Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Got my 8 yr old daughter her first snake on Sunday at the Reptile Expo at the VFW Hall in South St. Louis. We brought her home and put her in a critter keeper with paper towel substrate, a cool hide, water dish (cool side),lava rocks (warm side), heat mat on side of 'glass' for night warmth, and a desk light with a 75 W bulb for daytime heat.

The lamp keeps the warm side about 85 deg during the day. The first day she spent the whole time in her cool hide. That night she came out, but we didn't bother her much to watch. She did give us a good poop that day! Must have been comfortable in her new home. She seems to like it.

This morning we found her UNDER the paper towel (and lava rocks) at the junction of the bottom and side wall on the warm side. She stayed there ALL day. After turning the lights off this evening, she started moving around under the paper towel, looking for a way out (?) We were using a low wattage flashlight to watch her and realized she was following the light! So, I moved the beam slowly up the side of the 'glass' and she pushed her head out from under the paper towels. She flicked her tongue for a while. It was SO FAST! Like a blur!

Then she yawned twice, even though we haven't fed her yet (that's tomorrow after school). She went and got a good drink of water. Then she seemed to head for her cool hide, so we turned out the light and my daughter went to bed.

We haven't named the snake yet. We want to come up with a good name. She is GORGEOUS under the flashlight. The red blotches are very dark, surrounded by black, and her orange shows up well. She was born Aug 17th and has eaten a few times (I believe) and shed once. I don't have the notes from the breeder in front of me.

We're looking forward to handling her tomorrow and then feeding her in her deli cup. Hopefully we can take a pic soon and post it...

Walt

P.S. I dug out my Foodsaver and vacuum sealed 17 of the 20 pinkies we got from RodentPro at the Expo. Hopefully, that will prevent freezer burn as we slowly deplete the bag over the next several months.

Now my son wants a King Snake, and I'm thinking about an Albino Nelsons or maybe a Tangerine Hondo (except I'm concerned about size)... maybe something else...

Walt

How often do you plan to feed your new snake? 17 should last for 68 days, not 3 months. I fed my 15 inch corn every 4 days when I first had him.

We'll feed about every 7 days. That's why I said "several" months. I never said 3 months. Of course, if we get another snake or two, that will dwindle. My daughter's excited about feeding time after school today...

Walt

Baby corns should be fed every 4-6 days...
If you got another snake or 2, why would the feedings "dwindle".

I believe he is saying his food "SUPPLY" will dwindle not the number of feedings.

Good luck with you new corn and please keep us updated! It sounds like you are off to a good start. You can tell by my sig. line that they are addictive!
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Amber

3.18.0 Ball Pythons - Tucker, Taylor & Gang
1.1.0 Amber Corns
0.0.2 Amel Corns
1.1.0 Butter Motley Corns
1.1.0 Crimson Corns
1.1.0 Ghost Corns
1.1.0 Hypo Corns
0.0.2 Normal Corns
1.1.0 Okeetee Corns
1.0.2 Snow Corns - Aiden & Kids
1.1.0 Sunglow Motley Corns
1.1.0 Hypo Honduran Milk Snakes
0.1.0 Pueblan Milk Snake - Marishka
1.1.0 Sinaloan Milk Snakes
2.1.0 Dachshunds - Dakota, Montana, & Cheyenne
5.0.0 Ferrets - Tigger, Bailey, Cody, Keyta, & Bandit

Geez, wish I could figure out how to edit a post! Didn't like the way my caps looked - too snotty! lol Wasn't trying to be!
I should have put - he is saying the time that his supply of mice will last will dwindle down from a few months if he should happen to add a few more additions. More diplomatic?

>>I believe he is saying his food "SUPPLY" will dwindle not the number of feedings.
>>
>>Good luck with you new corn and please keep us updated! It sounds like you are off to a good start. You can tell by my sig. line that they are addictive!
>>-----
>>-----
>>Amber
>>
>>3.18.0 Ball Pythons - Tucker, Taylor & Gang
>>1.1.0 Amber Corns
>>0.0.2 Amel Corns
>>1.1.0 Butter Motley Corns
>>1.1.0 Crimson Corns
>>1.1.0 Ghost Corns
>>1.1.0 Hypo Corns
>>0.0.2 Normal Corns
>>1.1.0 Okeetee Corns
>>1.0.2 Snow Corns - Aiden & Kids
>>1.1.0 Sunglow Motley Corns
>>1.1.0 Hypo Honduran Milk Snakes
>>0.1.0 Pueblan Milk Snake - Marishka
>>1.1.0 Sinaloan Milk Snakes
>>2.1.0 Dachshunds - Dakota, Montana, & Cheyenne
>>5.0.0 Ferrets - Tigger, Bailey, Cody, Keyta, & Bandit
-----
-----
Amber

3.18.0 Ball Pythons - Tucker, Taylor & Gang
1.1.0 Amber Corns
0.0.2 Amel Corns
1.1.0 Butter Motley Corns
1.1.0 Crimson Corns
1.1.0 Ghost Corns
1.1.0 Hypo Corns
0.0.2 Normal Corns
1.1.0 Okeetee Corns
1.0.2 Snow Corns - Aiden & Kids
1.1.0 Sunglow Motley Corns
1.1.0 Hypo Honduran Milk Snakes
0.1.0 Pueblan Milk Snake - Marishka
1.1.0 Sinaloan Milk Snakes
2.1.0 Dachshunds - Dakota, Montana, & Cheyenne
5.0.0 Ferrets - Tigger, Bailey, Cody, Keyta, & Bandit

Ah thanks for the clarification. You are probably right. I read that before I had my coffee this morning. My bad!!

The supply of mice would dwindle, not the feeding interval.

From everything I've read, once every 7 days is the norm for a baby, then every 7-10 days for an adult. This allows slower initial growth, but an ultimately larger size.

Walt

hey,
We were at that show as well. I was at the table that was selling the live mice and rats. If you dont have a food supplier then contact Phil. www.pspituophis.com. Good guy to work with. Congrats on the new snake. A word of advice on the sons snake, baby hondo's are freaks. most tend to go crazy when u pick them up, but this calms with age. there are a few that are calm. I have a baby albino Hondo and he is very calm, seems like he loves to be handled. if i was you then i would go for a mountain king. i love the colors and the few i have had are nice and calm. Good luck

Cody