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
Cornsnake Questions
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