| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Anastasia |
Posted - 20/07/2012 : 14:23:33
I've not been on here in a long time. My corn Oscar is due to move up to a new home, and I wanted to invest in a nice large viv for him which (hopefully) won't need changing again.
He's been in a 46x30x17cm Exo Terra plastic faun since I got him last Sept (he hatched last June). I didn't realise how long he'd gotten as he's still so skinny, but the other day he was laying along the edges of the faun - he was right along the depth and the length, with his tail folded back again. From this I'm thinking he's about 46+30+15 cms long!
I took him to the vet recently for a general check-up, and he's healthy and happy but the vet advised me to move up to a larger size mouse (he's been on fluffs), and larger viv with a new set up. He seemed very knowledgeable, but I've sort of forgotten a few of the details of what he said. A summary of what I remember:
- He needs more room to explore, including height.
- I should move to using a heat lamp to heat his new viv, with a heat mat only as 'back up' for cold days. This is to avoid the slight temperature variations you would naturally get over the year, putting him through a mild brumation(?) cycle and having him get a little more aggressive in the spring/summer when looking for mates.
- The viv I choose should be large enough to give several 'zones', with the heat lamp as a hot basking zone, a slightly humid zone, and a cooler end.
- The heat lamp should be turned on with a timer switch to be on for a standard length "day", and off at night.
- The heat mat should turn on only when the temp drops below a certain level, but shouldn't be the main heat source.
- The mat and light together will keep a more stable temperature through both summer and winter.
I think I may have remembered some of this wrong, as my appointment was a few weeks ago, and I'm pregnant (blame the baby brain!). I'd like to get his new home all set up and him settled before the baby takes his budget and time.
I'm looking at the Exo Terra Terrariums and was considering getting the 90x45x45 (on sale at Seapets now http://goo.gl/h8K20). Perhaps with a Daylight Basking Spot (http://goo.gl/PV8s2) and/or a fluorescent canopy (http://goo.gl/d7gJt).
I was thinking of having 1/3 hot, 1/3 mid and 1/3 cool.
With the hot end having a basking spot set up with the heat lamp and maybe a stone as a natural basking area on one half, and a slightly humid section on the other with a waterfall/large water bowl and maybe some moss as substrate.
I'll have hides on both sides of the viv, and maybe one in the middle. Plenty of foliage and things on the floor, and some climbing ropes or branches for him.
How does this all sound? Thank you for reading, sorry it's such a long post. I did try searching through the history for information on set ups like this, but the search kept failing with a timeout, and I couldn't see much useful in the last 5-10 pages of posts here. |
| 9 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| lupi lou |
Posted - 23/07/2012 : 19:01:11
mat goes on the out side with plastic and glass fauns, some people use a moss hide when thier snake comes into blue and then remove it once the snake has shed. |
| Anastasia |
Posted - 23/07/2012 : 18:07:00
Well, I bought just the terrarium and a branch to go in it. I'm going to have to think more about lighting and everything else. I think I'll get decorations and things over the next week or so but I'm struggling to think about the size of the tank and the amount I'll be able to fit in it.
When using a heat mat in a glass terrarium, does it go inside or outside? I already had a thermostat and digital thermometer with my current set up, so will be using those again with a larger mat.
I think I will just use a larger water dish and won't worry about making a humid area. However Oscar has had a couple of incomplete sheds recently, so I'd like him to have a bit of humidity at shed times. If I put in a wetter hide, could I leave it in all the time?
The UV light was suggested by the vet as no "required" but a good idea. Corns with a UV light have much higher levels of vitamin D, rather than just getting the amount they do from food. I also would like a basking spot for him, but will make sure it's not too hot with the heat mat too by using another thermostat.
The terrarium comes with a back cover, but you can buy the same material quite cheaply, I'll look into putting it onto one or both sides if it looks too open. However he's in a fully see-through faun just now, and seems happy enough with it. He doesn't avoid the front or sides, and has plenty place to hide. I'll make sure there's lots of cover for him in his new home too. |
| smart bunny |
Posted - 21/07/2012 : 12:22:54
It makes no sense to me to suggest that the heat would vary any more with a mat than with a light - provided as has been said above that you have a thermostat. Corno is in a 3ft viv and has a heat mat on a stat in the warm end which keeps it at about 28C. Adding a light will not make it any more 'stable' at all. Don't understand why he would suggest it to be honest!
As above, corns do not like things too humid and the waterfalls are always said to be a really bad idea on here as 1) the humidity will be too high and cause respiratory infections and 2) people have said about corns squeezing inside the waterfalls and getting stuck. |
| NexivRed |
Posted - 20/07/2012 : 18:36:35
A thermostat will keep your heat mat temperature stable. It's a must have really. |
| SexyBear77 |
Posted - 20/07/2012 : 18:06:14
I don't see why the temperature variations would cause aggression, none of mine are aggressive during breeding season, just active and often off their food. |
| Anastasia |
Posted - 20/07/2012 : 17:56:56
My phone can't seem to spell. Sorry. |
| Anastasia |
Posted - 20/07/2012 : 17:56:11
Sorry, I maybe wasn't clear. The vet wanted the mat nd light to avoid him getting aggressive, not to make him more so. It seems like something worth avoiding as he gets bigger.
He's been happy so far with just a heat mat, but the vet suugested with the temp variations in the room through the year, a stable temp wouldn't be possible and he'd experience a cooler winter and warmer summer even with the heat mat set the smell LLC year. |
| SexyBear77 |
Posted - 20/07/2012 : 17:18:59
Hmmm. The advice isn't incorrect, but it all seems a little OTT to me.
Corns do perfectly fine with just a heatmat. Of course, if you choose to heat with a bulb thats fine, but I wouldn't use a light emitting one. Ceramics all the way for me. I don't do a nighttime temperature drop for any of my snakes.
Wooden vivariums are my choice over glass ones. Glass loses heat easier and some snakes may feel vulnerable in such an exposing enclosure. If you did go for the terrarium I would suggest you cover the back and sides (or the back at the very least).
Corns also don't really need a humid area, unless they are shedding/going through a bad shed. Too much humidity for corns can cause problems like scale rot and RI's (respiratory infections). A moist hide is fine, but I'd steer well clear of the waterfall and moss substrate. Waterfalls really raise humidity and that isn't good for temperate species like corns.
I brumate my breeding adults but I'm not really sure why your vet wants your snake to be more aggressive... could you clarify? |
| lupi lou |
Posted - 20/07/2012 : 14:43:13
Hi, most people just use a heat mat and stat to heta their vivs, if you go for somthing like the habistat mat stat if will hold the mat at a stable temperature with only a couple of degrees variance. you would only want the heat mat to cover 1/3 to 1/2 of the viv. corns don't have a specific requirment for uv light so a bulb isn't nessasary. with regards to the moss and the waterfall, corns are better off with low humidity so i would just go for a large water bowl. hope that helps. Am sure other will be long shortlt with their sugestions |
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