I'm getting my first Corn soon! I'm very excited because it took a lot of convincing my parents! :dancer: But my main question is, provided I have lots of hides until it gets larger, is it ok to house a baby Corn Snake in a 20-long tank? (I'm going to buy this kit http://www.zilla-rules.com/products/deluxe-snake-kit.htm ) I'm worried that it may be too insecure even if it has the one hide that comes with the kit, one extra one I'm going to buy, and a couple of extra salvaged household items. Will I need to buy a small Zilla Critter Cage? Or could I use something to separate and only use a fraction of the tank? All suggestions are appreciated! Thanks!
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20 Gallon Long?
- Thread starter LukeJ
- Start date
army_greywolf
New member
Babies are happy in sterilite "shoebox" containers with hides made from allergy medicine boxes and random stuff you find in your home...our "happiest" snake lives in a 15Qt sterilite container with a small half log and a allergy medicine box for hides. This will suffice for your first year or until he/she is about 20 inches long or 90-100 grams.
From my experiences thus far snakes are just fine with smaller spaces, in fact they seem to be "happier" if that's something to be measured in smaller enclosures.
Take it like this, I have a ball python who has lived in the same 10 gallon when she was an undersized 55 gram baby to her 630 gram size now, I've bumped up her hide size obviously, but otherwise she is so comfortable with it I've never had her strike at me, hiss or get upset even when disturbing her after a feed to fix the mess she made. Go with a 15qt and a small UTH pad. You can always transfer the stuff to a larger tank later.
From my experiences thus far snakes are just fine with smaller spaces, in fact they seem to be "happier" if that's something to be measured in smaller enclosures.
Take it like this, I have a ball python who has lived in the same 10 gallon when she was an undersized 55 gram baby to her 630 gram size now, I've bumped up her hide size obviously, but otherwise she is so comfortable with it I've never had her strike at me, hiss or get upset even when disturbing her after a feed to fix the mess she made. Go with a 15qt and a small UTH pad. You can always transfer the stuff to a larger tank later.
Taz Monkey
New member
Personally, I like things in my house to aesthetically pleasing, so i would definitely go with the 20 gallon long to start out. With LOTS of hides, and fake plants (go to Wal-Mart or Michaels and get some viney, leafy stuff) stuffed in free space and covering lots of area, I think a baby corn would feel perfectly secure to move about and feel like he's not being seen. And use aspen or something similar, a couple inches of it so they can burrow, and I think you'll be just fine. And you don't have to change it all out later.
SquamishSerpents
Katia
if you use shredded aspen it pretty much turns the whole ground into a hide. they love tunnelling around and burying themselves in the aspen. i think a 20G Long is perfect for a hatchling, if, like you said, you provide adequate hides. the aspen + some used toilet paper/paper towel tubes, some old socks, medicine boxes etc should be totally fine. if if you like things to be nicer to the eye, you could always go look in the Fish section of walmart or any pet store really, and see if they have any tank ornaments that would work as a hide.
Again, thanks for all of the great ideas! I was worried about having to buy another tank, seeing that after buying everything at the beginning that I plan to, I will be broke! 
The kit comes with the "Douglas Fir Bark" which I have found is large bark chips. Should I buy Aspen bedding and save the bark for later?
The kit comes with the "Douglas Fir Bark" which I have found is large bark chips. Should I buy Aspen bedding and save the bark for later?
Taz Monkey
New member
I looked at the Douglas fir and I just like the feel of the Aspen better. Seems like it wood feel better to the snake too. It's super cheap. Just buy it in the small animal section at petco or wherever. The bag I bought was $13 and honestly I'll buy the smaller bag because I think this bag could last me for like 3 years.
Yep. I saw a very large bag of what I think was Aspen at Petco in the small animal section for very cheap. I was thinking about how it would be convenient to buy it for a Snake. After knowing about the Fir Bark, I probably will save it for later seeing that a couple of chips would be the size of the small snake!
Will you be using a UTH (heat mat)? I notice the 'kit' comes with two heat lamps but no UTH. From what I've read (extensively) it seems the vast majority of corn snake keepers use a heat mat as it regulates ground tempature (more important than ambient temp) which is what is needed to aid digestion. Also heat lamps do pose a significant fire risk...
Sweetseraph
New member
Better talk to Hagen then! They'll need to pull those from every pet store!
Aspen bedding
If you have a 99 CENT store around your house, see if they carry the small clear plastic soft containers of "Premium Aspen Bedding". It's a great price (beats the pet stores) and the container is also useful when it's empty. It's a Product of USA. I've been using it exclusively and my corn is very healthy. It's also convenient cause it's kind of a pre-measured container size, if that makes sense to you.
You Vegas herpers don't go down and buy out my supply!
If you have a 99 CENT store around your house, see if they carry the small clear plastic soft containers of "Premium Aspen Bedding". It's a great price (beats the pet stores) and the container is also useful when it's empty. It's a Product of USA. I've been using it exclusively and my corn is very healthy. It's also convenient cause it's kind of a pre-measured container size, if that makes sense to you.
You Vegas herpers don't go down and buy out my supply!