Inquire unto the l'Cie.

[Nix]

Bad experience with boas and pythons? That doesn't sound good...

And... no. A heat mat won't put off more heat than one of those bulbs, but just make sure that the snake can't make contact with the mat (or bulb, for that matter). They... sometimes will burn. Badly. -_-

And... two lamps... eh. I don't think so. I tried it once, but found that it really made no difference in the snakes living and health. A night bulb is really all you need, just make sure your room is light during the day (but don't put the cage in direct sunlight... that's bad ) and dark during the night. Should be good if you do that. ^_o

And... humidity. Well, if you're going with a corn (which is an excellent choice ) they only need about, say, 50%. When they go into shedding mode, though... just mist the actual snake. (as I said before... don't soak them, just mist the cage and make sure to get the snake)

I honestly don't even monitor the humidity of my snakes unless they start getting dented eye-caps, shedding badly, breathing oddly, etc.

ALSO

Whatever you do... make sure you get a captive bred corn, not a wild caught or captive hatched. Seriously, man... captive bred is the only way to go with snakes. And stay away from chain pet stores, if you can. Like Petsmart, Petco, etc. They... well, they know nothing about reptiles and I've never had something from them survive for more than a month. Seriously. No. Joke. My ball python just died a month ago or so... after having it for two weeks. They said it was captive bred, but no. Once I got it home... I saw how it was infested with parasites.

I've also had many lizards die from those stores... so yeah. I have bought my last thing from those places. They suck. Chains need to get nuked. <_<

Either go to a mom 'an pop pet store if you have one around, look for a herp breeder in your area, or... if you prefer... order a snake online. Yes, you can order a snake online. I haven't done it yet, but I have many a friend who has and... it's actually really easy. And you get very healthy critters.

I'm planning on ordering a Cal. b&w banded king snake in the somewhat near future... just need to wait to spring cuz... it's too cold to do it here at the moment. XD

Here's a great site to look at: http://www.kingsnake.com/

Just hit classifieds to browse.

Also...

I can't recommend enough how important having a snake that eats frozen/thawed rodents is. Seriously... it makes a world of difference in it's temperament, as well as they're dirt cheap (dead food), and live mice/rats... are a hassle.

Check out this site: http://www.rodentpro.com/

I just ordered two years worth of food for my corn snake, and about 40 weeks worth of food for my boa from RodentPro for a grand total of $117. They're a wonderful site, quick... insanely healthy products (the rodents are just... so clean. XD)... and cheap.

I mean, look at it this way.

From a place like Petco it costs me $11 per rat for mah boa. And the rats are small. Really small.

Then, through RP... it costs about $4 for a rat, and it's a XXXL one. Which is huge. About double to triple the size of the ones at a place like Petco. o.o

It's the bottom one at this page: http://www.rodentpro.com/catalog.asp?pr ... rozen_rats

I say $4 because shipping raises the price.

Um.

Yeah.

I'm rambling. So easy to do about mah passion. XD

So yeah.

For a corn snake you'll want the overall temp to be about 75, with a basking spot of 80-83. Keep the humidity around 50%, but that's not a huge deal I find. just make sure to give the snake a little misting when it enters molting phase. That's what I do, and my little guy is very happy.

And my boa, for that matter.

[Chozon1]

Eh...my mom doesn't like the prospect of a snake eating a live mouse, and the people put a live mouse in the cage and let it cower in the corner for a week before the snake finally ate it. -_- Which doesn't sound safe for the snake. Mice bite. O_O So mouse-cicles sounds like a blessing.

My room is blue, at the moment. I could change that, though.

Also, I hear you about the chain stores. -_- They're terrible with fish, as well.

Thanks for all the info! ^_^ More is always better. I haven't decided if I want to get a snake yet, because I want to make sure I could handle the responsibility. But knowing all this is sweet.

How often do they get fed?

[Nix]

Aye, mice and rats do bite. Badly, sometimes. And... they're dumb. Seriously. I fed a live rat to my boa a few weeks ago, just for fun (I like seeing 'em die... <_<)... and the stupid rat goes up and starts nibbling on the boa's nose. Then the boa... yeah. Dead rat. XD

Also.

Make sure to defrost the mice completely. Just fyi.

Aaand.

For a hatchling... about every five days is good until it's about six months old. Then, I switch them up to every seven days.

Just make sure to feed according to size. The general rule of thumb is don't exceed 2.5 times in food size to the thickest part of the snake. (and I recommend not going very big with a really young and small snake... just to be safe)

So yeah.

They don't have to be fed all that often, which... imo... makes 'em a very easy pet to care for. As long as you have a big enough cage, proper heating, and all the basic cage requirements (clean water, a hide box and substrate are the main things you need for a snake, and the substrate can be as plain as newspaper; they don't care, as long as there's something there. XD)... you'll do fine.

[Chozon1]

Fancy. ^_^ How is holding a snake?

For the record, the only snake I've ever known was said boa, and it was big and bit...a lot. I didn't want to hold him. >_< I'm not afraid of snakes. Just haven't had the opportunity to hold one.

Also, this one song on this one CD, sounds like Chrono Trigger. O_O ?

[Nix]

Snakes are usually great to hold. That boa... well, was either not properly caged (low temps will sometimes make a snake stressed, which in turn makes them aggressive), sick (same as last) or... it had a bad temper. XD

But yeah.

A baby corn is fine to hold, just give them a week or so after getting the snake to settle into it's new home. After that? Corns are great, I've never had an aggressive one save for the really old gal who... was dieing.

However... even the tamest snake will bite you.

Like.

When feeding it.

I learned a long time ago not to feed the boa a rat out of my hand... that = getting tagged along with the food. USE TONGS WHEN FEEDING BIG SNAKE

And, which CD?

[Chozon1]

Snakes are usually great to hold. That boa... well, was either not properly caged (low temps will sometimes make a snake stressed, which in turn makes them aggressive), sick (same as last) or... it had a bad temper. XD

And, which CD?

D, all of the above. It wasn't really held a lot either. Just when it was being shown off. Also, it wasn't the getting bit part that fazed me, just the huge fangs and snake as big around as my arm, part. XD Thanks for that though. I'll put feeding tongs on my "if snake getting, must buy list".

It was "Hero", a rock opera. And it was eerily similar.

How do your parents feel about having dead mice in the freezer?

[Nix]

Ah, Okay. That may do it. XD

And uh... mah mom ain't crazy about it. Especially the XXXL rats. Dad doesn't care, though. XD

[Chozon1]

That's another obstacle I'm coming across. Plus my Dad pretty much dislikes reptiles, with snakes as number one. My Mum likes them, but doesn't like the thought of it eating mice. Or little dead things in with the ground beef and veggies.

How about decor? What type of bedding, and how many hiding spots?

I could find a question not about snakes too, whenever you get tired. Thanks for all the help.

[Nix]

First off... I never get tired talking about snakes. Never. You won't tire me out.

Aaaaaand, yeah. A lot of people dun't like da reptiles... I have never understood why. XD

Also... decor. Err. To be blunt, snakes don't give a durn about what their cage looks like. You could use expensive, fancy bedding or something as plain as newspaper. They don't care, as long as it meets their purpose. (just give them something decent to keep them off, say, glass... if you're using that)

As to hide spots, it's good to have two of them. One on the cold side of the cage, and another right under the basking spot. If you only have one, put it in the basking area. And if your snake is anything like my boa... dude. Be prepared to some rearranging to be done. Seriously. The boa will freaking rearrange its cage. Like. Move the hide box (I've only got one right now) to the total opposite side of the cage into the coldness... and the water dish (which should be kept on the cold side)... into the basking area. And since I use newspaper or paper towels... the snake flips everything upside-down. XD

Hope that answers your questions. Please ask moar.

[Chozon1]

I've never understood the dislike of reptiles either...It's confusing to me. XD

Also, I'm so happy now. XD I didn't want to have to buy $20 aspen shavings every month. My dad works at a newspaper. So...that's pretty much always around.

Would it be better to buy a smaller (10 gallon) tank for a baby corn snake or is it going to be OK in the 20-30 gallon enclosure?

Also, do they need vitamins or other supplements dusted on food or in water?

[Nix]

Yeaaaah, aspen stuff can get aspensive. (c whut i did thar?)

Newspaper is so much more FTW. XD

Aaand. About having a smaller tank... well, some people say that that's a good idea, so that the snake doesn't get stressed out or anything. Honestly, though... I've never had that problem. (at least with the cage being the reason...)

If you've got a 10 gal, then by all means use it. I'm sure the little guy would appreciate it. But... unless he's giving you trouble (like not eating, looking unhealthy, acting weirdly, etc.), then I'd not worry about it. All snakes are different, so it really depends on the snake... but I think a 20 gal would be Okay. XD

And you can always buy one of those plastic critter keeper containers that look like this:



With that, you just put the snake in it... and then put that inside the 20-30 gal tank. Just for a while until he settles down. (if he even needs to...)

Aaaand, no. Not with a corn snake. The only kind of snake you want to possibly dust their food with calcium with would be something that eats, say, crickets or other insects. A corn, on the other hand, gets all it needs from mice. I mean... seriously... rodent eaters digest everything. And I mean everything. They get the calcium from the bones, fiber from the tail/fur, protein from the meat, some healthy liquid from the blood... etc. (not so much for water though, you still need a separate bowl for that) And the water doesn't need anything, or if it does... I've never done it.

And for the record, mah snakes are pretty much picture perfect healthy. XD

[Chozon1]

Cool. And seriously cool that snakes digest everything. XD I wish I could do that.

I can't think of any other questions. What else should I know?

[Eagle Eyes]

Do you know anything about Blue headed lizards?

They live around me naturaly (wild), but i don't know anything about them and i can't find any info on them.

[Nix]

Cool. And seriously cool that snakes digest everything. XD I wish I could do that.

I can't think of any other questions. What else should I know?

That would be awesome, wouldn't it? XD

Aaand. Hmm... can't think of much. Maybe... be sure to look over the snake and hold it before you buy it? Probably already knew that, but you never know.

Do you know anything about Blue headed lizards?

They live around me naturaly (wild), but i don't know anything about them and i can't find any info on them.

I honestly have never heard of a blue headed lizard... do you have a pic of it? It's possible I know it (thought honestly lizards ain't my specialty), but know it by a different name.

[Chozon1]

Cool. I'm hoping to head up to Petsmart tomorrow. Not to buy a snake, because if at all possible I'm NOT getting one from there. But to see if I can hold one and chat it up with the keepers. Maybe see if they can provide proof that the snake was captive bred. Our Petsmart is pretty good as far as stuff goes.

I kind of hope that I get someone who is afraid of snakes...is that wrong of me?