Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've been lurking while I read up on these little guys, but still have a few questions. I have read that Corn Snakes make excellent first pet snakes -- as this would be my first snake (Though not my first reptile). I was actually debating between a Ball Python and a Corn Snake - But with all the feeding issues in BP's I think I've finally decided on the Corn. I also like the small size of the Corn, and that they generally do well with handling. I also like all the cool morphs.

I've read they are great escape artists. What are the best ways to keep them in an enclosure? And what enclosure will work best for babies? I've heard plastic shoe boxes are good for the little babies. Are those better than a 10 gallon aquarium? I have a 20 gallon for when he is full grown, but I will probably make him an enclosure instead.

I've looked at a few breeder websites, but am specifically looking for one that has been fed F/T. Is it fairly easy to switch a Corn eating live to F/T? Or is it best to just buy from someone who already feeds F/T?

How long do the F/T Mice last in the freezer?

My one real concern is where do I feed him? Should I feed him inside of his enclosure, Or is it best to move him elsewhere to feed? I didn't know if he'd mistake my hand for a mouse if I fed him inside of his tank.

Thanks!

I would go with a corn over a ball python for a few reasons. I have both and my corn has never given me a single problem, and you can actually get help here on the corn forum. Don't expect any help over on the ball forum. When I got my ball python I adopted him from my brother. I bought him for $15 at a show as a gift for my brother and he was guaranteed feeding. My brother decided it would be cost efficient to keep his ball python and boa caged together ina 10 gallon tank with 1 hide. When I adopted the python its skin was so dry that it krinkled when he moved (I am guessing he was scared of the boa and refused to go out into the open or into the water bowl) And he didn't eat for 2 1/2 months. He is a pig now but was of to a horrible start. They are pretty good at escapes but if you take the neccesary precautions it shouldn't be an issue. I recomend going with a 10 gallon for starters. It should last about a year or more and makes it easier to keep an eye on your snake. I personally don't like the idea of keeping snakes in shoeboxes. If I had 20 snakes I am sure I would change my mind. Make sure you have plenty of hides at least 1 on the warm and one on the cool side. They sell wire mesh lids for the 10 gallons but make sure you get the clips to escape proof the cage. These do not hold humidity well so you would need to throw a towel or something over the lid. Switching from live to frozen thawed shouldn't be a problem. I feed Hope fresh killed and all I have to do is drop it in front of her and she pounces on it. Feed out of the cage as long as it will eat out of cage. They CAN associate your hand with food but that is usually if you ONLY interact with them at feeding time. I recomend Don or Kathy. Don runs South mountain reptiles and Kathy runs cornutopia. Both are excellent to work with. Good luck with whatever you decide on!



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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"

hes great good quality animals too
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jake

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

Yeah, Don is great. I picked up a beautiful creamsicle from him in the fall and the thing is growing like a weed. Went from about 12 to 20 inches now and as thick as my middle finger in less than 3 months on one mouse a week. She's shed 4 times since I had her and the colors and patterns just keep getting better every time.

I 100 percent agree. Don is outstanding. I've purchased several snakes over the years from him, to include this 05 Great Plains Rat I received a few weeks ago. This thing is a rodent wrecking machine.

Steve

For a "starter snake" a corn is better than a ball python.

Baby snakes will often not feed on a consistant basis if kept in a cage that is too large. For a baby corn snake, you may want to try one of those plastic aquariums with the snap-on on lids. I have found these to be escape proof when the lid is on correctly.

Most corns will feed of frozen/thawed food. I would not get a live feeder and hope to switch it over - I'd get one already feeding on what you want it to eat.

Baby snakes feed best when left overnight in a small container with the food item. Most people use a deli cup, which snakes are often shipped in.

Tim

Third Eye

I agree that corns are good starter snakes. Although, I have not had a problem switching my corns from live to F/T. I also have a ball python and it is very boring. Corns are more fun. I would put a baby in a ten gallon with the sliding screen lids and the pin lock. That way you know its closed. I would also suggest the deli cup way of feeding. Good Luck
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------Misty-------
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More pets than one room can hold. I listed them all but it looked ridiculous!!!
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i'm curious as to why you said that,have a bad experience???

If you want a ball..get a hatchling, I've never had a prob. w/ mine. They all come out in the late evening hours and eat well. My adult accasionally skips a meal but eats when hungary. I am partial to corns though because of the variety of colors that are affordable. I do have one that never comes out much as well. As far as help on the BP forum, I have recievd a lot good suggestions and advice from knowledgeable people. They helped me in getting my wild caught female to eating when she had refused for almost 5 months after I acquired her. All of my snakes handle very well and I would recommend the ball as a first snake anly if its young and eating well. If this is the case then you should have no prob.'s. But I do agree w/ the previous post that corns are the easiest snake to keep and make a great beginner pet!!

Actually I would say 80% of the time I post on the ball forum I have a bad experience. I think that MOST (there are some that still care) of the people on there just care about the money and if your post isn't about the next big morph then they don't care. I got yelled at by numerous people for showing a feeding pic becaue it is "inhumane" for me to feed live (snake ONLY eats live and refuses everyhting else) and I was "demented" for apparently taking joy in the death of a defensless animal. So yes, I have problems with the ball forum. There are still some good people left but not many over there.
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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"

WOW!! How could snake owners accuse you for being inhumane for feeding a ball live mice..granted its better to feed f/t IF the snake eats it!! If i'm not mistaken a lot of big breeders feed live because it takes too much time to thaw out hundres of rodents!!! Good point.

u say toonlyget abp if its a hatchling and eating well?but my bp was 24" when i got her and was eating and never missing a feeding for almost 8 months that i had her,now sheis going off feed for about 3 months,ur not always guarenteed that a eating bp will always eat. just my 0.02

This is the time of year that they will do that. With some it seeme to be innate to go off feed during this time of year because this is when they do so in the wild in preparation for brumation and breeding. The strong instincts are strong even if captive born. It just makes them what they are. Your snake will start eating again when it feels the time is right. I know that it is kind of stressfull for you. I felt the same way. Just make sure he has plenty of water.

I also ment if this was your first ball ever. The fact that they can go off feed, even when previously eating well, helps to back my opinion ( but then it's only my opinion). Corn snakes are the best starter snake ( again, my opinion ).

thats why i dont really go there any more
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jake

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

I'd say that about 75% of the people in the ball forum don't even own a morph. Go and look at the forum. You'll see that most of the stuff in there are about normals. There's a whole nother forum to talk about morphs and money. If you don't like it, don't go to the forum - simple as that. I don't, and I'm as happy as can be. Every once in a while you might have a not so nice guy reply to your post. Hey, what can you do about it?

This made me laugh:

A guy posted a picture of a normal ball python saying that it was the new alien-head marking ball. (he never went there, he just wanted to prove that the BP forum was bad) He got a few replys from people saying that it was a normal. There are so many new things going on right now in the BP community (some morphs kind of look like normals) that they had to tell him it was normal. This guy knew it was normal, he just wanted to provoke us into flaming him. Didn't really work...but he apparently thought it did. He starting ranting about how bad the ball python forum is and how horrible it is that we don't care about our hobby, and that we don't care about the new guys...blah blah...

Try out the forum. If you don't like it, then hey - you don't like it. End of story.

Ball pythons are great snakes, they are just notorious for going off feed. It's true...all of mine are off...LOL - can't do nuffin 'bout it. They'll eat when they want to eat.

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Ryan Farris

I purchased an adult corn that had been fed live mice all its life and he ate the f/t the first time I attempted it. I think they go more by scent than movement. An example of this is with my hatchling corn I fed yesterday. I placed a f/t fuzzie in the feeding bin with the snake and moved it around a little to get his attention. The snake crawled to wear the fuzzy was initially placed, pressed his nose to the bottom of the tank and opend his mouth in an attempt to bite the bottom of the bin!! He caught the sent of the fuzzy even though it had been moved and his feeding respose kicked in!! This is also a good reason to wash any rodent scent off your hands before handling them!!

i'm surprised and disappointed to hear about your BP forum experiences.

the orignal poster asked about freezer life on rodents,i've been told that vacuum packed rodents kept at 0 degrees will last 2 years,of coarse once there opened it's a different story.i rewrap my rodents with at least 3 different size zipper bags making sure to squeeze out as much air as possible,they keep well for me at 2 months i've not kept them longer but i think they would last longer.

most people consider corns and BP's good first snakes and i agree,few people consider black milk snakes.BM's are also a good choice,they feed well,turn from tri colors to jet black,there dog tame and one of my favorites.whatever you get remember snakes are like potato chips,you can't have just one,have fun!!

Thanks for all of your replies!

I am going to go with the Corn for now. Who knows, I may be able to add a BP Down the line. The only reason I was a bit leery of the BP's is because of feeding issues since this is my first snake. Several of the different Corn Morphs have caught my eye.

Has anyone ever purchased from a reptile show? The KC Reptile Show is on Jan 15th, and maybe I can get one from there?

Thanks for the info about the frozen mice -- Since I will only have the one snake (for now anyway, LOL) I'm probably best off getting small quantities from PetSmart/Petco.

Tell me how the KC show is. I was planning on making the big one this summer.
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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"

i've purchased several at shows and have had no problems at all. fine a good breeder and things should be fine. generally the last day of the show towards the end you can get really good deals on snakes that some breeders don't want to transport back again. just my experience.

It's cheaper to get frozen mice at the reptile show (if RodentPro is there). The Artic mice at Petsmart are at least 3 times more expensive. The best way is buy a large amount and separate into smaller bags (of 10 or less), using a FoodSaver to suck the air out of the bags. That way, they will last pretty much indefinitely and you open a bag as needed without the rest getting freezer burn.

Reptile Shows are a GREAT way for you to see all the morphs available, find out what you like, learn by talking to the breeders, and getting a good deal. This is kind of the "off season" for breeding, so availability and prices are probably not what they would be, say, in September/October. Most of what you'll find will either be '05s (4-5 months old), yearlings, or adults (some holdbacks, some that never sold, and some that may have problems or not be necessarily in great demand for whatever reason).

At reptile shows in St. Louis this Fall, I got a real nice Okeetee for $35, a beautiful Jalisco Milk Snake for $20, and a very pretty Grey-Banded King Snake for under $50 (I can't remember the exact price). As the snakes get older, the prices seem to go up because of the investment by the owners/breeders.

Good luck,

Walt

All I did was offer to make a run to Arby's for the breeder since he couldn't leave his table. He paid for the food and in return he gave me a nice snow corn hatchling!! Never know what you may find.

Hello,
I have purchased animals from both Don Soderburg and Kathy Love and you can't go wrong with either of them. I just keep snakes as a hobby but if I were in it as a business I would consider either of them a good pattern to go by.

David