# Sweet! Projects? (SNAKE WARNING)



## CodeRed (Jun 11, 2009)

Well, I've just received the A-okay to set up my large 55 gallon for my two corn snakes. I'll be divided down the middle, so co-habitation will NOT occur. I'm REALLY excited, because right now I only have space for one of the large tanks in my room, so I'm missing out on one of my babies. This will allow both demons to be in my room, so it'll save space in the long run.
Some of you will remember that this WAS going to be a sorority, but money proved to be an issue, and I was allowed a corn snake instead. A recent find of mine will make this a VERY cheap switch, when it would've been quite expensive. My dad always used silk plants to decorate his house, and I had thought that those got thrown away when his house was cleaned out... I think everyone can guess that I've gotten news that WE HAVE THEM! This is an entire garbage bag full, which will save me about FIFTY bucks. Greenery was the one thing holding me back from setting up the tank, and now that I have it I can get going with this project! All I need now is some aspen bedding (will end up being about 15 bucks), a tank divider (less than 1 dollar), and a couple of logs (can be done without a single cent being spent). I have the tank heaters already, have their water bowls, having some hides already.... so this should be a very easy, smooth switch. I cannot wait to get this going. I'm cleaning out the tank tonight, and tomorrow will start to bleach the plants and look for some logs I can bake to put in :3

Here are my plans....









So, now that I've rambled about MY project, I want to know if anyone else has a project they're working on? A new tank, a new room, a new house? Are you as excited about it as I am? Speak! If you are, PICTURES! Even if they have to be crappy paint ones like mine 

ALSO, here are going to be the inhabitants...

Demonic Spitfire/Raek:: (A whopping 20 inches)









Sweetie Pie Aris/Ariston:: (A minuscule 14 inches)








Can you spot them in the tank picture? XD


Those of the betta forums have probably figured out that I CANNOT resist showing off my babies (;


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

I CAN spot them! They are SO beautiful. What do they eat? I want one! I think that plan looks great. And fun!

Tomorrow I'm setting up a 10 or 15 gallon for my King betta and then bringing home a dwarf puffer to put in his established 6 gallon. I have four new pieces of small driftwood coming and new water wisteria that I'm HOPING will have snails hitch-hiking (if anyone has pest snails they'd like to send my way, please pm me. I'll pay for shipping!). Kilo will be loving life. He's 3 inches now and too big for a 6 gallon. He's so restless! And I've wanted a puffer for SO long now.

Yay for projects!


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

Just out of curiouosity, why no cohabitation? I kept my boas together, no problem. Is it different with corn snakes?? Your set up looks like it's going to be really nice!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Your plans sound great! I'm glad you found those silk plants and can save some money. You'll have to show us pics when it's all done. Yes, I spotted the snakes in the tank pic.


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

How exciting! You definitely need to show us pics, I love looking at your snakes!

Only 'project' I'm doing is changing the filter media and re-decorating my HM's side this weekend. xD


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## CodeRed (Jun 11, 2009)

aunt kymmie said:


> Just out of curiouosity, why no cohabitation? I kept my boas together, no problem. Is it different with corn snakes?? Your set up looks like it's going to be really nice!


Corn snake hatching have been known to be cannibals ;x
Not to mention, see as I have no idea what their genders are, it's entirely possible for them to breed FAR too early, and cause one to become eggbound. If one got pregnant this young it would, without a doubt, kill them.

Corn snakes generally eat mice, with the very large corns getting small rats. Hatchlings (which mine basically are) eat once every five days, and that time keeps getting longer as the age until they get fed about one mouse every two weeks.

And YES! I will DEFINITELY post pictures. Right now, I'm actually debating if I want to use "Aspen" bedding, which is supposed to be drier and helps clean up after they go to the bathroom, or "Cyprus" mulch, which is more natural, but doesn't absorb liquids as well.
Ahh, the agonies of decision making ;3

Thank you everyone for the compliments on my horrible drawing! I sure hope my tank ends up looking MUCH better than the picture xD I'm soo excited.

Good luck with your projects, Vaygirl and Jupiter! Now it's MY turn to demand pictures!

Whew. Long post over.


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

You want a picture of my old, yucky filter pads?


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## CodeRed (Jun 11, 2009)

That's optional, but I definitely want to see the re-decorated HM side ;P


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## SaylorKennedy (Aug 11, 2009)

Lol Jupiter. Put that new camera to work! 

I use Aspen bedding for my dwarf hamster.  That doesn't help you with your decision making but, hey, just a little fyi.

Currently, I am trying to clean my room. Um, it's taken me 3 days to do half of it, despite the fact that my room isn't that dirty. Those movies just HAVE TO be watched and it's so nice outside... Gotta love procrastination and spring break.


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## CodeRed (Jun 11, 2009)

Ooh, you're on Spring break? Our starts Next Friday :3 And I totally know how it feels to be... distracted from cleaning your room. It's taken me about a week to get mine done... 
That totally wasn't off topic xD

Edit:
I've made my decision in the bedding; I've done swell with aspen so far, so I see no need to change it. The Cyprus mulch has been known to harbor mites, and I don't want to take that risk. Now I'm going to go clean the tank with my water and vinegar, then repeat about 20 times.


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

Lol! I will take pics of the new side. It's not much since it's split 5 ways, but I bought him that Asian decoration at Petsmart and 3 silk plants.
I need to clean my room too...the problem with living on your own is that there's no one there to DEMAND that you do it.


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## SaylorKennedy (Aug 11, 2009)

Yep. It's the first time that we've never gone anywhere and I just don't know what to do with myself.  Too much downtime. I was going to fill out scholarships and stuff for college but I was just offered a full ride to my first choice school so, I thought I'd give other people a better chance at getting needed money. Not that I would have won them, but you know.

Lol, apart from the 3 baskets of clothes that needs to be put away and my desk and entertainment which needs to be organized, it doesn't look bad.


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## SaylorKennedy (Aug 11, 2009)

Jupiter said:


> Lol! I will take pics of the new side. It's not much since it's split 5 ways, but I bought him that Asian decoration at Petsmart and 3 silk plants.
> I need to clean my room too...the problem with living on your own is that there's no one there to DEMAND that you do it.


 Have your mom call you and tell you to do it. XP


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

Oh that is going to look SO AWESOME!!!  Can't wait to see it! 

Well, I'm getting a critter keeper or 2.5 gallon tank soon.. and a new boy because I have an extra heater from Mikko's (RIP ( ) bin.  Gonna put Jello in the new tank and the new boy in the divided tank. I'm decorating it with like an Asian/zen theme.  Gonna be SWEEET!


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

Lmao! I should do that...I was just on the phone with her...I'll call her back and tell her to phone me every week and tell me to clean my room. 

Awesome Doggyhog! You have a lot of tanks, right? Do you keep them all in your room?


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

LOL yes... I have lots of tanks. All STUFFED in my room! I seriously have NO surface area on ANYTHING! Dresser is full, bookshelf is full, desk is full. I'm gonna try to get my dad to help me build a tank shelf....  LOL My mom will love that.. *sarcasm*

2 divided 10g
1 10g sorority
1 10g spawning tank
1 empty 10g *evil grin* hehehehe
1 divided 5g
1 two gallon 
Soon to be a 2.5-3 gallon tank. 

Also have a 25 gallon (roughly) bin that I will use as a grow out. Tank cleaning day is fun.


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

Lmao! your mom is surprinsgly tolerant, even if she doesn't like your betta hobby.


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

She doesn't MIND my hobby, just doesn't love it.  She's always commenting on how beautiful my boys are though... She loves red bettas and wants me to get one. LOL


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## CodeRed (Jun 11, 2009)

Uwahh.... My dad had tons of silk plants o_o And they're all beautiful. I'm SO going to enjoy setting up this tank  Can you imagine a garbage bag STUFFED with plants? And most of them are flowers? XD
I have the bathtub running, since that's the only way I can clean them all XD

I'm sorry to hear about Mikko D: He was such a pretty, pretty boy. Have you considered that he was sick when his breeder parted with him? Maybe that's why he/she let them go, instead of keeping such a lovely fish.

And my mom is VERY tolerant of my pets. 10 bettas, 3 snakes, 3 cats, and a dog? Uh, huh. I love you too ;P


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

Aw, I just can't feed mice to snakes. I'm too much of a wuss. I'd cry a river every time they had to eat. I'll have to live vicariously through you Code. Can't wait to see the finished habitats. They sound like they'll be beautiful and I bet the snakes will love them!


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

I'm soooo jealous! Some time I'm going to decorate a sorority with fake flowers.  That would be SO cute!

That is a really good point..... he was never very active.. kinda shy too. Hm... 

Well, I read on UB that the petco near me is now selling HMPKs.  Muhahahaaa


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

That does sound awesome! It'll look great once its done, especially since you;'re decorating it. 

I've always wanted a reptile too, but I couldn't because 1. my mom has a full blown snake phobia, and hates other reptiles 2. I also can't feed live food...or frozen mice.


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## SaylorKennedy (Aug 11, 2009)

Not that this has anything to do with anything, but I actually saw a colored King betta! It was creamish and red! And there was this cute, young double-tail all white, transparent fins there that had a nice hue of purple in a certain light...I'm going back tomorrow probably... 

Code, when will this tank be done? I'm anxious for photos. Even though I'm not too fond of snakes, I still like to see people's photos of them. (My brother decided to put a garter snake in my lunch box when I was 5...needless to say they still make me worrisome)


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## CodeRed (Jun 11, 2009)

The tank will probably be decorated tomorrow x3 Once I'm going with this, we're not stopping. Good news is is that there's a place we can get Aspen for even cheaper! It'll be five bucks for a 45-lb bag  Compared to the eight bucks for a .... 3 pound bag? Yeah, they jipped us in the pet store.
So my mom'll be looking around for that, and then I'll head out to find some logs I can bake tomorrow... and then it's just decorating. It might take an extra day or two to get the divider up, but it'll DEFINITELY be decorated


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

I'm really eager to see it too! I love snakes.


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## SaylorKennedy (Aug 11, 2009)

Nice.
Well I bought the biggest one that petco has for $8 too. But it'd be different for snakes. I've had Tegan since October and still haven't gotten through one bag, and that's changing her bedding every week and giving her generous amounts to burrow in.


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## CodeRed (Jun 11, 2009)

Geez! I go through a bag whenever I clean the tanks, which is about once a month 

Well, all is done for tonight. Tomorrow will be a long day in school, though, since my mind will undoubtedly be back home.

I caved a stuck a flower in Raek's cage <3 I would put one in Aris', but he's only got a 5.5 gallon, and he's already plant over-loaded as it is xD


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

How big do their tanks need to be when they're fully grown?


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## CodeRed (Jun 11, 2009)

Simple 20 gallon longs keep them for life


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

Or you could use a storage bin. 

You should have SEEN the look on my mom's face when I told her I wanted to get a snake.. priceless. LOL


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## CodeRed (Jun 11, 2009)

lol! I remember the look on my moms xD She was like ".... No. No. No. Oh, please no." And then she said yes XD

And yeah, most breeders keep their snakes in rack systems like so:








PICTURE ISN'T MINE


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## nochoramet (Oct 2, 2009)

Gosh I love snakes. I wish I could have another one. I had a ball python at one point named Ivan but a mouse bit him and he got infected and died . I guess I'll have to live through you Code! Can't wait for the finished photo's!!!


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## CodeRed (Jun 11, 2009)

That's why I'll never feed my snakes live D: Too much of a risk to my babies.

I guess I gotta find my camera, huh?


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

i like the sound of this,looks like you're going to have a beautiful set up.
i can't wait for more pictures...........


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## Herbicide (Mar 7, 2010)

Someday I will have a big snake. I've always loved snakes.
When I was little I used to catch gopher snakes and garter snakes in my yard, but of course I let them go after I held them. My parents made fun of me because I was deathly afraid of spiders and I screamed like a little girl (which I was) when I saw one, but I would go out and catch snakes and play with them 
Anyway, someday I want a python or a boa. They're beautiful.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

My older brother and I used to catch garden snakes when we were about 6-8 years old. My mom hated it. lol


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## CodeRed (Jun 11, 2009)

Got it done  Aris is already in (he's got the left side), while Spitz will be added tomorrow, since he's still digesting his meal from yesterday. If I may say so myself, it came out quite well.

The complete set-up, with a horrible picture. Really horrible. My next Christmas/birthday wish is a better camera. :










Spitz's side of the tank:









Aris' side:

















Hopefully tomorrow will bring better light, and better pictures. It really does look amazing in person


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## CodeRed (Jun 11, 2009)

Drama drama drama. I've learned 3 things from this past night.

1. Aris does not believe that only one side of the tank belongs to him. He has decided to claim both.
2. Tape doesn't scare Aris at all. He'll fight it!
3. Electrical tape sticks surprisingly well to snake scales.
And it takes about an hour to get it off completely =/

I think you guy can guess what happened. Aris got on Spitz's side of the tank (which, thankfully, he wasn't in yet), and got tangled in some electrical tape. We're still not sure if he's going to live. It took an hour of wet, soggy snake, very delicate scissor work, and a lot of drama. In the end, we were able to remove tape around his middle, neck, and head. We got the middle off first, with very little damage. It took repeated soaking in warm water, but it eventually came off. The neck was the worst, as his skin is VERY gentle there. We ripped it a couple of times, but since snakes are notorious for being very tough, we're hoping he'll weather this out. Last of all was his head, which covered both eyes and held his mouth closed (but he was able to get some air). We got it off, but he was very, very weak by the time it was all off. The first fifteen minutes were basically him lunging at my mom and I, and my mom and I trying to stop our hands from being constricted. Then he started slowing down, which was pretty hard to watch.
He's completely out of it now, but still very much at risk. I have no idea how long he was tangled in that tape, but it was long enough to physically wear him out. When I looked in on him this morning, all I can do is thank God that he was in plain view, so I was able to see something was NOT right. I thought he was dead at first D:
I'm pretty sure he's going to go into a rapid shed soon, to heal the open wounds...
Also, he's now in the hospital tank, so only paper towel and light plants for him.
I hope he pulls through this.


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

oh no that's awful,i hope he pulls through.
gosh what will you do in regards of the devider then,as the tape idea is one
that needs re-thinking.


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## CodeRed (Jun 11, 2009)

Well, I've taken it down for now. Aris will need a couple of week to heal, as his neck wound is pretty bad. Until then, Spitz gets free run of the place. I'm thinking that he'll stay that way, too. I'll set up my 29 gallon for Aris, and he'll get that. They should be set for life with these set ups.


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

Oh NO!!! I'm sooo sorry!!!!!!! I really really hope he's OK!!!!!


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

sounds like a good idea to keep them seperat then.
please let us know how he gets on,will you be making a visit to the vets,
or do you have it all sorted ?


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## CodeRed (Jun 11, 2009)

We were looking for a vet to take him too, but there's none around here that looks at snakes. The best we could do was ask a pet store employee, but of course they knew nothing. I've been told that neosporin with no painkillers works well on snakes when they're hurt, so I'll try that.


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

would you like me to try and find some advise for you ?
i have some friends who own snakes .


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## CodeRed (Jun 11, 2009)

That'd be nice, thanks 
Today the wounds have scabbed over, and he hasn't left his cave much. I'm pretty sure he's going to go into shed again, so I don't think I'll see him much.


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

sent you a pm with a link to follow.
hope it helps.


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## Herbicide (Mar 7, 2010)

Oh no! Poor baby :'(
He'll be ok though, right?


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## CodeRed (Jun 11, 2009)

Thanks again, and yes, he should be okay now  He's out and exploring his tank, a sure sign that he's over his stress. I'm going to feed him a VERY small pinkie tomorrow, just in time for my vacation.


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

that's great news. !!


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## cbeard (Jun 6, 2010)

Hey, some reptile (especially snake keepers) have a lot of trouble keeping snakes in 55 gallon tanks due to the fact you cannot control the heat well at all, and the tank is way to large to keep the humidity at the right point. 

If you want to keep them both (successfully) in the 55 gallon, I would suggest placing a plastic bag, or what I have done is take wax paper and cover the top of the tank except for like 2 inches at each end. Spray the inside of the tank down with water every 2-3 days to keep the humidity up. The wax paper or bag will help keep the humidity higher. Unfortunately, this cools the tank down, but is necessary for the snake. 

I would take about half of that aspen out as well so the snake is closer to the heat pad. I can't judge exactly how much you have, but you should have about an inch and a half of aspen, but no more than 2 inches. 

What is the temp right now? A side thermomitor should read about 80f, and that would be perfect. If you need to, you can always add another heat pad on the back of the tank or a light on the top (just make sure the wax paper doesn't come in contact with it).

As for the corn snakes being cannibals, in the wild they are, but fed properly at home it is much less likely. If you feed them frozen thawed pinkies, or pre killed pinkies each in separate containers and leave them there for about a half hour after eating, you can easily keep them together without issues. 

They will not breed, however, until you separate them for a season and then introduce them after a cooling period. Corn snakes kept together, properly fed, with the right temps and humidity will not breed on their own. There is a decent process to get them into the right "mindstate" lol.

I hope this helps- I am just trying to give you some ideas on how to really make that cage work. As someone who has kept many snakes in the past I can see major future hurdles for you with the setup you have right now and just want to give you tips for along the way. good luck with it! If you have any questions send me a PM and I will gladly help you out with whatever!

(I've kept and bred snakes in the Elaphe family for many many years)


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