Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Can I get a breakdown of everything im going to need to start off, where is a good place to buy each thing, and whats a reasonable price. iv read up a lot on the first month of the snakes care and about how to handle them but Im a bit foggy on what I need to start up.

Also where can you get the pinky mice my baby corn will need? Thank you

I always suggest checking out if a reptile show comes near your area (click on Events, above). If you can attend one, you will find your best variety and value. If not, there are lots of reputable breeders. I would suggest steering away from pet shops if possible. You will usually pay too much, and many pet shops don't seem to quite "get" the simple facts regarding caring for snakes.

You need a cage (fish tank or plastic such as Sterilite or Rubbermaid). Water bowl, substrate (such as aspen), places for your new snake to hide (toilet-paper rolls are good starters for baby corns), and a source of heat so that your snake can have a warm place to digest. A small uth (under tank heater) which covers a small percentage of the tank is fine.

Do all your research first. A good book, like Kathy Love's Cornsnake Manual, would tell you most of what you need to know. Oh, and the rodents...Again, you will pay too much at most pet stores. Reptile shows will be great, if possible. Online such as Rodentpro.com is good, too. Good luck. Duffy

i will be buying the snake from south mountain reptiles. thanks for the rest of the info. what temp should the tank be kept at? where should the uth go? one side or in the middle? i will check out that books too. thanks

I bought a baby corn from South Mountian about 3 monts ago. Good choice, I know you will be pleased with your purchase.

You can get newborn pinky mice from most "real" pet stores. I started out with that, and then bought a bunch of frozen online because it is so much cheaper. I have found the corn really easy to care for. I have had various snakes in the past and the corn is very easy. Mine is growing nicely (she is just a "normal" corn, think I paid $20) and is quite pretty.

I use toilet paper tubes as hides, and shelf liner as a substrate. Most use aspen (and it works great), but I'm a clean freak and keep everything spotless and thats hard to do with aspen. I keep my Hognose and Corn on shelf liner and by Bearded Dragon on newspaper. The Dragon poops twice a day so its just easier for me to use newspaper.

I use a $15 drug store heating pad under the tank, and keep it on low. I have one that I have been using for eight years, and it still works fine. The under tank heaters made for reptiles I am sure would be better, but I just have never go around to using one. During the summer here in Texas I turn it off. I also use a small wattage light on my snakes for some heat and day/night cycle. On a small tank I use a cheap 25 watt from wal-mart. I do not use UVB lighting on my snakes, but do on my dragon. I keep a small bowl of fresh water in the cage at all times.

A cheap 10 gallon fish tank will work as a cage. I use reptile cages from herpcages.com and really like them. I have the 2 foot by 1 foot for my corn, and it seems a good fit. I like the front opening door, instead of having the reach in from the top.

More than anything else, relax and enjoy your snake. They are interesting creatures, and for me at least, fun to take care of.
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0.1 Western Hognose
1.0 Bearded Dragon
0.1 Common Corn

gotcha. well it turns out south mountain doesnt have what i want, so Im talking to kathy love about a couple female babies she has. I plan to buy her book too im hoping that will have most of the info i need. if they are comming from the same place/person, CAN you get two at once and house them together? i want both females, i really do. i understand that they need to be fed apart and I can do that. i just need to know if that will stress them too much or if it should be OK. thanks everyone

Here is a link to one of Draybar's post on some excellent information that he posted on why it's a bad idea to house more then one together. It pretty much says it all.

Steve
Link

hmmm yes good points. i really really like these two in particular. tanks are cheap, substrate is cheap, i could house them seperately i suppose. i may end up only getting one, probably. im very new to this, and dont want to spend a fortune right away

if i got both and had the tanks right next to each other, could i get a large uth and put it half and half under each tank? might save me a little money

You can, but even those can be gotten cheaply. Do yourself a favor and try one of Kathy's books before you do anything else. It will help you to be a very happy owner of one of the best beginner snake you can have. Good luck, if you do it right you'll have a lot of fun!

look at the link in my signature below. It will answer 99% of your questions.

One it won't, so I will here. Corn snakes are a species of north american rat snakes. Therefore, the husbandry (housing/care) requirements are nearly identical to a north american rat snake.

Lemme know if you got more questions.
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-Chris

0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat
1.0 Black Rat
0.1 Vietnamese Blue Beauty
1.0 Green Tree Python
0.1 Texas Bairds Rat

The educated are the few. The uneducated are the masses.

North American Rat / Corn Snake Care Sheet