Oh yeah you should downscale the whole tank or better still put him in a tub for awhile. You have way too much substrate (tooooo deep).
You both need to be on a level playing field so to speak. He has got too much substrate to burrow in……
Oh yeah you should downscale the whole tank or better still put him in a tub for awhile. You have way too much substrate (tooooo deep).
You both need to be on a level playing field so to speak. He has got too much substrate to burrow in……
Aww, he’s like a little garden eel.
But I do see how that enclosure would make him difficult to catch. Whether or not to change that to make socialization easier is up to you. I will say that for the two snakes I got as babies, I kept them in very simple setups until they put on some size and were comfortable with me (one of them is still in this setup, as she’s still relatively new). This allowed me to monitor them more closely and made them easier to remove from the enclosure. Once they’re big enough for their adult enclosures, then they get nice naturalistic setups.
I agree. It’s an absolutely lovely setup that mimics nature, but I never recommend going bioactive right off the bat. Finding your baby in there will not only be extremely stressful for him since he’ll be able to continually run away from you, but disassembling it to get him is pretty much impossible without destroying it. I also always have some concerns about being able to keep track of poop or regurges in a beautiful bioactive like that. I at least like to make sure the snake is well established and you have a good handle on their digestive habits before you move them in.
Do you think it would just be better to just buy another 10g and have minimal substrate etc and move him in that? I don’t want to abandon everything in here because it’s now established with plants, isopods(dwarf white) and springtails. Just keep this one going off to the side and get another 10g?
That should be fine. I personally would just keep him in as I like bigger setups even for younger animals but either way can work well.
I would keep the one he is in and put him in a smaller tub with aspen and hides and a water bowl. Again This Will Be Just Temporary. Tame him, keep track of his input and output as @solarserpents said and then return him at a later date to his beautiful bio active. By then he should know you are the lunch person and not predator. And he should have grown a bit which should calm his fears……
Edit to add: buying a temporary tub will be a lot cheaper than buying another tank. Because eventually as he grows longer you will have to buy yet another tank/enclosure……
I really don’t want to do a tube because A) I don’t trust myself and 2) I live in Colorado and have huge temp swings and he has to be in the basement. I think I’d rather just get another 10g and do the aspen thing. What I have now won’t work, it’s just too hard to catch him and I’m scaring the hell out of him. His home after the 10g will be a 4x2x2 Kages bioactive. I already have that staged.
Does that sound like it’ll work? Would a 20g be a better fit than the 10g? BTW Money isn’t an issue but Petco right now has 50% tank sale going on.
Well then buy a 10 and a 20. By the time he outgrows the 20 he will be ready for the 4 footer!
Ok question on the Aspen. Colorado is pretty dry so humidity is a major challenge. Because of that shouldn’t still go with aspen or something else?
I’m in Arizona and use aspen. It works just fine, mine typically always have great sheds. But if you want some extra humidity, a humid hide made out of a plastic lidded container filled with damp sphagnum moss works perfectly. You can cut or melt a hole in the side so the snake can come and go.
Ok so all you have to do is put the water bowl closer to the hot side. I really feel like you are overthinking the humidity thing. Corn snakes are very forgiving where husbandry is concerned. If the water bowl is large enough your corn will soak in the bowl, in the nice warm water. If for some reason your snake doesn’t have a full shed you can always soak him but I don’t think you should even have to do that.
You are worrying way too much about something you probably won’t even have to deal with.
I was going to mention the humid hide but I was too lazy! . So I said move the water bowl closer to the hot side…….
You guys are super helpful. Such a great community! Thanks!
That still looks like a great setup! I hope you’ll have an easier time grabbing him and getting him desensitized to handling.
Now that my friend is PERFECT! That’s a really nice setup and frankly I prefer setups like that way over bios for snakes. But that’s just me.
You should be able to tame him fairly quickly! At least you won’t have to look very hard to find him!
Keep the updates coming!
Looks like a much more manageable setup for catching a nervous baby on a regular basis. And it’s still beautiful! How has catching him been going in the new setup?
Here’s the updated with the new setup.
-Night 1 caught him easily. He was flighty but calmed down after about 2min. Held him for 5min.
-Night 2 caught him easy. He was flighty but then calmed down about 2 min. Only had him out for 5min. Then he explored the cage for about an hour.
-Night 3 today didn’t mess him. Left 2 pinkies in on large plate. He ate both then continued looking for food lol. Left him alone.
-Im leaving out of town Tuesday and coming back Sunday. My mom will be giving him water daily. When I’m back Sunday I’ll feed him again. Then wait 48hrs before I start daily handling again.
Thanks for the help! Next question is determining when I move away from pinkies and feed 1 fuzzy.
That is super great news to hear that you’re progressing well with the taming! As far as when to feed fuzzies, you should be able to eyeball his middle of your boy and compare it to a fizzy and you should be able to tell when he’s ready. If he’s eating 2 pinks at a time now it won’t be long……
Congratulations again!