Anyone have a cornsnake?

[Cam]

We (read here me) are contemplating a cornsnake.
We had a sweet male corn for 4 years, and he died just a few months ago
He was our sons (who is only 8 and can't ever remember not having Stretchy around).

He was a very easy going guy sonce day one...we purchased him as a hatchling. Not sure if all the corns live up to their easy going reputation?

 

[barbie69]

I love my cornsnakes!! They are so laid back and sweet and they come in such beautiful colors!!
I have only ever had a hatchling nip at me, but it really di dnot hurt and they outgrow it as they are handled more.
Here is a pic of me-n-Crystal my very first snow corn. I have more now but she is always going to be my favorite! This next spring I think I will see if she is interested in breeding. It will be my very first snake breeding.
Here she is....

and here is Chester her soon to be boyfriend ...

 

[Cam]

Thank you for the reply

You have BEAUTIFUL corns...

Have you noticed a temperament differnce in the different morphs?

Did you go through a breeder?
(There are a couple at the corn snake website I was thinking of contacting....)

Do you ever vet them?

(Our guy seemed fine until we took him into the vet for the first time. He promptly quit eating after the vet visit...although we medicated him and they assured us that a 4 year old male corn was just 'off food' due to mating season (although we had no female corns around).

Do you have a favorite place to get their food? ie the pet store or someplace like Rodent Pro?

Thanks again!

 

[barbie69]

I have not needed to vet any of my cornsnakes but I do have a reptile vet just in case. I have 2 anery's, 2 amel stripes and a stripe snow in addition to Crystal and Chester. They are all very laid back even if I don't handle them regularly. I have never been bit or even nipped at by my corns.
I had an oketee for a short while but he was nippy and I hated it. He would rattle his tail and strike everytime I would get him out, he went back to the store. I have asked and heard that is just a baby thing and he would have calmed down eventually.
I have gotten my snakes from various trusted sources. Alex at AHR reptiles is one of the best in the reptile business and I have pruchased numerous snakes from him. I have gotten ball pythons and a hognose from him and he is GREAT!
Are you looking for a specific color or locality? I am dying for a lavendar but I have to wait 'til I graduate to get more...only 5 months left! yay

 

[barbie69]

I have not needed to vet any of my cornsnakes but I do have a reptile vet just in case. I have 2 anery's, 2 amel stripes and a stripe snow in addition to Crystal and Chester. They are all very laid back even if I don't handle them regularly. I have never been bit or even nipped at by my corns.
I had an oketee for a short while but he was nippy and I hated it. He would rattle his tail and strike everytime I would get him out, he went back to the store. I have asked and heard that is just a baby thing and he would have calmed down eventually.
I have gotten my snakes from various trusted sources. Alex at AHR reptiles is one of the best in the reptile business and I have pruchased numerous snakes from him. I have gotten ball pythons and a hognose from him and he is GREAT!
Are you looking for a specific color or locality? I am dying for a lavendar but I have to wait 'til I graduate to get more...only 5 months left! yay

There are quite a few breeders I would not hesitate to order from...if it is one you are not familiar with, check out the BOI on faunaclassifieds and do a search on them. I have spoken to Kathy Love and might be getting a lavendar from her next year.

 

[Cam]

Great information, thank you!

What size set ups do you have? We went from a 10 gallon up to a 55 gallon aquarium...I was reading they only need a 20 gallon? Seems kind of small for a 4 foot snake?

I am not looking for anything specific.
Stretchy was a Petco snake purchased as a hatchling.

There was a normal corn there too, our son felt that Stretchy was special and was easy to handle right off the bat. So he came home with us.

May sound silly, but we (read here me and the 3 kids) haven't run it by the hubby, really miss not having a snake around. Our son decided on a tortoise because he said he could 'never replace or want to even try to replace Stretchy', I thought a 'family corn' could be a good idea.

There is Kathy Love and one other gal i can't remember her name now but I will have to go back to my notes.

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa140/Cam5Pictures/July2007108.jpg

 

[barbie69]

Small is actually good for corns, they do not need a whole lot of room or they get stressed out. I gave a friend of mine a normal hatchling and he was feeding fine...then he moved him into a larger set up and he would not eat. After a couple weeks he called and asked what I thought and I told him to put him back into the smaller tank and he began eating again within 2 days. Now he is growing like crazy!!
I have a rack for all my snakes and I have my adult corns in sweater boxes in the rack. I will try and get a pic of the rack for yu to see later.
I am running out of time here and I have to run home.
I will get pics and jump on in a little bit.

 

[barbie69]

Here are my two cornsnake racks and they have back heat....
[IMG=640x480]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v258/geckogirl171/ann065.jpg[/IMG]
those racks are on top of a rack I built and I have my Ball pythons in it with belly heat, here is the whole thing...
[IMG=640x480]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v258/geckogirl171/ann066.jpg[/IMG]

I have a couple hatchlings right now (cornsnakes) and they are growing fast and I have them in smaller sized sterilites you can see in the lower left corner of the cornsnake rack.
I am so excited for you! Can't wait to see what you decide.

 

[JustAnja]

We have over 125 Corns. If your interested we do have an '07 Rootbeer and an '07 Anery, both males that we produced here, left for sale. Corns are a great family pet I think. I have not noticed any differences in temperament as far as morphs go. I think its all individual, and like Barbie said, even a nippy hatchling will settle down fairly quickly.

Smaller is better, and a 20-30 gallon long tank is fine for an adult corn. Ours too live in rack systems.

The racks in the middle of the pic and all of the rubbermaids and deli cups contain Corns and hybrid colubrids.
[IMG=640x480]http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p239/hisdsrtrose/herproom/319bef5e.jpg[/IMG]

 

[Cam]

Wow you guys/girls what fantastic set ups!

Okay,
1) Should I start out a hatchling in the 20 gallon long so he just stays in the same enclosure/less stress?
2)Do you suggest belly heat as well as overhead?
3)Do you suggest uva/uvb? (our vet said it was required for their day night cycle-which we added right after his appointment but had never used up until that point at all).
4)Just Anja do you vet yours? I really think the vet visit stressed him out...or perhaps just a coincidence since we had also jumped his enclosure to the 55 gallon per the vet's suggestion that week as well as the uva/uvb.
5)Do you guys/gals deworm your corns?

Thank again...I was only 50/50 coming into this thread...now I am 98% wanting to jump in...oh the peer pressure

 

[JustAnja]

Wow you guys/girls what fantastic set ups!

Okay,
1) Should I start out a hatchling in the 20 gallon long so he just stays in the same enclosure/less stress?
2)Do you suggest belly heat as well as overhead?
3)Do you suggest uva/uvb? (our vet said it was required for their day night cycle-which we added right after his appointment but had never used up until that point at all).
4)Just Anja do you vet yours? I really think the vet visit stressed him out...or perhaps just a coincidence since we had also jumped his enclosure to the 55 gallon per the vet's suggestion that week as well as the uva/uvb.
5)Do you guys/gals deworm your corns?

Thank again...I was only 50/50 coming into this thread...now I am 98% wanting to jump in...oh the peer pressure

1-I would use something smaller for a hatchling. We use deli containers for hatchlings and then they move up to the rubbermaid shoeboxes as yearlings. You could use a Kritter Keeper for a hatchling. A 20gal would be way too big and the tiny hatchling would feel very vulnerable.
2-I would suggest belly heat only in a larger cage. A nice basking spot is always good maybe placed over a nice rock to back on.
3-snakes do not need UVB. Just warmth.
4-I do all of my own vetting. I was a vet tech for many years and have close friends that are Vets so if I have something I cant figure out I consult with them but I give all of my own meds.
5-We do not deworm the corns, as they are all CB and that should not be an issue unless they came in contact with a wild caught animal. It never hurts to take a fecal sample in to be checked for parasites but I would not give a dewormer without a positive fecal exam.

 

[barbie69]

Anja~ SWEET setup!!! I will be working my way up to those kind of numbers after graduation. There are just so many different morphs, you can't have just one. LOL Do you have any pics of the different morphs of yours? Maybe the ones for sale??

Cam~ I agree with Anja that a 20 would be to stressfull for a hatchling. I also agree with all her other info too, cornsnakes are great because they really do not require a whole lotta care. Give them food and belly heat and a secure enclosure and you are good.
Who us?...peer pressure? hehe Snakes and torts are my addiction and I love it!!

 

[JustAnja]

We should have the following in '08:

hypomelanistic
ghost
bloodreds
lavenders
hypo lavenders
creamcicle het for motley
several normals that will be double and triple het for different morphs


Anyways here are the two boys we have right now.

Anery (het for amelanistic, het for hypo, poss het charcoal)
[IMG=640x480]http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p239/hisdsrtrose/cornsnakes/b39bd4e4.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG=640x480]http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p239/hisdsrtrose/cornsnakes/627aa20a.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG=640x480]http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p239/hisdsrtrose/cornsnakes/2fa0a513.jpg[/IMG]

Rootbeer (het amelanistic AKA Creamcicle)
[IMG=640x480]http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p239/hisdsrtrose/cornsnakes/71f3b7cc.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG=640x480]http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p239/hisdsrtrose/cornsnakes/47d9b295.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG=640x480]http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p239/hisdsrtrose/cornsnakes/f32a7df0.jpg[/IMG]


I will post pics of some more morphs later today for you. The Corns are really Dan's project but Im liking them more and more. I really like my big Butter girl and my Butter stripe motleys. I cant wait to watch the butter stripe motleys grow up, they are already amazing looking.

 

[Crazy1]

Anja they are great. My daughter is looking into getting a snake and wasn't sure what to get, she didn't want one that got too big and she wants one that is fairly docile. I am passing this info on to her. Thanks

 

[JustAnja]

No problem. If she wants to ask questions my email is [email protected]

 

[cvalda]

You guys are creeping me out! Why'd I even look?!?

 

[Cam]

Thank you both for all your helpful advice!!!

 

[Cam]

Barbie...What do you think of you hoggie compared to the temperament and care of the corns?

 

[barbie69]

Barbie...What do you think of you hoggie compared to the temperament and care of the corns?

Care is about equal(different temps but not more care than a corn) but they have a totally different personality. Hoggies are so cool and funny, they hiss and act like little cobra's but I have never been bit by one or even nipped at. They are a bit more intimidating because they hiss but it is usually just a show. They are also known to be more difficult to get started feeding due to their small size as hatchlings..but once they are feeding they are , well hoggies! lol They are shorter and fatter than a corn and they feel totally different too. Definately a very cool little snake!!
My girls do not handle the hoggies, they are a little nervous to pick them up. They handle the cornsnakes all the time and have no problem going in and getting them out by themselves.

 

[barbie69]

..and Anja, you will have to let me know when you have your hypo lavender's in '08, I am VERY interested in a female
Thanks for sharing the pics, nice looking corns!!