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housing a corn snake

S

shining apprentice

New member
ive read the husbrandry stuff over and over, i know what temp and humidity i need but im confused about 2 things.

1) ive read in many places that its ideal to have a hide on the warm and cool side and that the water cant be near teh heat source.

2) ive read that corn snakes dont like being in big areas, that it can scare them.

i have a 10 gallon tank to keep my corn in once i get him and i want to make sure i have everything set up right when i get him. In my previous experience with this 10 gallon tank ... theres not room to have 2 hides, especially with a water dish. Can this be remedied in some way? Would having plant life on the cool side work or do i need a log or terracota pot or something along those lines. Also if i get a baby corn will a 10 gallon be too big or will this not be a problem. And for a heating source is UTH better than a light? With the ball python i previously owned i found using the lite somewhat diificult in regulating the temperature. And for substrate i previously used this with some grass seed... it was suggest by a reptile freak who works at petco and i liked the idea...http://www.petco.com/product/10813/...le-Substrate.aspx?CoreCat=RepAmpFC_Substrates does that work or was it not a good idea for a snake?

thanks for any help provided.
 
Due to inexperience, Ill let others answer the tank and substrate questions, but I believe I can help with your other questions.

First, a UTH is better than a light. A UTH coupled with a thermostat and a digital indoor/outdoor thermometer (thermometer should have a probe) is more or less an automatic win for controlling the temperature. The overhead light is not really necessary, and can be dangerous (I sadly know that from experience).

Speaking of hides, the solution is to have one really long, skinny hide that stretches across the vivarium. This way, the snake can pick the temperature it wants without any problems. An example can be seen in the following hyperlink-http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=86520&page=4 (Thanks to Asbit, the photos are midway down the page in her post)

The photo uses pvc pipe, but you can also use a toilet paper tube cut lengthwise, or use my personal favorite-Legos! (If you use legos, boil them first). Legos have the advantage of being able to make the hide larger as the snake grows.

Having plants might also be a good idea even with the long hide, snakes do enjoy climbing. You will definitely have enough room for the long hide, plants, and a water dish in your 10 gallon. I certainly do in mine.

Good luck, and hope this helps!
 
Hmm, we have a 10 gallon critter cage for Cornwallis, and he has a water dish, two hides, and a climbing branch with silk leaves, with floor space to spare. Are you sure the tank you have is 10 gallon? Or maybe it's a tall tank, that's higher than it is long? In any case, I would go to any pet supply store and pick up one of those small corner water bowls that are made to look like rocks. The fit in a corner, which will help with space management issues. The long log hide is a great idea as well. Cornwallis likes to hide in his silk leaves, maybe you could place a dense cluster of silk plants on one side to act as a hide? That would take up less space.
 
Also, I'm not sure about grass seed; someone with more experience can probably answer that question. I will say that I've never read about that before and it does sound rather expensive. I use aspen and it works great, Cornwallis has a whole tunnel network going in it.
 
Well, I have two hides and a pretty large water bowl in my 10gallon tank and a fake branch with a silk plant going around it. My Rose-:( who is gone loved to climb her branch and sit up on top for long periods of time. Also my little Bindi likes to do the same thing. But I have plenty of floor area left in mine as well with all that stuff in there. My one hide on the warm end is a cocunut which they absolutely love to use. And then on the cool end is a opened not totally round kind of wooden log that I bought from the pet store. Then the water bowl sits in the middle just fine. It's the thick ceramic type water bowl. That kind of curve around and then comes to a point at the other end. They have plenty of space to move around and climb and hide. And a 10gallon in my opinion is a perfect size to start with for a baby corn. That is what I started with for all of my corn snakes. Just make sure whatever you do that you do find locks for yr screen lids cause you don't want yr baby to get out and lost. As far as the heating source don't spend a great deal of money on light fixtures and light bulbs cause corn snakes don't really need it. Just use a UTH on one end and use a thermometer and humidy gauge and the corn snake will do just fine.
 
hmm... i guess ill have to check the dimension of my tank but i thought it was a 10 gallon. Also is possible that the hide and water dish i chose are just too big for the cage because there(in my opinion) really isnt much floor space at all. Ill see if i can post a picture of it assuming i can get my gf camera and figure out how to upload pictures...
 
That very well could be the case yes. It could be that you did buy too big of a water dish and hides so maybe get ones a size down from what you have. If yr corn snake is just a baby it can fit in many small places. My hides like stated before are coconut shaped and very small for my younger corns the one year olds and my 9-10mo old corn.
 
Yeah, I've got a half coconut and a log hide, and Cornwallis fits in both with quite a bit of room to spare. He wasn't using the half-log (I think it was too exposed), but I stapled a piece of cardboard on the front with a hole in it, and now he loves it. Cheapest DIY ever. The hides can be pretty small for a baby.
 
for hides for a baby i use small clay pots. cost about .50$ to 1$. very easy to break a entrance. i now started using the plastic ones and like them more. just use a blade to cut them. for a bowl i use for a baby a small dog bowl that theyll grow into. you should be able to fit all them. the water doesnt have to be all the way against the wall of the cool side. just not right over the heat source. also for hiding, plants are useful as they provide cover and maybe a climbing object too. mine climb anything theyre given. even walls in the corner of my basement.

substrate. highly suggest aspen for a corn. or newspaper/paper towel. whatever floats your boat just nothing like sand or fine particle type substrate. babies like to burrow a bit so thats why aspen is great for them. just another place to hide. dont forget to control your temps with a rheostat or thermostat. also will need a thermometer or a temp gun to fine tune temps. is your 10 gallon gonna have a screen top? if so how does it secure. make sure its very secure cause as you can see, many users here that are just getting into corns have many escapes. corns are amazing escape artists. especially as a youngster.
 
it does have a screen top and theres nothing that holds it down. Are they beter escape artist than balls? I had a ball in the same tank and there was branch in it so he could easily have reached the top but never once escaped. I also had a 3 foot long ball in a 40 gallon with nothing but a screen and he never tried to get out either.

and thanks for all the help hopefully in the next couple days ill have a nice set up going.... still attempting to find a corn, that sale page takes for ever to go threw(and prices seem very hi compared to pet stores).
 
Corns have a reputation for being able to get out. Even if you hold it down, they may find a way to wiggle out. I would suggest getting clips, (you can then clip down the edges, I think ZOOMED sells them). Thats what the St. Louis Zoo did to keep thier demonstration snakes from escaping when I worked there as a camp counselor. That should help.

In terms of snake costs, if you buy from a breeder, it will cost more. However, PJ has a few normal corns for thirty. Petco sells thier corns for 40 or higher usually. You will still pay shipping, but will get a healthy animal. The third one will be mine (Ive already paid for it), but the other two are still up for grabs. Good luck!

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=87023
 
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