Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well I am looking to get my first corn soon...well actually my first snake and I am in the "Research Phase" right now and its time for some questions.
First off I have been reading that you can get alot of mice from bigcheeserodents.com and it will last you a year or so.But what Im wondering is what do you do with them when you opened the package that has 50 pinkies in it?Can you reseal it and do you pop the rest back in the freezer?.Another question is is it possible to just keep a cooler with ALOT ofice and some dry ice instead of putting it in freezer(mom) this might happen but not sure.

I am looking to get a baby corn from my FANTASTIC local reptile store (no not petsmart)and I am wanting to know what wattage of bulb to get for a 10 gallon tank(also a 20 gallon long as well but i wont be needing it now but how old/long does the corn have to be b4 it needs to be moved.)which will have some cheap hides a water bathing bowl and the substrate.

Subsrtae I mostly see shavings which seems to be the most popular so I think I might be going with that for my corn so would it be okay just to spot clean?

*PLEASE TRY AND POST PICTURES OF YOUR ENCLOSURES AND YOUR FREEZER STOCKED WITH MICE OR WHEREVER YOU KEEP THEM THAT WOULD BE GREAT

THANKS! lemme know if I missed something I dont mind being corrected if its worth the life of my future corn!
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1.1.0 Leo Geckos

1.0.0 Collard Lizard

First of all, let me commend you for doing research before you actually get the snake. You'll now know more than probably 90% of the people that buy snakes for the first time (not including what they learn at the pet store when buying). Personally, we've gotten our frozen mice off of rodentpro.com (they worked well, although I haven't used anything else). You could reseal the bag of pinkies although they will tend to get freezer burn over time. We bought a cheap vacuum pack machine at walmart to seal smaller quantities of mice in (say a months worth of mice). That way you don't have to worry about it as much. You could always separate them into ziplock bags as well with as little air as you can make. We actually took my mini fridge that I had in the dorms the past two years and put that in our snake room. Keep it at the coldest setting and it's a freezer. As far as heat, I would go with an UTH (under tank heater). I have a light over my two adults and have had to provide them with a separate humid hide. The juveniles I have do fine with just a UTH and water dish. I personally use aspen (not pine) shavings, although my boyfriend hates it. I spot clean at least twice a week - more if I see something and do a full clean every two months or so.

If you search for care sheets there should be plenty (heck - half the people on this forum have care sheets that are awesome). I know other people will chime in to help as well. Let us know if we can answer anything else!

~Katie

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JK Pets - Online Pet Supplies

2.4 Cornsnakes (Slink, Shadow, Suzie, Snickers, Selena, Sunshine)
0.1 Columbian Red Tail Boa (Baby)
0.3 Leopard Geckos (Cutie, Lily, and Miss Piggy)
0.1 Savannah Monitor (Sam)
0.2 Pac Man Frogs (Gordito and Spud)
0.1 Suriname Toad (Squishy & the Squishettes)
0.0.2 Giant Millipede (Mega & Mila)
0.0.1 Green Iguana (Iggy)
0.0.1 Red Eared Slider (Tiny)
lots of snails and fish...

i can tell you how i'm housing my baby corn. i have her in a 10 gallon tank with a human heat pad set on low. only 1/4 of the tank is setting on it so she will have a temp gradiant. when i move her to the 20 gallon long like my 2 bigger corns then i may buy the UTH but for now the human heat pad works great. then i have that green carpet in there with paper towels on top to soak up any messes. she has a paper towel roll for a hide. also a couple of little boxes i've cut down to size, water bowl.
i just buy pinkies as needed. you don't want to thaw out a whole bag of pinkies. just 1 or 2 as needed. i'm feeding mine every 5-7 days. right now she is eating 2 pinkies at a time.
the Corn Snake Manuel is a great book for anyone getting a corn snake.

My corns love paper towel rolls they make great hidespots just put one in the warm end and one in the ccol end and your set. As for a substrate i use Aspen shavings this can also be used as a hide spot sorta. A good water bowl should hold the snake and not tip.

Derek

To second what Janome said, get the Corn Snake Manual by Kathy Love. Pretty much any questions you have will be answered there. Not to say that your pet store is not great but if you can find a local breeder you will be able to save some money going that route. I have purchased mice from rodentpro as well and from reptile shows. Fortunately now I have a connection so I dont have to worry about shipping charges which is great. I just keep them right next to the chicken and french fries in the freezer. I think keeping it in a cooler would become too much of a hassle. For housing I keep my babies in sterlite containers, and my yearlings in 10 gallon tanks. I have my spare room set up for all the snakes so I just use a space heater for the whole room. Depending on what you keep your house at though you may not even need an additional heat source. Good luck with your new snake.

EP
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Occupants not paying rent:
7 balls
2.1.10 corns(candy cane, creamsicle, ghost, 6 normal, 4 anery )
1 pueblan milk
1 everglades rat
1 cal. king
1 gray band king
1 w. hognose
1 bearded dragon
1 fish
1 mouse
3.3 cats

If you're going with an under the tank heater, make sure you use something to regulate the heat, because more often then not they get too hot. I've found that when using the kind that stick to the bottom (Zoo med maybe??), it's usually better to not actually stick it to the tank, but rather just set it under so it's not right up on the glass. I'd also provide some light during the day, for some reason my younger corns like to bask during the day more than my older ones. Make sure if you use wood shavings it's aspin, not pine or cedar, as they can actually be poisonous to the snake. When selecting something for it to hide in, make sure it's not too big. Corns like to be in a tight space, if the roof of the hide is even two or so inches high, the corn may just squeeze into some other place. I also had trouble convincing my parents when I was young to keep mice in the freezer, but I basically told them that's it's no different than keeping a steak in there. One of the main points in freezing mice is that it gets rid of disease. Finally, if you were to get 50 pinks, you'll find that you go through them in no time. Before you know it, you'll be feeding them two or three at a time, and it'll be time for a larger mouse. Just use a good freezer bag that seals well, and just try and get all of the air out of it before you put it back.
Good Luck!
Will

Snakey (my Corn Snake) is about 3 years old and he has a 40 gallon tank. I don't have a good digital camera, but I can explain my setup. I have a wood "half" log on the cool side of the tank. I propped a shoe box up against the log and Snakey always hangs out under there. On the warm side of the tank I have a heat mat under the tank and a 100 watt Zoo Med lamp on the screen top. I have a big clay pot on the warm side that has many holes in it. I just added the clay pot and Snakey wants nothing to do with it...however, after he hangs out with me outside the tank, I put him in the pot and just last night, he hung out in there for a while. I have a ceramic water bowl in the middle of the tank which is big enough for him to soak in. I use wood bark chips for the substrate and it works very well. Snakey's best friend is Sosa, my Ball Python (5 years old). A lot of people are strongly against Snakey and Sosa living together, but they are friends who will not separate from each other. I turn the lamp off in the evening, but the heat mat is always on. Corn snakes are awesome! Best of luck to you!
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1 Corn Snake (Snakey)
1 Ball Python (Sosa)
1 Pine Snake (not named yet)