#me thinks
We did it fellas. One and half months as a snake keeper and the snake is escaped - unless he’s just that freaking good at hiding in his substrate. I got two heat pads down, his water bowl, all of his hides scattered about the room along the walls, plastic bags by every piece of furniture, and towels shoved in the gaps under the doors in the hopes that he’s still in my room and not downstairs.
I was doing a full clean of his tank and he wasn’t in any of his usual places and while I went through his bedding many many times, I’m still hoping he’s just…there so I haven’t thrown the garbage bag out yet and I’m going to go through it again later. Here’s hoping I can find him soon….
all tanks are hurricane prepped! all three fish tanks were cleaned and topped off yesterday, i have my battery powered air pumps handy and spare batteries for them and towels just in case something goes very wrong. snake tank has been relocated to the bathroom and away from the balcony door/window just in case something gets through both the shudders and the hurricane grade glass. i’m not going to worry too much about him since if the power goes out it’ll be hot anyway.
all buckets will be filled with water for whatever need arises whether it’s holding fish, refilling water bowls, or human consumption although i have enough juice to last me forever at this point
I’ve officially had Thrice for a month! We’re on a schedule of feeding once a week and handling twice a week. He’s gotten so much more confident that not only does he stay on top of his substrate more often than burrowed now, he’s been on top of his vine all afternoon. There’s been no bites for the past two weeks but he’ll still strike if I move too fast but he’s calming down really fast. He drinks, he eats, he poops, he sheds! I think he’s going to be a happy and healthy corn snake.
Big boy blep
Of course his favorite spot is on top of the cardboard box
second successful feeding with thrice! last week didn’t go so well but i didn’t know he was in shed (and now i can keep track of that). it’s a chore to find him and he’s more than willing to strike at it but it’s all out of fear and not feeding. i’m not a fan of searching for him and scaring him to get him to take it but i don’t think he would without it.
but he didn’t throw it up the first time so i’m hopeful for the second round and maybe when he gets older and a little bigger he’ll be a little more confident. he’s definitely comfy in his home though since this when i found him he was curled up on top of his hide and under the vines instead of buried somewhere!
My baby’s first shed!
Thrice is not the most photogenic danger noodle, but he’s still pretty!
I’m still so proud of my wiggly boy eating
Thrice ate his first meal with me! I do feel a little bad that I had to dig him out of hiding but as soon as I poked him with his pinkie he went into full strike mode and guzzled the thing in a minute, calmed down, and burrowed off somewhere again. hopefully it goes better next time but at least it’s good to know he wont refuse f/t after being fed live
Guess who just woke up!
thrice has been super active tonight - he burrowed all the way across his tank, climbed up one of his vines, and is now hiding under his half log hide - which, one, makes me so happy to see him exploring and feeling comfortable and, two, hopeful that the first attempt at feeding this weekend will go well!
I’m a simple snake keeper - I see my baby’s snoot and my heart is filled with love and reassurance
Ohhhhh my god I went to check the thermometer one more time before bed and Thrice was finally out of hiding and exploring his leaves and I’m so happy he’s getting comfortable!!!
@lokthaire I’ve thought about this after not being able to find the mat. There’s a whole bunch of junk piled around where I work, especially a lot of wood since we just rebuilt the shelves for our cichlid holding tanks. I’ll probably nab a couple of the smaller left over bits. Thank you!
I swear I’ve been checking the thermometer every half an hour and I’m glad that the temperature is hanging out between 80-82 degrees by the heat mat and 75-76 on the cooler side.
Meet Thrice! He is, according to the breeder, one of the more, uh, spunky of their corn snakes. Which definitely made sense when I held him, because he immediately bit me three times - hence his name!
He’s a little over a month old, has stem 4 times and they’ve been feeding him live and hopefully he’ll take to frozen thawed, but with how willing he is to stab at anything that moves I don’t think it’ll be difficult to do.
For now he’s super buried somewhere in the tank and I’ll leave him alone for the next few days unless it’s to change his water. Again, is anyone has any advice or tips for a newbie snake keeper, please feel free to give them!
snake checklist:
- 20gal long tank
- fitted screen top with clasps
- zoomed uth
- digital probe
- aspen bedding - like a lot of aspen bedding i’m so used to aquarium sand that i’m following my aquascape rules of ‘you’ll need twice as much as you think you do’
- 2 hides - a funky little root formation and a half dome wooden thingy, one of each side of the tank
- some fun silk vines and plants and sticks
- water bowl
- a light because i have blackout curtains that stay closed all the time since they’re STILL doing construction on the balcony outside my room and heck if i’m going to let them see into my room an see all my cool tanks
- two vet clinics in the area, one that specializes in exotic pets and a general vet that also does reptiles
things I still need to get:
- a thermostat because silly me who’s never used a probe before thought that they somehow also controlled the temperature! i know the spider robotics herpstat is highly recommended but since it’s the end of the month an the bills are being paid i can’t afford that YET so the basic jump start will have to do for now
- fireproof mat since the tank is sitting on the floor, and even with the little bubbles that come with the heat mat to suspend the tank up a little, i dont trust like that and i’d rather be safer than sorry when the lease ends
Hi!! You guys know me as a fish person! And after this weekend we’re going to be making a leap to the world of the legged! I’ve always wanted a snake and the research and info gathering I’ve been doing for awhile has only…kind f fueled it. And then the gallon per dollar sale started and….whoops!!!
There’s a breeder near where I work that I’ve been emailing and now that the tank is set up and everything’s working and I’m at least a little confident in what I’m doing I’ll be going to check out the snakes I’ve been interested in! And hopefully bring one home! I am, as cliches as it is, starting off with a corn snake with the hopes that their sturdiness and less demanding nature will be forgiving as I learn my way around this.
But not only is this a post to talk about how cool my new tank is, it’s also a hope for suggestions! I’ll be needing some help too from the reptile and pet community and I’ll welcome any beginner tips!
