I was able to successfully set up my dimmable thermostat tonight. I ran the temp probe wire between the left-side screen lid and the center divider. I tested the spot from inside the tank, and I couldn’t wedge my fingertip in the gap, so I know the snake won’t be able to get out here either.
I got creative with the probe placement. I ran the wire along the underside of the screen lid and secured it with little pieces of flexible wire so it wouldn’t sag down. I cleaned the suction cup and glass with isopropyl alcohol before mounting the suction cup at the very top of the back glass. Then I used the same craft wire to suspend the probe a few inches below the screen lid directly under the heat bulb. To get the basking spot to reach a max temp of 87F, I ended up having to set the thermostat at 93F.
I got a three-outlet wifi-enabled power strip as well. I have it scheduled to run the heat lamp from 8am to 8pm everyday. I’m going to have the heat mat running 24/7 at a relatively low temp somewhere between 85-89F since there is a thick layer of aspen above it. Even if the snake burrows down all the way down to the bottom of the glass tank, she’ll only be exposed to less than 90F.
The only thing left is the thermostat for the heat pad. Once that’s installed, I think we’ll officially be ready for Quinn the corn snake!
Kinda sounds like u got a good system set up though the adhisive came with the thermometers so im not exactly sure what it is just that they came with so they r reptile friendly
Sounds very workable. I recommend one final check.
Have your daughter check this with her finger.
Quinn is about 20-22" long, but like all colubrids she is slender. I’ll take a picture later today of her with an object which will give you a solid concept of her current girth, understanding that they can squish themselves through spaces which are seemingly too small.
I want to say again, I love that you’re putting so much care into Quinn’s future home and care. That’s a real gift to your daughter, to the animal, and also to me as a breeder. Thank you.
I’m actually not using any adhesive with the thermostat, just thin wire holding the cord tight against the screen lid. The thermometers I have inside the tank came with those little stretchy/sticky circles to mount them to the glass. I assume they’re safe since lots of people use these same digital thermometers/hygrometers.
@caryl I’ll get my daughter to try and stick her finger in the tiny gap where the wire is fed through the lid tonight. If she can, I’ll drill a hole through the rubber stopper in my passthrough that’s just big enough for the probe to fit into. I also thought about getting something as simple as an appropriately sized cork stopper to replace my threaded passthrough. Cork would be much easier to drill into for the wire to feed through.
Here are a few pictures of my handiwork. If the suction cup doesn’t hold up, I’ll swap to it out to one of those Command strip cable clips I posted a picture of earlier. Let me know if y’all see any other issues.
Here’s the threaded pass-through that I considered drilling a hole in for the probe. It’s got a removable rubber plug that should be easy to drill through.
Oh just thought to double check hides that u just bought for sharp bits from manufacturing errors speaking from experience i missed 1 on a hide and it nicked my snake a couple weeks ago i just ground it down and he was fine after some medicated wipes it was really small
Looking good! Here are q few quick pics so you can see the snake’s diameter. If a corn snake can get its head through an opening, the rest will go through also unless they’re very gravid, morbidly obese, or carrying a large meal. This agility is good because it means the snake isn’t liable to get stuck anywhere, which can happen with more heavy-bodied snakes. It’s a challenge for escape-proofing.
Forgive the terrible focus and lighting. Quinn is still a cutie. Lol
Thank you for the pictures @caryl! I’ll be sure to show them to my daughter tonight. Do you think she’s about 50 grams at this point?
Luckily, the two screen lids on my enclosure lock down very firmly, so there is very little movement when you push up from underneath. There is no branding on my enclosure, but there is a little sticker that says “Assembled by JGW”. I think this terrarium was custom-made, not store-bought. It appears to be very well-made, so hopefully there will be little to no chance at an escape!
Quick update: My 9-year-old daughter has been “acting out” recently, so as a punishment, we had to delay the shipment of Quinn the corn snake from @caryl. I hope she gets her act together in the next week or so. If she does, @caryl and I have tentatively planned to have the snake shipped the week of June 9th.
It’s a bummer to delay the arrival of our new pet, but I can’t reward bad behavior. After all my research and preparation, I was excited to meet the snake as well! I’ll have to be patient for now and hope my daughter makes some corrections to her attitude. Like I told @caryl, parenting is hard!
Just an FYI Chris, your perfect weather window is quickly closing as summer is right around the corner. Spring is a great time for shipping reptiles in general.
I don’t know what your daughter did to delay welcoming the new snake but time is ticking away…….
Dont know if its possible but is there an out of the way area ur daughter doesnt go to that could work so she doesnt know she arrived and u dont miss the good weather for shipping then the snake could “not be shipped yet” my parents did that when i was surprised with an animal for my birthday but that was a rabbit and easier to move the cage just an idea also would give her the time to decompress from shipping stress without her wanting to handle her right away
Spring is perfect for shipping, very true. Hopefully we’ll have a bit of time yet before it’s too hot to ship. Too hot does happen, but since I ship hub-to-hub with cool and/or phase (and/or heat) packs as needed, that should be a while off.
We’re more the “yes, one more!” sorts. 
