new corn snake

[GormanGhaste]

introducing Teo:



still a baby--about as big around as a pencil

glad I got this pic yesterday, has gone into hiding today

[Saturo]

I'll never get over how cute baby snakes are. :D

[Vephriel]

Aww, adorable! ^^ I agree, baby snakes are the cutest things ever.

[zedxrgal]

Awe cute little baby hisser corn snake! Love snakes.

[Mania]

I saw the picture and immediately said, "Awwww! Adorable baby snake!"

My husband looked at me like I was crazy. (He doesn't dislike snakes; he just doesn't find them cute.) So I read him the rest of the posts in this thread.

His response: "I'm glad you have other crazy people to talk to."

[GormanGhaste]

heh, thanks Mania, both for the laugh and for providing a community for all us crazy people

[Rhyela]

He's very cute! May I suggest getting him some finely-shredded aspen bedding? They often like to burrow, and bark chips aren't quite as good for burrowing.

And don't worry about him going into hiding. When I bought my baby last year (Blaze), I gave him about a full month to get used to his new home. No handling, no pestering, no nothing. You don't want them to think of their new home as a place of stress if you bother them a lot. So let him get settled in for about a month before trying to handle him. Baby steps. He'll be with you for a very long time, so no need to rush things.

Good luck with him! He is so cute!!! :3

[GormanGhaste]

Yes, spent most of the day burrowed, but came back out tonight to watch the WHU hunters take down the Pit Commander in hellfire

I've only opened the cage once since we brought Teo home, to take the pic (tried taking one through the glass, but the quality was awful).

No worries here, we have a 10 year old male named Sammy that we also got as a baby.

[Ikult]

*sends lots of loves to the baby snake!*

Soooo adorable! I've never owned a snake, but looking to get a black king snake in a few years when I'm settled and can offer a stable home. Sooo jealous!

*stares at the pic and sends more squishy loves*

[Cerah]

Awwww! Baby reptiles are so cute!

As I was reading this thread, I was on the phone with my bf as well -- he called me the only girl he knows that thinks snakes are cute.

Glad so many other people on this board prove him wrong!

He's absolutely adorable! Congrats!

[Novikova]

Baby snakes are strangely adorable. A friend's albino corn snake had babies and omg, BABEH ALBINO CORNSNAKES. *melt*

[kamoodle5]

That is one cutie-pie. I am not too big in wanting to keep snakes as pets myself because I know they like to eat live things. In a way, I'd rather keep their prey as pets.

[GormanGhaste]

Cool, a fellow vegetarian! Or is it feeding them something wiggly that bothers you? Most corns aren't fussy eaters, and adapt readily to frozen mice. I hope to have Teo eating frozen ones by the end of the year.

A few years ago I kept gerbils as pets, and I'd really recommend them if you're thinking about some kind of rodent. I've heard rats make great pets, but are a lot higher maintenance than gerbils.

[Rhyela]

Awwww! Baby reptiles are so cute!

As I was reading this thread, I was on the phone with my bf as well -- he called me the only girl he knows that thinks snakes are cute.

Glad so many other people on this board prove him wrong!

He's absolutely adorable! Congrats!

Baby corn snakes are some of the cutest critters on the planet. I think it's their big eyes and heads. I just love them!!! :3

[Acherontia]

Cool, a fellow vegetarian! Or is it feeding them something wiggly that bothers you? Most corns aren't fussy eaters, and adapt readily to frozen mice. I hope to have Teo eating frozen ones by the end of the year.

A few years ago I kept gerbils as pets, and I'd really recommend them if you're thinking about some kind of rodent. I've heard rats make great pets, but are a lot higher maintenance than gerbils.

I'm the same way--I love snakes, but couldn't in good conscience keep a pet that I would need to kill other animals to feed. Not that there's anything wrong with people who do--I've had a snake before, and predators need to eat. But I'm vegetarian with pet rats and couldn't bring myself to do it now.

On a sidenote--I don't find rats high-maintenence at all, and much prefer them to gerbils. Gerbils in my experience are very high-energy and spazzy, will run around and chew/flee like wild things Maybe it was just mine. But I find rats calmer, and I think they actually pay attention to you and socialize more (licking your face or sitting on your shoulder, etc) and as long as you keep them in a same-gender pair for socialization, don't require much more than gerbils.

They both need about the same cage-cleaning imo, and a bit of handling each day, to be happy!

[GormanGhaste]

Yes, rats are certainly more intelligent and more sociable w/humans, but I never had a problem hand-taming gerbils, even ones gotten from less than perfect previous owners. The secret is that their only access to sunflower seeds was by hand-feeding

Gerbils are native to deserts, and naturally conserve water, having less 'output' than mice and rats. With enough cage substrate, gerbil cages can get by on twice / month cleanings, compared to every week for rats and mice.

With rats being so intelligent and large, they need a lot of stimulation and exercise, and require time outside their cage every day. I think rats probably are the 'best' rodent for people willing to devout the time and space to them, but I still think gerbils make a better 'starter' rodent.

[Mania]

A pair of male gerbils served as my starter rodent pet. I really liked those guys.

Now we have rats, and while I adore them I wouldn't be able to handle their playtime needs on my own. My husband, however, has an attention span similar to a rat's and has one or more out of the cage with him constantly.

[Mearra]

Cute!
I used to have pet snakes as well. They're priceless and so underestimated as a pet.
Ever seen Rubber Boas? Super cute lil snakes.

[Mania]

I wanted a rubber boa so badly when I was a kid!

[Vephriel]

I adore rubber boas! Absolutely adorable...a friend of my Mom's had one when I was younger. The only pet snakes I had as a kid were garters that I caught around my area though, hehe. I'm very happy with my ball python now though.