Any one keep Snakes?

Hellrazer

Just wondering if anyone has a few tips for snake keeping?Ive just bought a Corn snake yearling(18 inches or so) which Im collecting on the weekend.

Mostly need tips on feeding,cage setup,handling.

Thanks
Richie

Martin1974

Hi Richie
I don't think it very wise to get a snake before you've learned exactly what it needs.
Snakes, as being cold blood anumals, have special requierments as temperature in the Vivarium, humidity levels, some experience in feeding etc.
I strongly suggest that you go and search the net for caresheets. There are loads of them, especially for Corn Snakes.
Here are some examples:

http://members.aol.com/Kathandcam/Hawkherp/care.html
http://www.reptileforums.com/care_sheets/snakes/cornsnake.htm
http://www.members.lycos.co.uk/reptorirescue/newpage6.html

Good luck and do not hesitate to contact me, if you have any questions.
Martin

Hellrazer

Martin1974 wrote:

Hi Richie
I don't think it very wise to get a snake before you've learned exactly what it needs.
Snakes, as being cold blood anumals, have special requierments as temperature in the Vivarium, humidity levels, some experience in feeding etc.
I strongly suggest that you go and search the net for caresheets. There are loads of them, especially for Corn Snakes.

Martin Ive already done all my research and like you said at this stage Ive read nearly every care sheet out there.
The main questions I have are regarding heating the cage.What methods work best over here??I was given a complete setup when I bought the snake ie Viv,heat mat(12 watt),hides,water dish etc.I think the heat mat may be too hot as the bottom of the cage feels hot to the touch and from past experience with heat mats theyre not really supposed to get that hot to the touch.Im afraid of the snake getting burns from being in contact with the cage bottom.Ive a smaller heat mat (7 watt) which Im going to swop over when I get home and see if that lowers temps a bit.
Richie

Martin1974

Hi Richie
Good Job !
I saw your post about Tarantulas, so I guess exsotic pets are not rare to you.
In regards the heating pad, when you'll have substrate it will isolate the bottom a bit.
Remember that the snake needs in his enviroment (vivarium) a hot place and a cooler place so he can thermoregulate himself.
I usually use ceramic bulbs instead of pads.
A must is having a two point thermometer (to measure the temperature in the two areas) and a thermostat which will control the teperature, meaning it will turn on and off the heater depending on the temperature you'll set it to.

Hellrazer

Martin1974 wrote:

Hi Richie

I usually use ceramic bulbs instead of pads.
A must is having a two point thermometer (to measure the temperature in the two areas) and a thermostat which will control the teperature, meaning it will turn on and off the heater depending on the temperature you'll set it to.

Martin,
Are ceramic bulbs the ones that give out heat but no light?Do they go inside the cage or outside?Reason I ask is that I dont really trust heat pads myself.I prefer to feel the air temps for myself whereas heat mats are a localised heat source ie they dont heat the air only the substrate.
Where can I get one of those 2 point thermometers??As for a thermostat--Are they really necessary?Ive never used them in keeping Tarantulas although they are recommended.
What I do is run the heat mat in the setup for weeks on end in different types of weather and note the highest temps that I could possibly get.If theyre too high then I move the mat out a bit from under the tank and keep adjusting it until I find the right heat range.Works for me!!Also Im in the process of building a 3x2x2 purpose built vivarium for the snake and maybe you could help me out with the best method of heating this.Its a fairly big size so I reckon Ill go with bulbs for this one but what wattage would you recommend??
Thanks again
Richie

Falkorre

personally, i never had a problem with heatpads, but i do recommend ceramic bulbs if u can find and afford them.

Corns are prolly the best starter u could have gotten besides a garter snake. They are fairly hardy.
One thing to bear in mind tho is thermostat, if it is in a centrally heated house, then u need one, otherwise you may end up with an oven in there. For instance, I have one tank that is half heated water with unheated land area, the water heater has never needed to be turned on once this summer, if it werent for the stat i woulda left it on an it woulda killed everything.

Heat one side of the viv only and use two themometers, one at each end of the viv, thats the main thing, it needs a cold spot, a hot spot and a wet spot (large bowl to soak in), some rocks a "hide" (flowerpot works great) and light.

Main thing is tho, by all means take care of him well, but dont *over* do it, lots of people totally over do the tank, spending hundreds and not realising the rule with all animals is "Keep It Simple".

B

Martin1974

I second Falkore.

Hellrazer

I keep my collection in a concrete shed at the end of the garden.Its separate form the houses central heating so each cage HAS to be individually heated.
This is probably why I dont have a problem with overheating.Its like its own mini climate in there.
But where can I get ceramic bulbs?Ill switch over to them if I can find them.
Thanks
Richie

Our man in Havana

Richie,

My snake Syd got badly burnt by a heatmat - if you feel it is too hot & you cant find a ceramic bulb - stick the heatmat to the back of the tank on the side so that the snake is not in direct contact with the snake - I now use human heating pads (the ones designed for older folks) they have a built in thermostate & will switch off if they are too warm. I can get ceramic bulb from my local pet store in Portlaoise - or you could get a 100watt infared bulb - most reptile stores should sell these & a cage so the snake cant touch the bulb. Reptile haven should have them.

paulthelegend

Heat pads are quiet reliable, but the long strip ones sometimes give a few problems. Heat pads should only cover half the viv, so even if it does go wrong the snakes arnt stupid they wont sit on a burning pad if your worried about that then get a thermostat and that will sort that one out. If you go ceramic for a corn snake its a waste of money.

Your best bet is if you didnt get it from Mc Elheron reptiles or Reptile haven is to go there and ask them for some setup information, most pet shops have jumped on the band wagon with reptiles but have no information, i can only speak for Mc Elheron reptile (my local haha) but if you get any reptile there they will make sure you know everything thats needed before they sell to you. Ive heard of other normal petshops that try to do reptiles telling people to feed corn snakes on crickets

D3AD3Y3

K im quite surprised at some of the posts on here and disagree with the answers.

You should NEVER use a heat mat without a thermostat such as habistat. Temperatures of 2-3 degrees centigrade more than a snake can handle longterm can cause brain damage as well as other health problems.

Also high heat causes water to evaporate, which causes high levels of humidity. This can also lead to repiritory disorders.

There is a forum where you can get advice on ANY reptile you may want called "The Cornsnake Fan Club" in the UK and the web addy is http://www.reptilefanclub.co.uk

As to ceramics being unsuitable for snakes.... well i dont agree with that either, but have no experiance with ceramics, though people who do talks for IHS use them with no difficulties and do suggest them.

PTL

well done for dragging up a two year old post, and like i said in my last post said, the heat pad should cover half the tank so that if its 2-3 degrees too hot he can go to the cooler end, there not stupid ... and as for the water i didnt state but should have, to not put the water on top of the heat pad, put it in the cooler end and it stops the evaporation.

And ceramics for a corn snake is a waste of money but for something like a jungle python or green tree boa or something tropical like that its a must!

That is a great site alright for snake keepers

D3AD3Y3

well actually i didnt notice that it was a post from so long ago. Thought forums would clean up a bit more.

Anyway, for anyone else who looks at a 2 year old post...

Research into snakes and try

http://reptilefanclub.co.uk

as a place to start. Experianced and knowledable people can give you all the advice about the hobby you will need from care tips, caresheets and other issues such as equiptment.