New to snakes

[Fliehigh]

Hello everyone

I would like to thank you in advance for the help.

I am currenlty considering buying a corn snake for my 14 yr old son and I want to make sure BEFORE we get him/her that our setup is correct. I do have a few months before I get one as I am planning on buying it in June.

I currently have a lot of experiance with lizards, mainly bearded dragons but this will be the first snake in the collection.

My first question is the enclosure, do corns need UVB and Heat like dragons do and what should the humidity be?

I currently do not use any particle substrates for my dragon due to the impaction risks, are the risks the same for corns or are they safe with, and require, particle substrates?

Thanks again

Fliehigh

[NennaMeerkat]

Corns don't really need any special kind of bulbs at all. You can easily get away with an UTH that covers plenty of space on the "hot side" of your tank. Humidity levels and such can be what is naturally found in your home as well. I think temps should be around 75-80 degrees but it has been a while since I owned my two corns so I don't remember 100% about that.

Substrate is never an issue with snakes as long as you feed outside of the tank. If you feed inside the tank usually putting the food on a plate inside the tank will be enough to avoid impaction. I personally used Sani Chips for my corns and still do today for all my reptiles. Never had a problem with it in any way and it is easy to clean up.

[Lankyrob]

Hot end should be 86f either middle of the heatmat or directly under the bulb - i use ceramic heat bulbs for all my snakes. cold end is around 75f.

3 foot viv is fine for the whole life od the snake as long as you provide plaenty of hiding space for the little ones. I use repti bark fro all my snakes but aspen bedding is also good for corns. I feed in their vivs on a plastic plate so little risk of substrate ingestion.

Have found with mine that a sphagnum moss hide is their favourite hidey hole - all three of my corns seem to love them even with other hides in the viv - i have even swapped the positions around and they will pick the moss hide whetheri it is hot end cold end or in the middle.

Any other questions ask away!!

[ilovemypets1988]

corns only really need basic requirements, which are:

1.) UTH which should cover between 1/3rd - 1/2th the floor of the enclosure
2.) here in britain we recommend 2 hides; 1 for the warm area and the other for the cool area
3.) water bowl for them to take a dip and drink from
4.) any lighting is entirely upto you as there nocturnal animals so u may wish to use a moon light stimulation bulb for viewing purposes
5.) any substrate is entirely upto you - just dont use sand.
6.) warm spot should be about 29c (84f approx) and the cool spot should be around 20c (68f approx)
7.) also if you wish, you could use branches and logs for the corn to climb on as some corns likes to climb as mine does.

also as a final note, make sure you use a thermostat to control the temp.

[Wolfus_305]

Hi,
Welcome to the site!
Make sure you check out where you're buying you're snake from beforehand so that you know it's healthy, eating well and well taken care of :)

Also, I don't think this was mentioned but I always think it's a good idea: make sure your enclosure locks

Best wishes
Kendra

[Lankyrob]

Good point Wolfus - also check for any holes in the viv - we bought second hand when we got our baby corns and one escaped through a hole that was a fair bit smaller than the snake!

[NennaMeerkat]

Good point Wolfus - also check for any holes in the viv - we bought second hand when we got our baby corns and one escaped through a hole that was a fair bit smaller than the snake!

LOL Sounds like you got a rat instead of a snake! Anything they can put their head through...they can get through the hole. Didn't know the same was for snakes!

But yes make sure a solid tank is what you got either built with snakes in mind or brand new reptile "aquarium".

[Lankyrob]

Unfortunately the vivs also fell apart after a month :( - not gonna buy second hand ones again - invested in all brand new ones (except for the adult corn we adopted who came with his own viv) so should be set for a number of years! Or until i can afford some boaphiles anyway :rolleyes:

[NennaMeerkat]

Unfortunately the vivs also fell apart after a month :( - not gonna buy second hand ones again - invested in all brand new ones (except for the adult corn we adopted who came with his own viv) so should be set for a number of years! Or until i can afford some boaphiles anyway :rolleyes:


Not to get off subject but...Boaphiles?

[Marica]

@ Neena - Boaphile is the brand name for a manufacturer of those (usually black) PVC cages.

I believe everyone above has pretty much covered the essentials. As stated, you will need to regulate a UTH (Under-Tank Heater) with either a rheostat (I have found that the ZooMed Rheostat sold in most pet stores did not keep the temps low enough, and instead prefer a lamp dimmer that can be purchased at places like Wal-Mart for around $10) or a thermostat (I would recommend the ZooMed one as a cheap version as opposed to the higher end models esp. if it's just to regulate one tank).

The method you choose for feeding your snake is up to you. I personally prefer to feed all of mine in a separate feeding tub, though I do have aspen in all my cages and like most chunky substrates you risk impaction if ingested. You may also want to keep you new snake on paper towel or newsprint for the first month or 2 (quarantine period) anyway so you can monitor it for any health issues (mites, regurges, poo, etc.).

Here's a picture of 2 of my corn enclosures (20L Critter Cages) just to give you some setup ideas:

http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac226/Marica12/Snake%20Stuff/Cabinet021.jpg

[Fliehigh]

Thank you everyone.

I will definatley take this advice when setting up the Corns cage.

Fliehigh