Cornsnake Questions

AnimalHaven · 01-19-06, 02:06 PM

Hi. I'm new here, but not new to reptiles. My fiance is however. I want to start him on something small, docile and relatively easy to get along with.

At first I wanted to get a ribbon snake because I had one when I was younger, but they're kind of hard to find it seems. My local pet store has some baby cornsnakes.
I have a cornsnake manual, but it leaves a few things out. It also doesn't get too in depth with housing possibilities. I'm going to start it off in a 10 gallon tank, but I want a more elaborate setup. So I have some questions..

Can I use Jungle Earth as a substrate?
I want to put a living plant or two in the enclosure, which ones are appropriate?
I want to put a UTH on one side of the tank, will I still need a heat lamp?
If yes, can I use a dual incandescent hood that sits on top of a screen lid?
On the hot side of the hood I wanted to use a 40-60 watt Day Glo bulb and on the other I'm not sure because there's conflicting advice on whether or not snakes benefit from UVA & UVB light. What's your opinion? Or should I put a 25 or so watt Night Glo Moonlight bulb on the other side?
Will that radiate enough heat for a 10 gallon tank?
And what about humidity? The book I have says nothing about humidity.
I had a common boa constrictor at one time and I know they require high humidity, especially when they're about to shed, but I wasn't sure if cornsnakes did, too.
Now about feeding... With my boa, I took him out of his enclosure and put him in a temporary feed box with his pre-killed prey. I was always told to do that, especially with larger snakes so they don't mistake your hand for food. Do I need to do that with a cornsnake? Or can I feed him/her right in his enclosure?

I think that's all the questions I have for now. If anyone has an elaborate vivarium set-up, I'd really love to see some pictures.
I'd really like it if someone published a book devoted solely to the construction of elaborate vivariums. Too many books tell you to put your snake in a plastic box with holes on top. That may work just fine for some people, but I'd like my reptiles to be as comfortable as I can make them in captivity.

Thanks for reading and I appreciate any comments!
Sarah

sapphire_moon · 01-19-06, 04:13 PM

Can I use Jungle Earth as a substrate?

Yes, but I'd personally "bake" it or freeze it, "just in case" there may be mites or parasites in there. I personally just used newspaper with all my snakes.

I want to put a living plant or two in the enclosure, which ones are appropriate?

I personally wouldn't do it, corns are fairly active, and may just end up destroying it. Besides, then you'd have to have a u.v light for the tank. and worry about keeping both the snake and the plant in good condition.

I want to put a UTH on one side of the tank, will I still need a heat lamp?

if you use a uth, please get something to control the heat, like a simple lamp dimmer or a rheostat., as they can get unbelievbly hot. A digital thermometer to check temps (The kind with a probe at walmart work good)

If yes, can I use a dual incandescent hood that sits on top of a screen lid?

I wouldn't, once the snake gets bigger (actually even when I had one and it was all of 8 inches long) it might get on the "lip" of the tank, and end up burning itself on the screen.
On the hot side of the hood I wanted to use a 40-60 watt Day Glo bulb and on
the other I'm not sure because there's conflicting advice on whether or not snakes benefit from UVA & UVB light. What's your opinion? Or should I put a 25 or so watt Night Glo Moonlight bulb on the other side?

Just make sure that the hotside and cool side are proper temps, you usually don't have to have additional lighting besides opening a curtain up.

Will that radiate enough heat for a 10 gallon tank?

A small UTH should be fine for a 10g tank.

And what about humidity? The book I have says nothing about humidity.

Usually house hold humidity is good, and when shedding spray down once or twice daily. If it is unusally dry in the house, either spray down daily, or get a humidifier.
I had a common boa constrictor at one time and I know they require high humidity, especially when they're about to shed, but I wasn't sure if cornsnakes did, too.

Now about feeding... With my boa, I took him out of his enclosure and put him in a temporary feed box with his pre-killed prey. I was always told to do that, especially with larger snakes so they don't mistake your hand for food. Do I need to do that with a cornsnake? Or can I feed him/her right in his enclosure?

If you use the jungle earth I would so they wouldn't ingest the substrate. And I think the ONLY time a snake will mistake you as food is if that is the ONLY time you put your hand in there, meaning you don't handle the snake, clean it's cage, or give it water/clean the water bowl, which is pretty impossible to have a snake and keep it alive without doing all that.

It has been a while since I've had a corn though, so always do your research and get opinions from as many people as possible.

dannyc · 02-01-06, 12:39 PM

I wouldn't worry about making anything elaborite for babies. The main thing is temps and security.

As far as heat a simple 50w infrared bulb in a clamp on type fixture sitting on top of the screen on one end will sufice for the first year. ALWAYS us a thermostat to control the temp on the warm side. It should be between 84-88F. The cooler should be ~74-78F and you will probably have to put something on top to restrict the heat from excaping and regulate the cool end that way. I just have a piece of newspaper between the heat lamp and the cool end I can slide to allow more heat to escape on the cool end.

I use Repti-Bark as substrate but for a baby newspaper is fine. You will need a hide one each end so the snake can adjust it's body temp by moving from warm to cool.

As far as I know, there are no humidity requirements for corn snakes since they are found in desert areas and jungle areas. I mist the whole area once in awhile to simulate rain. This may help during shed times.

I have 2 - 3' corns and a 4.5' w/c black rat snake. I have a 20gal setup in the above fashon and I have 2 huge enclosures I built. The large enclosures have 2 - infrared lights, one for a constant light so I can see them at night and the other for heat. The first is on a reastat to regulate brightness/heat. The second is on a thermostate and only comes on when necessary to raise the temp on the warm side.

For a baby just keep it simple. Newspaper as substrait, heat(infrared) lamp for heat w/thermostat, good screen cover W/lockinig clamps, 2 hides, one on each end. Some type of thermometer on each end. The tape on kind should be suficient since the snake will move it it gets too hot or too cold.

If you want any more info, just ask in this thread.

Ok I know this was long but I'm finished now.

KatandMark · 03-03-06, 11:28 AM

There are a few books on Amazon that deal exclusively with vivariums. I don't know how good they are but they exist.