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20, 30, or 40 gallon for adult corn snake?

Ladyjustice33

Ladyjustice33

New member
Okay....I see so many different answers, but thought I would ask. Once a corn snake reaches adult hood........is a 20 gallon too small? If so should I go all the way to a 40 gallon equavilent or will 30 gallon be enough? I want the snake to have plenty of room and not be cramped, but also don't want to go to large.
 
A 20 long is the minumum size for and adult corn snake. Corn snakes need more ""floor'' space than height that's why it why we state Long.
One that will be a minimum of 20L or larger that fits in with your house.
Using that as a gauge you can either buy a fish tank or shop on line for reptile cages or make your own.
 
I think a 20g L would be just fine. It's more about personal preference if you decide to go with a larger tank. I think most adult corns will be happy in a 20g L. I remember reading somewhere that a snake should be able to stretch out at least 2/3 of it's body length in a tank. So a snake that is 4 ft long would need a tank at least 2ft 8in long, and a 6ft snake would need a tank at least 4 feet long. You want the tank to have some depth too obviously, but most tanks should be at least 1ft wide. The height isn't nearly as important and length takes priority. My 7 year, 3 1/2ft corn lives happily in a 20g L tank and can stretch out more than 2/3 of his body length, however he spends almost all of his time in one of his hides, or curled up under his aspen, so even if I had bought a 40 gallon tank, I'm sure it would have mostly gone to waste. I don't think there are many corn snakes that crawl laps in their vivs, and if they do it's probably a sing they're uncomfortable.
 
I keep all my snakes in 4foot by 2 foot cages. Sure, they are hiding 99% of the time, but at least I get the comfort of mind that if they choose to move around they can. In the meantime I have ton of room to decorate and enjoy lol. So no, I don't think a 40 gallon is too big. Quite frankly I don't believe in "too big" of cages.
 
I also go big when I can. My yearling Corn utilizes every inch of her 40 gallon breeder, crawling around and exploring.

And she eats just fine - not using her hides at all, but rather lying by her water bowl or log.
 
Okay guys, thanks for all the info!! I'm actually looking at the showcase cages. www.showcasecages.com. Reason is I'm also looking at a columbian rainbow boa and can stack these cages nicely. If my hubby knows what is good for him, I'll have the boa for my anniversary...lol. For my baby corn I'm wondering if the 24X18X16 will be big enough when she is fully grown or if I should just suck it up and fork out for the 36X24X24??? I don't want to go to big, but want to make sure she is happy and has plenty of room.
 
i have owned two showcasecages.com units....including the humongous 60'" one. they are absolutely beautiful and fairly practical and low maintenance, etc. however, i wouldn't buy them again if using for snakes. for one thing, snakes don't need a light, so wasting so much material and space for creating recessed areas for huge dome lights is unnecessary. it looked huge compared to the actual area usable by the animal inside. also, they're overpriced. my friend bought the 6o inch unit and the bottom warped within a week of using a plastic-safe UTH, and they refused to help in anyway. there are many sleek, lightweight, practical, and reasonably priced plastic units out there, you can even find some right here on this website :spinner: the way i see it, i can spend less on a setup, and use the extra money to buy another snake and setup!
 
I USE showcase cages! They are absolutely WONDERFUL. Yes, snakes don't NEED a light, however I put the lights in the cages because I could not see into them and it is wonderful My ball python started eating again and everything. I don't know how you had an issue with your UTH. I have UTH in all three of my showcase cages (4 foot ones) and have NO ISSUES. The only time I had an issue with warping was when the bottom cage was on one of their stands and it sat incorrectly. So if you buy them don't buy the stands, build your own or buy a table. These cages hold in heat/humidity wonderfully and I could not be happier with the way they look as well as how my snakes act and have brightened up in color. The money is WELL worth it and I am planning to buy at least 4 more cages from them soon. I'm sorry Kandicke that you had issues. But these are simply the best cages out there, Ladyjustice. I would definitely recommend using them.
 
Here are my showcase cages. The lights add so much to them! I bought lights from walmart for $8. These cages are well worth the money. Like I said, I have plans for a fourth cage in the immediate future, and 4-5 more in the future. They're wonderful cages and beautiful to look at. Not to mention they keep the humidity which is important in dry colorado. I love them and I'm sure you will too if you decide to go with them.
 

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I think the 3 foot cage would be great, it's a bit tall and they won't use the height, but you can always add decorations in there. I'm going to be using 4 foot cages for my two corns when they are adult size, but that is because I have already decided on having four foot cages. I plan on getting some three foot cages in the future to get a few more snakes, but that is a while off. Like I said, I am very happy with these cages. I use a thermostat on my uths so they don't get over 88 degrees. The lights put off a very small amount of heat (I just put them in this week! The snakes had been living in almost darkness where they are in my room o.e) so it keeps the ambient temps around 80.
 
alicat - i don't know how there was a problem either. the other two tanks with the same set up are fine.....but one of the $700 units warped. it's odd. but they are beautiful! I do wish they offered units with bar-type light fixtures instead of wasting so much height for the dome fixture areas, which look funny when you don't use dome lights. and i just can't afford to buy dozens of them....so if i were just keeping one or two animals, it would be a different story. darn corns are so addicting :rolleyes:
 
I had also looked into the 2 foot cages, but the depth of only 16 inches kinda threw me off of them. I like my snakes to have room even if they sit under a log 99% of the time. The 3 ft by 2 ft cage is perfect for an adult corn. I would not put any corns that are smaller in them though, since babies and yearlings can squeeze between the two glass doors. I'm just waiting for my two to grow up haha.
 
kandicke said:
alicat - i don't know how there was a problem either. the other two tanks with the same set up are fine.....but one of the $700 units warped. it's odd. but they are beautiful! I do wish they offered units with bar-type light fixtures instead of wasting so much height for the dome fixture areas, which look funny when you don't use dome lights. and i just can't afford to buy dozens of them....so if i were just keeping one or two animals, it would be a different story. darn corns are so addicting :rolleyes:
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Lol it probably was only that one cage then. Too bad that that happened on the big one! My cage straightened back out when I put it on a flush surface. The stand from showcase was just awful. But yeah, I completely understand the addictiveness of corns.. it's hard staying at only two right now. I'm probably going to end up with two.. or more.. more when I get my own place. I've got an 8 foot wall taken up by critters right now. I also don't use the dome light area since everyone is nocturnal, but I am planning on screwing a branch between them and the side for a little vertical room. My ball goes up into the lip of the cage alot, so he might appreciate the "up" room. I also have my male boa (only a year old now) in one. Since he'll be fine in the 4 foot cage as an adult I'm also going with the branch idea in there so he'll have open floor space. It'll be quite a task when he gets that large. Haha.
 
Ladyjustice33 said:
Those set ups are gorgeous AliCat37!
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Thank you! I looked through a lot of different cage options before settling on showcase. I put a lot of money into them (not only on the cages but the decorations and new thermostat), but I think it was worth it.
 
It's such a coincidence that your screen name is AliCat..........my name is Kat and my daughter is Alli......friends/family are always picking and calling us AllyCat......doesn't help that my hubby's name is Leo, lol!


1 gorgeous blonde cocker spaniel- Katie Scarlet
1 german shepherd- Heidi
1 sweet baby normal corn- Juno (1st of at least 1more.....love these snakes)
1- columbian rainbow boa soon to come for anniversary or hubby will be on the couch!
 
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