New owner of a Corn Snake

[bmacadamsomer]

Hey there,

I am a new corn snake owner and would love some advice on general care.

Seamus, the snake, is a 3 yr old and we *think* male. We've got him in a 15 gallon terrarium with a heat lamp. I was told at the local shop where I purchased the snake that the hot side should be between 85 and 95 degrees. These numbers seem to be higher than what most people recommend online, so I'd be interested to hear people's thoughts on that. At the moment we only have a basic thermometer, not digital, and we're looking into getting or creating some kind of regulating device for the lamp. So far, Seamus hangs out on both sides of the terrarium, so perhaps all is well?

My other general questions concerns handling, which I've also read some about on the site already. The snake has only been here a week and has been fed once. We've tried handling it a little but it shakes its tail and did nip my boyfriend once. Should we wait to handle him until after feeding again? I don't want to stress the snake out but I do want to make sure it is comfortable with us and don't want to prolong handling.

Any advice would be great- thanks!!

[EL Ziggy]

Welcome and best wishes bmac. I keep my hot sides between 84-88 for my colubrids. I would probably ditch the heat lamp and go with an under tank heater or radiant heat panel. I do use a red heat lamp to boost my ambient temps during winter and sometimes for night time viewing. It's also very important that any heat source you use be regulated by a thermostat. A reliable temp gun would also be a good investment. I would suggest minimal handling until your snake has eaten at least twice and no handling for 48-72 hours after a feeding. Sounds like he's still settling in and being a bit defensive with the tail rattling and biting. That should subside once he gets more comfortable with his new environment and keepers. Good luck with your new corn. Post pics when you can.

[pdomensis]

I agree with all E-Z said, though I can typically only hold off handling for 24 hrs after a feed. Maybe your boyfriends hands just smell like a nice dirty mouse. Enjoy your new snake.

[sharthun]

Hey and welcome! Congrats on the corn snake addition.

[CosmicOwl]

Heat lamps aren't bad, but they're harder to regulate than other heating devices. And under tank heaters allow you to give them a warm place to hide and digest. That being said, corns don't really need a large hot spot and will probably spend the majority of their time in the cool parts of their enclosure