WC!! Need help and advice

Hey all, i'm totally new to colubrids... like a half an hour new. I was taking my beast of a ball, Maximus, outside for some pics, and i stopped in the middle of a stride just before i stepped on a baby corn snake! I had my hands full with snake and camera, so i called to my bf to grab it and he got it. And he's gorgeous!

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...y/new_corn.jpg

There he is, and he's a whole whoppin' 4 grams!

anyways, reading the caresheets and all. But where do i start? Feeding pinkie mice is a must?? or can i feed it insects? What am i doing here?? ah! please help me!

Insects are a no no. Try day old pinky mice. If you plan on keeping him then you'll need a tub or tank to keep him in. (10 gallons are good for corns up to 18 months I believe). Warm side should be 88°F cool side should be 77°F. UTH heater attached to rheostat or thermostat. 2 hides each side. water dish. make sure the lid had a good lock or cage clips, if there is a small space they will escape. A tub make work best.

I'd wait a few days before feeding him. Let him settle down.

I suggest reading The Corn Snake Manual by Bill adn Kathy Love. It has everything you need to know in it

It's a cutie by the way.

yea, i got a few balls, and i was thinking of keeping him in the rack with them, but he would get out in a heartbeat. So here's the set up.

27qt tub
3" flexwatt running along one side
88 hot side
ambient room temp 72-75
newspaper (i use it for the balls)
small water dish
humidity 40-45%

sounds good. If you want to add a hide in there, you can use an empy toiletpaper tube. mine loved 'em when they were that small. They like to hid in tiny spaces.

awesome! Thanks a bunch, i'm pretty geeked up i found a corn snake in the wild like that. I've never even seen a corn until i went to a reptile show last winter. And i've lived here in mich my whole life. :rockon:

what kinda color and pattern would you call it? i cant find any pictures that have such a contrast between the white and red.... I have no idea. Is it even a corn snake??!!

Here's a belly shot...

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...corn_belly.jpg

Also, do corn snakes rattle their tail at all? He was just rattling his against the side of the deli cup.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

Hey all, i'm totally new to colubrids... like a half an hour new. I was taking my beast of a ball, Maximus, outside for some pics, and i stopped in the middle of a stride just before i stepped on a baby corn snake! I had my hands full with snake and camera, so i called to my bf to grab it and he got it. And he's gorgeous!

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...y/new_corn.jpg

There he is, and he's a whole whoppin' 4 grams!

anyways, reading the caresheets and all. But where do i start? Feeding pinkie mice is a must?? or can i feed it insects? What am i doing here?? ah! please help me!

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Nice little find you got yourself there. That little guy you found is an Eastern Milk snake but it is very similar to a corn. Basic husbandry requirements are roughly the same as a Corn though. Good luck with your find.

Yep, I JUST figured out it was a milk snake after doing a little more research, but ya beat me to it!!! :D Thanks a bunch!

No worries :)

I would change the substrate from newspaper to a nice thick layer of aspen. Corns, milks, etc. love to burrow and it makes them feel more secure and safe to be able to do so. The tail rattling is a defensive mechanism. I'd add in a couple of very small hides plus some fake vines, etc. Basically anything that gives the baby milk something to slither around, through and under for cover. Remember like all colubrids, this one will be an escape artist so a good lid with tight clips is a must. Sounds like you are off to find a pinky mice supplier LOL.

totally, i just changed the substrate to aspen, he's already getting under it and loving it. And tomorrow is the Hunt for Mice Pinkies. lol

It doesn't have to be fancy. Whatever works for you. My 18" corn loves his hides and I only used an old Hotpocket box. His cold side hide is a cat/dog water dish with little cut outs for handles. He crawls in and stays on the inside of the plastic.

So what would be the best way to feed him when I get some pinky mice? Seperate tub or put the pinky on a piece of paper in the same tub?

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

So what would be the best way to feed him when I get some pinky mice? Seperate tub or put the pinky on a piece of paper in the same tub?

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Juvi milksnakes/kingsnakes generally eat lizards and other small snakes, so chances are it will not readily take pinky mice. Even if you could get it to eat pinkies, I would still suggest releasing it back into the wild.

If you insist on keeping it, I would offer it a pink(just set it in the enclosure). If no response, scent the pinky with a lizard then attempt the next feeding. If you get no response for 4-5 weeks, then feed a small lizard. Resume this cycle until you get success with the scented pinky. Then work on getting it to take unscented pinkies.

Heaven knows....you might be lucky and get a strong pinky feeder right off the bat.

I had a little wild-caught milk like that (not as pretty tho ;) ) for several months; he was very shy and wouldn't feed anywhere he thought someone might be looking at him, not even in his tank! After a couple of weeks of refusals, I put him and the (live) pink in a paper bag, closed up the top with a couple of staples, and left him in there for a couple of hours. When I checked on him, the pinky was gone! And he took it the same way for the rest of the time I had him. Just my :2cent: on how I got a similar snake going.