I am now the proud owner of a 2-3 month old baby corn snake....wasn't exactly planned but he needed a home, I had an extra tank, and it's not like I haven't considered adding a snake to the family. He's adorable (not very friendly however). This is my first snake, it's been sexed by the breeder as male. He's a cull because he's not the right color (apparently his 8 other siblings were however poor guy ). From what I've found online I think he's just a basic Amelanistic corn snake...however I need to find more baby pictures of them since he seems to have an atypical pattern.

I've named him Tezzy after a comic book character of mine "Teziak" since they have similar temperament traits (assume everything is edible until proven otherwise, sulk when things are not food. They also share an attraction to rolling all over shiny blue things). I'm hoping he'll settle down in the next few days so I don't have a striking terror whenever I go near the tank (though I admit, a striking terror the size of a pencil is not really scary XD It's kinda cute actually).

I'm unsure when he last ate, there's no signs he ate recently (bulge, etc) the breeder didn't give me any info so I figured maybe I'll offer a pinkie tomorrow. I have been informed he's a rather aggressive eater so I hope that's true, I've never tubed a snake before and would rather not have to learn....though I suppose it would be easier than the cria (baby alpaca)

Any corn snake people out there? Any tips to a new snake owner?

Congrats!!! Aren't they the best?

I've never had a corn snake specifically, Garrett has though, but I've also had other snakes and lizards.

The number one thing with exotics is temperature. Temperature temperature temperature. They need a warm side and a cool side. Corn snakes should be kept at about 75-85 degrees. I like to use under tank heaters. Remember not to use ceramic rocks, because the snake will lay on it and burn himself. Thermal burns are very painful and dangerous. Just keep one side warmer than the other, both sides within that range. Find out if they need any special sort of lighting or humidity control. An improper climate for an exotic is almost ALWAYS the cause of whatever illness they end up with. Even something as simple as not eating could be caused by a cage being too cold or too hot. Just keep that in mind, and make sure to find a herp vet near you just in case.

But most importantly, enjoy your new friend!!

eta. Just as importantly, show us some pictures!

I've had a corn before. They're slippery little buggars. Mine was a blizzard corn I cleverly named A Rod. (You get a net cookie if you get the reference.)

A few suggestions.

Handle as much as possible while he's little. While he's pretty cute striking and shaking his tail like a rattle snake now it's much less amusing when he's 6 feet long. Handle him until he stops the OMG get away! and settles down to enjoy the heat of your hands.

Get a separate little feeding box for him to eat in. That way he learns that every time he sees your hands it doesn't mean dinner time.

Get at least two hide holes. I used old golf ball boxes. Put one at the hot end and one at the cold end. Most corns are smart enough to self regulate on temp if they have ample hiding space.

Watch your food size. Too big is worse than too small. So when in doubt of "not sure if he can eat this" go one size smaller. Warm your dead mouse up to at least room temperature in a plastic bag floating in warm water. Right now he's at maybe 1-2 day old pinks but as an adult he'll be on a full size mouse or rat pup.

Just curious do you ever intoduce the snake to the dog? Or are they non compatable. I don't recall ever hearing about any canine-snake friendships.

Thanks for the info!

Pictures coming soon!!!! All I have is http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g7/Blitzava_art/Photo87.jpg this one XD which is pretty lousy...and he nipped me a second before and a second after that picture XD

Currently he's in a 10 gallon (which should be all set until he's grown up a bit from what I've read) on Eco Earth Coco Fiber substrate. I've got an undertank heater and have a hide over it as well as two other hide holes (little Tezzy has checked them all out and I think he prefers the "partial heated" one in the middle). I'm using broken terra cotta pots and a carefully positioned cleaned shell for hide holes. The cage is about 75-80 at this moment He's got a water dish/bath bowl and a variety of things to climb on. I'm working on getting a fake plant to hang from the top of the cage but our local pet store didn't have anything, I'll have to search farther.

I've also got a cheapo plastic "critter carrier" I plan on using for feeding. I also have tongs from the time I petsat for my friends monitor lizard but they're a bit big...I think I'll use tweezers instead lol

Only thing I'm confused about is the handling....everything seems to say 20 minutes a day, but avoid stressing him...this snake CLEARLY doesn't like being handled and I'd imagine that stresses him...but I want a handle-able snake....how do I win here?

Michelle: I don't think I'll be introducing the dog to the the snake. I have re-enforced the "snake is out means you go in your crate" behavior which seems to be working. Ryuk is used to reptiles around the house (our of reach in people's hands) because now BOTH of my housemates have cornsnakes (theirs are yearlings given by a friend) and one has had a leopard gecko for some time. He knows to leave reptiles alone when they're inside. Outside he LOVES to tease garder snakes (he knows that rattles mean "go away") and will herd them around the woods if I let him.

Don't over think feeding, corns are usually not that picky. How it went at my house was put dead mouse in a box, put snake in a box, walk away or watch with morbid curiosity. No mouse puppetry/tongs required. Once he pops his jaw back into place he's ready to go back to his warm cage.

I did supplement calcium with my corn. I have no idea if that's still recommended. The kingsnake website tends to have the best info on what current herpers are doing.

The main thing I think is handling until he settles down. If it takes 5 minutes great, if it takes 30... well... keep working on it.

Don't handle for a couple days after feeding so he doesn't puke.

Wow is that colorful. He is really cute! I hope you get lots of enjoyment with him. Please take more pics!

He is tiny, I think they're scary when they're small. I am much more comfortable with the larger ones. (Must be why I have boas and pythons, too...)

He is adorable, we will need pictures as he grows, if nothing else, the color changes are awesome.

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He's adorable! And I do believe calcium supplementation is recommended.

We're definitely looking forward to more updates and photos!

If you just got him in the last few days, I would wait a week to feed him. Sometimes they go off food for a while when their environment changes. I wouldnt worry until he goes 3 weeks without eating. Especially because the seasons are changing. That always seems to have an effect on my big girls. Once theres less daylight, they will eat about half of what they normally eat. Another thing I would do is designate an opaque tupperware box (with holes in it obviously) as the snake's feeding box. Essentially you are training the snake just like you train a dog. Eventually your snake will learn that the box means food and he will get in "eating mode" when he's put in the box. I move my snakes to their boxes about an hour before I feed them. That gives me time to get their rabbits thawed out and ready to go. Another positive outcome of feeding them in boxes is that they never associate hands coming in their enclosure with food. So your chances of getti.g bitten are way less. Then you end up with a nice calm snake. My snakes are about 7 feet a piece and used to strike the glass everytime someone walked by because they thought a rabbit
was going to get tossed in. Within a few months of moving them to boxes to eat, they stopped that behavior completely. Thats just my experience with it!