Corn snake question, answer preferably from an owner?
let me get this straight. before i get one, i need to know will this be ok.
1. Feed it a mouse the size of the thickest part of it's body once a week.
2. the vivarium's ''Warm side'' should be around 30°C.
3. feed it in a seperate box from it's cage with chopsticks/tongs so your fingers are not asociates with food.
4. leave him in this box for 2 hours after feeding
5. handle regularly.
temm me if i am wrong somewhere or something i can add
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1) Anywhere up to 1.5 times the girth is ok as a regular meal; though they are capable of eating surprisingly large meals. The meal should leave a noticeable bump after it has been swallowed.
2) Yep, 30C is good. If you are using a heat mat, a thermostat is ESSENTIAL.
3) Feeding in a separate enclosure is entirely unnecessary. Moving a snake from box to box with a full stomach is just going to stress it out, and is actually more likely to get you bitten than feeding in its home. Tongs are always a good idea, but as long as the snake is well handled, it will NOT associate your hands with food at all.
4) Again, unnecessary. You want to leave the snake to digest for 1 - 2 days after feeding, so a separate feeding box is just stressful.
5) Of course. The snake will let you know when it doesnt want to be handled; heed warnings or you will be bitten (or pooped on!)
1. Yes
2. Perfect
3. With this question there is always some debate. Some think you should feed in a separate container, others disagree.
Pros of separate container:
*Honestly, not stressful. Why would it be stressful to put snake somewhere else? Its the same as taking it out to hold it.
*Less mess. A dead mouse can bleed from its nose a bit and create a mess (and i've had a snake squeeze the mouse so hard its stomach poped=guts everywhere)
*If you feed in the tank, the mouse smell is left in the tank a bit and some snakes might try to eat their bedding (stupid, i know, but i cant tell you how many times i've heard of this happening).
*A separate container to feed makes sure snake has no association with cage opening=food (which shouldnt happen anyway as long as you are opening cage to hold it more than opening cage to feed)
*And eventually snake will associate container with food and immediately get ready=good for picky eaters.
Cons of separate container:
*Moving snake after its eaten, and snake could throw up
*While moving snake out of feeding container snake could still be in feeding mode and bite.
*More complicated
Honestly, whether or not you feed in a separate container depends on what specifically you chose, and in part what kind of snake you have. I use the separate container just b/c of the mess. But in my opinion, corn snakes and ball pythons are no more likely to bite from either the separate container or feeding in their tank. And more aggressive snakes more prone to quick bites w/out identifying exactly what they are biting are better fed in a separate container.
Oh, and yes always use the tongs or pliers. Snakes that sense heat can be confused the the warm mouse and the warm hand and miss their target (trust me, i know, my ball python clipped my fingers before i switched to using pliers lol)
4. No. Completely unnecessary. If you chose to feed in a separate container, return snake (after it has fully swallowed the mouse and starts to move) to its warm enclosure where it can curl up and digests its meal.
5. For a corn snake, yes, handle regularly for about an hour. Too long and its been away from its correct temp and humidity, which can cause problems.