# Hi... new to forum & snake husbandry



## ten (Jul 11, 2009)

a funny thing happened to me just a week back... I became a snake owner.

I was not forced or coerced. It was not premeditated either. My cat found him, in my garage. He was growling at a point near where I keep a large coiled extension lead. I lifted it and shook it... and out fell this little fella.










I'd never seen a snake in the UK before but recognise the few indigenous species and knew this wasn't one of them. I kept him in that tupperware dish, popped him in my rucksac and made off to the vets on my zzr1100 – probably the fastest snake in the UK. Vet couldn't identify him. 

Through enquiries online I discovered he was indeed a Corn Snake, indigenous to SE & Central USA.

Well I'll be! 

I decided to keep him... as he'd undoubtedly perish in our temperate climate, and after just some basic reading & research made him this juvenile viv.



















He has drunk from the bowl while resting in my hand, and had no hesitation in taking his first pinkie



















It seems now he is about to shed...










... and to top it all, a photo I took of the full moon the other night turned out like this...










If you'd said to me 8 days ago I'd be a keeper of one of the constrictor family I'd laughed right out, but here I am, just a week in and reveling in the experience. I feel privileged, even.


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## Fluffygirl (Apr 12, 2009)

Wow what a unexpected thing to find in your garage! 

Well its looking good and not too worse for wear after its adventure! 

I would never have considered being a reptile owner - we got our first corn in April, now have 2 corns, 1 bearded dragon and 3 crested geckos, they are addictive! 

Only thing I would say is that I would be careful having it in one of those containers - it doesn't look like the lid clips down at all and while it may be ok now, as it gets bigger (which they do surprisingly quickly!) it may well be able to push the lid off. We use RUB's for ours when they were smaller, (search really useful boxes).


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## ten (Jul 11, 2009)

WOW... what a houseful! Cheers Fluffy! :cheers:


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## rob-stl-07 (Jun 3, 2007)

thats definately a corn snake (great begginer snakes) and nice one too. well done mate, bit worrying the vet couldnt identify?


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## boidae (Jul 14, 2008)

editted


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## rantasam (Nov 28, 2006)

A great story and well done for taking him in. He certainly seems no worse for wear after his travels!

One small point, I would move the heat mat so that it is fully-under the plastic tub you have there. You ideally want 1/3 to a half of the base of the tub covered.

Also, I've just noticed that at the moment you don't appear to have a thermostat attached to the mat. In the worst-case scenarios, it can result in burns like these:



















A cheap matstat will do the job of maintaining the correct temperature for your little fella. It's also a good idea to get a cheap digital thermometer so you can actually _see_ what temperatures you are providing and set the thermostat accordingly.

A good cheap stat (£17.50): Triple 8 Reptiles - Microclimate On/Off Thermostat MINI STAT 100

Digital thermometer (loads on ebay, just an example): DIGITAL THERMOMETER **** FAST POSTAGE **** on eBay (end time 08-Aug-09 08:44:27 BST)

Sorry if it feels like I'm jumping on you. There are just these small changes I think you need to make to the way you are looking after him to make sure he stays safe and healthy. I think it's very impressive that you've took on the care of your garage-squatter. Many people would probably have been reaching for the spade! Good luck with him, he seems in great health and I hope he brings you much happiness.


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## ten (Jul 11, 2009)

*....*

... brilliant, thanks rant


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## chamaeleo (Sep 14, 2008)

cant belive the vet didnt know what it was. i mean isnt this one of the most common snakes because its a good starter?


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## Kathlife (Nov 4, 2008)

Wow, what a find! Your a bit brave picking up a snake if you didnt know what it was..for all you know it could have been a killer :Na_Na_Na_Na: Just one thing, I wouldnt have the entire heat mat under the tub, just leave a very small area for the lil snakie to go if he gets too hot on the heatmat :2thumb: Good luck!


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## ten (Jul 11, 2009)

chamaeleo said:


> cant belive the vet didnt know what it was. i mean isnt this one of the most common snakes because its a good starter?



You'd have thought so.


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## ten (Jul 11, 2009)

First shed & all's well...











Thanks to the person on the Corn Snake forum who earlier suggested I place some crumpled news paper in his tub... as he was moving about some of it ended up in his water dish... which really helped add some humidity. It all came off in one hit. =o)


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## ten (Jul 11, 2009)

And after the feeding frenzy...











... a little something to drink..










It's great! I'm liking this!


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## trw (Mar 2, 2009)

he scrubs up well. he looks great now that hes shed. congrats.


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## Sprocket (Apr 21, 2008)

Looking like a very happy little reptile now, good job !


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## Jb1432 (Apr 19, 2008)

ten said:


> If you'd said to me 8 days ago I'd be a keeper of one of the constrictor family I'd laughed right out, but here I am, just a week in and reveling in the experience. I feel privileged, even.


Its not part of the constrictor family, its a colubrid:Na_Na_Na_Na::lol2:


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## exchangeandmart (Aug 5, 2009)

Wow that's a fantastic story and congratulations on becoming a new owner, although that corn snake looks pretty big so I do wonder how it survived on its own for so long without an owner. It seems like you're looking after him well, I love the action photos of him eating the baby mice, do you keep them in the freezer? That was one thing I had to get used to, having a tub of frozen baby mice in my freezer! When I first got my corn snake everyone was really sceptical about him but actually so many people have fallen in love with him now. Keep us updated, I'd love to know how you're both getting on.


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## lady medusa (Jun 7, 2009)

*corn snake*

thats a great story, looks like your doing the right thing, the only thing i'd say is to make sure your tub has a hot end & a cool end, also those tubs can be really dangerous they really do need a thermostate.
I cant believe the vet didn't know that was a corn snake, that the last place i'd go after that.
Just to warn you they're very addictive, i started with a corn that looks like yours, i now have 3 corn snakes, 4 brazillian rainbow boas, 1 royal python, 1 el salvador dwarf boa & 1 fan footed gecko, when you get the bug it hits you like a hammer :bash:
good luck.:2thumb:


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