, also, if you do use the heat pad, just put i on one half of the cage and that way, the snake can move on or off of it.

2.I personally don't feed my snakes when I first get them. It's hard to wait to see them eat, i know, but it's the safest. I would rather tear my hair out waiting then to feed my new snake and have him regurge and discourage him from eating. I would wait just 2 or 3 days before feeding him, to let him settle down.

3.Yep, just toss the pinky into a sinkful of warm water. thats what i do, but I have dozens of rats/mice to thaw, so I have to change the water frequently. It will take about 3-4 minutes to thaw your pinky, not very long.

4. I use my bare hands, but thats because all of my snakes are such gentle eaters. You can use tongs, but if you feel safer, some heavy rubber gloves should work. With the smaller snakes, tongs aren't as helpful, they just become a frustration (especially trying to hold that big ol pink in those little ol tongs).

Regards,
WES SPINKS

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1. In books and caresheets they say to use an under-tank heat pad..well i know that Iguanas or lizards in general cannot really sense heat well from their bellys. Is that the same for snakes? Is it possible that my exo-terra heat pad might burn my snake?

2. It seems that most people feed their new corns after they bring them home, but what if i ask the pet shop owner and he says that he just fed it? Should i wait till his next feeding date to feed him? Or just feed him?

3. The best way to thaw a pinky is put it in warm water right? Must the pinky be in a plastic bag when i thaw it? or just put it in the water like that? Just wondering about this one, is there a certain amount of time it usually takes to thaw a pinky when in warm water?

4. I dont have feeding thongs, are those really necessary for feeding snakes? Can i use rubber gloves instead to handle the mouse?
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"Did you ever walk into a room and forget why you walked in? I think that's how dogs spend their lives."--Sue Murphy

WES SPINKS
E-Mail Me
Spinks Snake Site

1. Belly heat seems to be extremely important for proper digestion and health. Make sure you place the heatpad UNDER the tank, not in it. After a few hours place your hand in the tank to make sure some heat is conducting through. Safest best

2. Immediate feeding does run the risk of regurgitation. It's not just the feeding that does it, it's also the additional handling after an unusual car ride and departure from a familiar setting. It may be hard but the standard 3 days is always recommended.

3. I use lamps over the top of my cage and for about 2 years have thawed all of my mice and pinkies by setting them on a paper towel under one of my snake lamps that is usually clamped onto something. I leave the bulb about 3-4" above the group of pinkies and wait about 5-10 minutes. I highly recommend that, it'll go over better with mom too I think (vs pinkies in the kitchen/bathroom sink)

4. I feed all of my 7 hatchlings by placing them in a deli cup with a pinky thawed to the point of being quite warm. Two of my snakes were suppose to be live only eaters but when I placed a lamp f/t pinky in a small opaque cup they gobbled it right up. Gloves are excellent and tongs are nice but not a necessity.

Good luck, good questions

Hey thank you very much guys! ill be reading back and fourth while im setting up my tank, lol...

i really appreciate it =) im gonna go clean my tank now and set it up and im off to go buy my corn snake hehe....by the way are those "rheostats" or whatever those are called expensive? (used to adjust heat mats?)

Oh by the way....I finally bouhgt The Corn Snake Manual by Kathy Love, its pretty good but i still haven't finished reading it thouhg hehe.

Mark
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Rawr.

1. Snakes DO need belly heat, and an under-tank heat source is a great way to provide that heat. That said, any undertank heat source should be controlled by a rheostat or a lamp dimmer.

2. If the petshop just fed the snake prior to you bringing the snake home, there will be no harm in waiting to feed the snake. Allow the snake time to settle in to it's new environment first. I'd wait a week after bringing the snake home before you again offer it food.

3. I thaw my pinkys either by allowing them to thaw at room temperature for 2-3 hours, or if I'm in a hurry, I place them in a zip-lock bag and thaw them in warm water. My corns show no preference between a warm pinky or a room-temperature pinky.

4. If we are still talking pinkies, I serve up my pinky offerings on a deli lid and place the lid in the snakes cage. The snake will then find the pinkys and consume them whenever it suits them. Some of my Corns only eat when dark, some will only eat in the morning. I don't worry myself over when, I just place the pinkies on the deli lids, then place the lids in the cages in the evening and remove the empty deli lids sometime next day.

Hope this helps,

Bob

I personally use tongs for feeding because I have a couple of more agressive feeders. I have a small pair of tongs for pinkies and a larger pair for mice and rats.

I thaw my pinkies in hot water, usually only takes a couple of minutes.
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2.9.9 Leopard Geckos
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there is no need to belittle him. No wonder he changed his name.
I found these were very interesting questions, and the only one I really felt was asked before was the under tank heater.

Personally though I don't own snakes yet myself, I don't think I would trust under tank heaters, especially if they don't have built in therms. Read often on the lizard forums how these things can over heat or short out.

We were all newbs once.And that isnt anything to be ashamed of.Im still learning after 20 years of keeping various herps.Any sugguestions on how i can get my breeder trio of guyana redtails in the mood for love this late winter?Even though i have bred other snakes with relative ease this is suppose to be toughest challange to date.Im sure i will be flooding the boa forum with questions that have been asked 2000 times before.But i have done my research for the last 4 years and with luck and a prayer i might help it happen.On the other hand i wont be asking the guys in the boa forum if they think snakes are evil.We all know they are.lmao...Paul.

Heat pads are fine, but it's safest to use a thermostat on them in case of overheating. The only type of heating I use without a thermostat is incandescent bulbs, because I don't think they can overheat (I think they will just burn out)

Snakes don't really 'bask' like is common with lizards, and they do use belly heat in nature. For example, one of the most common ways to find snakes in the wild, is to cruise the roads at night. Snakes come and sit on the roads after the sun falls, because the asphalt retains heat.

I think one common scenario where burns happen is when an animal is kept with a too-cool ambient temp and an overly hot heat pad/rock. They don't heat up the air like a lamp will, so the lizard or whatever will be too cold on one side, like the back and head, and too hot on the other, the belly, and it chooses to stay in the hot area.
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-audri
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