Hey there! The names grim and I’m new to the world of reptiles (though I’ve had an interest in herpetology since I was a kid!). I have no scaly friends as of yet, but I plan on welcoming a corn snake in the very near future!
If anyone has any general corn snake advice, I’d love to hear it. I’m eager to learn from folks with more experience than me! I’d also love to hear any tips on bioactive vivariums for corns as I love the idea of cultivating and caring for my own little ecosystem!
As for a little bit about me: I’ve always been an animal lover, and I’ve always had some sort of pets. From bettas to horses I’ve loved ‘em all. I’m an avid reader and I write on occasion, so I’d love to talk books! I’m a trans man so it would also be neat to meet some other trans (and lgbt in general) folks in the hobby!
Sorry if the formatting here is a bit off, my phone is not being a friend atm XD
Welcome to the forums! There are lots of friendly, knowledgeable people here I don’t have a ton of corn snake experience but from what I’ve researched, they’re pretty hardy, tolerant, and easy to care for. Definitely a good pick for a first snake. However, I will let you know they are escape artists! Make sure your vivarium is completely escape-proof (they can fit through holes you wouldn’t expect them to be able to squeeze into) and you should be fine. I’d actually recommend getting a yearling or older - they’ll be hardier, easier to handle, hopefully well-established (eating consistently), and larger/less likely to squeeze through tiny holes lol. I lost my very first snake (a corn) a couple months after I got her because she squeezed through a hole I made in her enclosure for a thermostat probe. So maybe I’m a bit more paranoid than most, but it’s something I think any new snake owner should be aware of. Not trying to scare you off from a corn snake - they’re wonderful pets! I just wish I knew more about that possibility before I got one.
I’m also an avid reader so feel free to talk books with me! I need more people to nerd out with
Yes, welcome to the MorphMarket Community. You’ll find folks here non-judgemental, herpologically speaking, unlike the toxic world of Facebook or Reddit. People here understand there is more than one way to skin a cat. Nobody will bash you into oblivion for your husbandry. If you get something 100% wrong, we’ll try to help you correct it, but not in a mean way.
If you haven’t done so already, I encourage you to do as much research as you can before getting any animal. YouTube is a fantastic tool for this type of research. Soooo much content out there. And of course, feel free to pick our brains. Folks here love to help.
Welcome! For corn snakes, I advise picking up one or two of the old books by hobby pioneers Kathy Love and Don Soderberg to get the basics down, and then you can refine your knowledge by asking questions in places like this. Googling questions has always been hit or miss, but it’s worst than ever these days. Most social media spaces aren’t much better.
Welcome! You are definitely going to find some great information here and I can’t wait to see you around more!
I do have one thing I would recommend you do though- try to start with at least a yearling. They are just so much easier to handle and take care of without worrying. This is especially important in my opinion for new keepers because you want to enjoy your new pet, not be scared to hold it. I am currently getting my bioactive Texas rat snake (pretty much the bigger cousin to the corn snake) enclosure finished up so if you have any questions feel free to ask.
Anyway, what type of books do you like to read? I am really into horror books along with some others.
Yeah definitely looking to get one a bit older to start with! As adorable as the babies are, I can only imagine how easy it is to loose track of them thank you for the welcome and the advice!
What genres do you like? I’m getting back into reading more often after a pretty long break, and I’ve been trying to branch out more!
I started poking around on Reddit first and noped out pretty quickly, what a wild place. I’ve already noticed that it’s a lot more welcoming here, and it makes me a bit less nervous to join in on the community side of things!
I’ve been binging on YouTube pretty heavily, I’d love to know if you have any recommendations for creators/channels! Being as new to this as I am I’m wary of misinformation but it can be a bit difficult to recognize.
Thanks so much for the welcome and advice!
I will definitely check those out, I can never have enough info. I know I won’t be perfect but I absolutely want to do the best I can by any animal I bring into my life!
I’ve fallen in love with any variation of Okeetee, but especially the reverse. It’s definitely hard to pick with so many gorgeous options! I’d originally been looking at ball pythons and talk about overwhelming choices
Yeah I’ll definitely be starting there! They start out so tiny and I think it’ll be a lot easier to start with something that’s been eating consistently and socialized well (hopefully).
Rat snakes are awesome, before I was doing my research on colubrids in general I never knew they came in so many morphs! I’m sure I’ll be back to pick your brain a bit once I start setting up.
I love horror, and thrillers as well. I’m easing back into reading more consistently after a long break and I’ve been obsessed with dystopian type books, it’s been fun to get into some that I was never able to read when I was younger!
I tend to read a lot of nonfiction books - specifically about space, psychology, nature, and philosophy/esoteric ponderings. People say I’m boring because of that, but I just like to learn and it keeps my brain busy lol. I also love poetry. In terms of fiction I like psychological horror, certain kinds of sci-fi, and dystopian books. I prefer my horror books to have plausibility - makes it scarier in my opinion.
I don’t think that’s boring at all! Nonfiction can be some of the most interesting and entertaining stuff to read! Realistic horror is also my jam, along with thrillers. I’ve been reading a lot of dystopian lately, worked my way through all of the hunger games, maze runner and divergent last month bc I was never able to read them when I was younger. I’m thinking of picking up American Gods next, I’ve heard good things and it’ll give me a bit of a break from what I’ve been reading. Any recommendations are more than welcome!
You’ll definitely have to post some pictures once you add some new scaly friends, I always love seeing pictures of people’s bioactives. They’re like mini jungles
I’m also a huge fan of dystopian fiction and horror, I grew up reading Stephen King at entirely too young an age . Some good authors to check out are Adam Nevill (his horror is some of the most viscerally terrifying I’ve ever read), and Jeff Vandermeer for post-apocalyptic/dystopian fiction. Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam series is also highly underrated
We have all kinds here and I am sure you will be able to find someone you can vibe with and get the info you seek from
My first piece of advice would be to just type “Corn” into the search bar in the upper right and browse through the topics it brings up for you. There is a tonne of basic stuff that has been covered in those. If you cannot find the answer to your specific questions after that then jump in and make a post with them
Nonfiction recommendations: Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking, After by Dr. Bruce Greyson (this book is a psychiatrist’s research on near death experiences. Very interesting empirical take on something most scientists won’t touch because it’s “too spiritual”), pretty much anything by Carl Sagan, but specifically his book Cosmos is a good place to start. Carl Sagan is probably one of my favorite authors/scientists. He puts challenging concepts into terms most people can understand easily, and his writing style is almost poetic at times. I’m currently reading Sagan’s book Dragons of Eden which is about the evolution of human consciousness. Highly recommend that book as well!
Poetry: Check out the author Tyler Knott Gregson. His books Chasers of the Light and Wildly Into the Dark are excellent! Will be reading his book Illumination soon.
Fiction: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Silence of the Lambs series (Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs, and Hannibal), Hunger Games trilogy (you’ve already read those though). I plan on rereading Brave New World and 1984 soon.
@chesterhf I know you weren’t talking to me when you posted this, but I’m definitely going to check him out! I love books that give me a visceral reaction. Thanks for the recommendation!
We love knowing lots about people, helps us to really know you
Corns are wonderful first snakes! I will say Palmetto I think are beautiful
And if you can find one without bug eyes then amazing as they are known to get them but many without out there! Just pretty to look at I think
Love the name too, funny enough our Black Tree Monitor is called Grim
LGBT welcome here, fully supported and many here.
Genuinely such a lovely group of people in the Community
Hey Grim! Fellow snake queer here. Welcome to the party!
I’m relatively new to being a keeper too – just coming up on a year when my wife and I brought our first snake home with us, actually. We have a BP and an African House Snake, with long-term plans for a few more. It’s really only a flip of the coin that left us with a beep rather than a corn ourselves, they are such gorgeous snakes!
I don’t have a ton of experience with corns, but in terms of husbandry AHSes are not all that far off. Ours is still on the young side and for exactly the reasons mentioned above, she’s going to be spending at least her first year with us in a kitted-out gasket-sealing tupperware: they’re near impossible to escape from and I got some good advice on that from the folks in this forum.
I’m also juuust starting in on a bioactive and my only advice so far is to expect it to take longer than you think to get everything in order, lmao. Ours has been a few months in progress and will be a few more.
Seconding the Jeff Van Der Meer suggestion for some good sci fi, and adding Anne Leckie to the pile, as well as the Murderbot series. (Murderbot has universally been a hit with all of my fellow ND queers, so take from that what you will, ha!)
Welcome to the forums. You’re gonna have fun here.
Welcome to the community, @grimmace ! You’ve certainly come to the right place to find other animal lovers. And lovers of books. And helpful, appreciative-of- humans people.
You cannot go wrong with a corn snake. I love all kinds of herps but they’re my true reptile passion. I gotta say, I appreciate that you’re considering one who isn’t a hatching as a first snake. Getting one who is past the delicate and sometimes skittish baby stage can be a very nice introduction to the joys of having a corn snake in your life.
I don’t have a ton of corn snake experience but from what I’ve researched, they’re pretty hardy, tolerant, and easy to care for. Definitely a good pick for a first snake. However, I will let you know they are escape artists! Make sure your vivarium is completely escape-proof (they can fit through holes you wouldn’t expect them to be able to squeeze into) and you should be fine. I’d actually recommend getting a yearling or older - they’ll be hardier, easier to handle, hopefully well-established (eating consistently), and larger/less likely to squeeze through tiny holes lol. I lost my very first snake (a corn) a couple months after I got her because she squeezed through a hole I made in her enclosure for a thermostat probe. So maybe I’m a bit more paranoid than most, but it’s something I think any new snake owner should be aware of. Not trying to scare you off from a corn snake - they’re wonderful pets! I just wish I knew more about that possibility before I got one.
thank you for the welcome and the advice!
and I think it’ll be a lot easier to start with something that’s been eating consistently and socialized well (hopefully).
. Some good authors to check out are Adam Nevill (his horror is some of the most viscerally terrifying I’ve ever read), and Jeff Vandermeer for post-apocalyptic/dystopian fiction. Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam series is also highly underrated
