What do you need to get started with a corn snake?

Answer 1

Corn Snakes are very easy, and compared to other reptiles set-up is easy and less costly. If you plan to start with a hatchling or smaller specimen a standard 10 gal. tank is fine, you can usually find them with sliding screen tops which is preferred but if not the tank and right size screen lid will do and I must emphasize locks for the lid. An escaped snake can be heart-breaking and gives reason to the ongoing argument of banning exotic animals primarily including snakes. So you've got the tank, next is bedding, Aspen bedding made specifically for snakes is best, you can use cypress mulch, reptile bark, or paper towels, but avoid pine and cedar because the oils can be harmful to the respitory system and since all snakes have only one functional lung this is a very sensitive system. After bedding you'll need to pick out to reasonably size hiding places, pet stores sell half logs and rock caves and many decorative items, but you can use clay pots upside down with a hole for entrance or plastic containers with the same idea. Corn Snakes like to climb so a branch or vine is appreciated but not required in addition you will need a water dish large enough for the snake to soak in (Your Corn may soak prior to shedding, excessive soaking is an early warning sign to parasites like mites or ticks). With two hiding spots and a large water dish the tank may seem crowded, but that's good, your snake will feel safer having something to hide behind all the time and you'll probably see her exploring more often this way. The last thing you need is a source of heat, under-tank heaters or heat lamps work best, heat rocks are often too hot but keep the air too cold, cold-blooded snakes need heat and will use the rock even as it burns them. My personal preference is heat lamps, place the lamp on top of the screen lid to one side or the other. You want to create a temperature gradient with a warm side of roughly 85 Degrees (F), and room temperature is fine for the cool side. Placing the under-tank heater or heat lamp to one side provides this gradient. Two hide boxes (One for the warm side and one for the cool) allows your snake to feel secure no matter what it's temperature needs be. Often your snake will stick to the warm side to aid in digestion. A 50 bulb should be suffice, if the lamp is higher then the screen lid increase wattage, under-tank heaters are adhesive and stick directly to the bottom of the tank and work well but then you still need to provide light. Some snakes may eat only when they think its night, most likely you wont have this problem but lighting 12 hours a day seems to keep their habits more constant. Gauges are important for monitoring the temperature and humidity. Place a temperature gauge on each side to monitor high and low and a humdity gauge about half way up the tank in the middle. Humidity should be kept near 30% but during shedding up to 50% is ideal, misting with a spray bottle can help raise humidity.All you're missing is the snake, I reccommend a specialty store for Reptiles, specialty stores tend to offer a variety of color morphs and sizes, the employees are enthusiasts and knowledgeable, and use proven breeders. Ask about feeding habits, if it is eating, is it eating live, pre-killed, or frozen-thawed, how often, and most importantly is their a feeding chart. Responsible dealers document feeding habits, days it ate, days it was offered food and didnt eat, and even days it was in the shed process. If they don't chart this ask when the last feeding was and how often they feed the snake. ALWAYS ask for a demonstration feeding, seeing is believing in this case. Corn snakes are great eaters but every now and then a wild-caught or stubborn specimen will worm it's way into a reputable dealers shop. A snake that doesn't feed is much higher maintainence and sometimes not feeding is a sign of illness and a vet bill YOU have to pay. The corn should be somewhat curious, move freely, and it's body should be sleek with no bumps or discoloration. No honest dealer will refuse the demonstration feeding, when the mouse is introduced the snake should show immediate interest, increased tongue flicking, and move toward the prey. Hatchlings may not strike but should readily bite the mouse and remove it from the tongs. Larger corns may practice an intense strike with minutes of constriction before eating. If it eats, looks healthy, and you want it then buy it. Frozen mice can be ordered online or purchased, frozen is reccommended over live for many reasons, bulk ordered and stored easier, frozen mice are lab-raised which means they provide the highest level of nutrition to your snake, they're free of parasites, and they CANNOT harm your snake. When feeding remove your snake from the enclosure and place it directly into its feeding tank (Plastic Critter Tote is perfect), feeding in a separate tank associates food with the tank thus reducing biting due to mistaken identity and keeps the snake from swallowing bedding. Whether in the tank or habitat a live mouse IS dangerous, your corn snake will only kill to eat not for defense. In the wild they flee, and even in a habitat there is nowhere to run to. A hungry mouse will chase and bite a corn because its food. Wounds open doors to infections, your snake can bleed to death, or even die to large amounts of stress. After you bring your snake home, place it directly in the habitat and DO NOT touch it for at least a week. Your snake will need time to acclimate to her environment and realize she's safe. Constant handling and feeding attempts causes stress, and a stressed snake will not feed. Let her acclimate and feed her, do not handle her for 24-48 hours after feeding to prevent regurgitation and start with 15 minutes and work your way up. My snakes as juveniles eat twice a week, once weekly as adults. I hope this helped.