housing a baby corn snake??

Question

I'm thinking of getting a corn snake and saw a premade snake starter kit at the store. It has 2 lamps,water bowl, temp / humidity gages, hide box kinda thing, 20 gallon tank, etc. Should I purchase this if I'm buying a baby? or is 20 gallons to much space for the baby snake? and would it be better to purchase a smaller tank and buy everything seperately?

Answer 1

Setting Up Your Snake's New Home

Enclosure
Corns must be housed in at least a 20 gallon tank. The tank must have a secure top. A determined snake can push against screen or glass until it finds an opening big enough for its head; where its head goes, so goes its body. Some snakes will constantly rub their nose against the screened top of the tank in an effort to find a way out. The resulting abrasions should be treated with an antiseptic and antibiotic ointment. The furnishings in the enclosure should then be evaluated to provide a more natural environment.

Provide a Hiding Place
A hide box of some sort should be provided, and an interesting branch for climbing and resting. Branches collected from the wild will need to be debugged by soaking first in chlorine/water solution, then rinsed thoroughly, soaked in clean water, then left to dry in the sun. No special lighting is required.

Substrate
With corn snakes, there are a couple of different substrates that can be used, such as pine chips (not cedar chips, are toxic), indoor/outdoor carpeting and "Astroturf". If you use the carpeting or Astroturf, you must wash it then let it dry thoroughly before it can be used in the tank again; have two pieces on hand which can be rotated. The snakes will often burrow under the chips or carpet/turf, so don't be surprised if they are not always in view. If you use pine or aspen shavings or cypress mulch, the urine and feces can be scooped out with a cat litter scoop, with fresh chips added as needed. Be sure to remove soiled substrate as soon as possible; urine-soaked material become a breeding ground for bacteria and fungus. If you use this type of substrate you will have to place your snake in a secure area to feed it; you do not want it to ingest any chips.

Temperature
An undertank heat pad is placed under one-half of the tank; this leaves one side cooler so that your snake can regulate its body temperature as needed. A heating pad made for people can be purchased at any drug store; set it at medium or low depending upon the ambient air temperature. To maintain health, corn snakes must be kept at 75-85 F, the higher temperature being necessary to digest its food. Temperatures can fall to the lower range at night. To easily monitor temperature, inexpensive aquarium self-stick thermometers can be purchased and applied about an inch above the bottom of the tank on the warm side.

Hot rocks should never be used; they fluctuate too much, and too many reptiles suffer severe ventral burns.

An incandescent light bulb in a reflector shield may be set just outside the tank to heat up a basking area; appliance timers can be set to turn the light on and off at set times during the day. Reset the hours of operation to adjust for seasonal fluctuations in ambient air temperature.

Feeding
An active snake will happily eat every 10 days or so. They will eat, and should only be fed, killed prey. A snake who is not hungry when live prey is introduced into the enclosure often finds itself becoming the meal, especially if the prey is a rat.

To economize, you can buy in bulk and freeze them. Contact your local herpetology society; many members breed mice and rats, and most will pre-kill them for you. Remove the prey item from the freezer and allow to defrost at room temperature. When defrosted, use forceps or tongs to pick up the rodent by the tail, and hold the prey in front of the snake for the snake to strike at.

Many snakes will eat prey that is just placed in the tank. Occasionally, a quail egg can be offered to wild-caught specimens. If the snake likes it, one can be offered every couple of weeks. (Since quail eggs purchased in stores or from hatcheries are unlikely to be fertilized, they should not form a regular part of the main diet.)

Start hatchlings off with pinkie mice. As your snake grows, gradually increase the prey size by offering fuzzies, crews, then small adult mice or rat pinkies. A full-grown Corn or Rat can eat a medium to large mouse; large Rat snakes can eat small rats. If you feed too much at one feeding session, or feed a prey item that is too large, your snake may regurgitate it.

Water
A bowl of fresh water must always be available at all times. It will be used for drinking and sometimes for bathing. If the snake defecates in it, the bowl must be cleaned and disinfected immediately.

http://www.anapsid.org/corn.html

Answer 2

You will not need any lights for your snake . Pet stores are great at selling you stuff you do not need . I would get a 20 gallon aquarium ( it does not need to hold water ) a used one is cheaper than new but which ever one that you can afford . Just make sure if you buy a used one that you disinfect it . Then you will need a under the tank heater and a dimmer switch or thermostat . Over the top lights will kill your snake , they get to hot and take all of the humidity out of your tank .Then you will need a good thermometer/humidity gage . Do not buy the stick on ones , they are not accurate . You can get a good digital one at any department store for under $20 .The best substrate is news paper or aspen (if you are going to feed in a separate cage only ).I would also have two identical hides ( logs are not very good ) one for each end of the tank . You can even make yours from two dark colored plastic bowls turned upside down . Then cut a hole in the side just large enough for the snake to crawl into it . They love these hides, better than most you can buy .You will also need a large water bowl , one that your snake can submerge himslef in without spilling the water over . Dog bowls or cockery bowls work well . Something tip proof . I would also start out feeding thawed/frozen pray so you might want to get a large pair of hemostats .You may need to put a brick on top of the cage or something heavy at each corner to be on the safe side .Personally I want to be able to see my snake so I do not like using rubbermaid containers .They are fine in an emergancy but I do not care for them .If you need any more help here are a few good web sites or feel free to contact me . http://www.repticzone.com and http://www.kingsnake.com

Answer 3

You're actually better off using a rubbermaid container. Something about the size of a large shoebox. Drill holes around the edge and put in whatever substrate you want to use. Paper towels, shredded aspen, repti-bark is fine. Stay away from cedar and pine as the oils in these woods are toxic. A simple cardboard tube from a paper towel roll cut lengthwise with a hole cut out for them to go in works well for a hide. You can place it so that part of it is over the warm side and part on the cool side. A small ceramic bowl is fine for water and it's easier to keep clean. Get an under tank heater and attach it to a piece of glass from a picture frame (this can be purchased at the dollar store if you want) and place the glass under the plastic tub in one section. The uth should be regulated with a cheap thermostat. Heat lamps tend to dry the air and as cornsnakes are terrestrial, they require belly heat more than top heat. Termometer probes should be placed at the substrate level under the hide. You can decorate the tub with silk flowers if you like which also provides additional hiding spaces for the baby. Housing like this are usually suitable for at least a year. After that, the snake can be transitioned into a 20-30 gl. viv for the remainder of it's life. Feed in a seperate container if using substrate to avoid ingestion. I suggest you also buy Kathy Love's book the Complete Cornsnake Guide and check out www.cornsnakes.com for FAQ's and an excellent resource of information. My website also has a printable care sheet available. Cornsnakes are a great starter snake and if you purchase it from a good breeder, you're better off as they will be able to provide help if you need it and full info on the babies. I always provide parent information as well as full feeding/shed records with all my babies.

Answer 4

It's a bit large, but you can buy or make a tank divider to shrink the size to 10 gal. which is perfect for a young corn. Also, don't you believe that you don't need a light or two. I use fluorescents to light the tank & an incandescent to create a nice basking spot. As the snake grows, you can remove the divider & give your snake more room.

Answer 5

I personally don't like setups or kits - but that is me. I would consider the cost and if you can make a suitable enviroment at roughtly the same or less cost then do that. I would say 20 gallons is about right for a corn snake.

Answer 6

There's never TOO MUCH room. Snakes grow to fit their environment. With a snake, Bigger is Better. As for the particulars of a corn snake, I recommend your library for a fairly recent snake handling book to find out exactly what it needs as to food, temperature, etc. Each snake breed is different in their needs.

Answer 7

its okay. although you could keep the 20 gallon an buy a 10 gallon meanwhile. then when he gets bigger you can put him n the 20 allon. but he wont mind being in a 20 gallon either. he'll settle down in it after a few days or week.

Answer 8

I agree with everything gallianomom said! Kathy Love is an excellent author...I met her at a convention and she knows her corns! :)

Answer 9

I recommend a regular snake cage- try kingsnake.com for manufacturers.
If you use an aquarium with a retrofitted top, your snake WILL escape- eventually and for certain.