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How big of an enclosure should I get?

M

mef1975

New member
I found, what appears to be, a 3' female corn snake, by my front door in Sarasota, Florida, she' beautiful, but skinny. She's been in a 10 gallon tank for a couple days, and I did make sure to feed her a mouse. All I had was some coconut fiber substrate, which I wet with RO water, and a 40 watt aquarium bulb, which gets the temp up to the low 80s for a few hours a day. She goes under the substrate during the day, coming out at night for a few hours. I'd love to grow her out, and eventually, breed her, as my parents took mine away as a kid (mid life crisis) lol.

I need to get, or build, her a really big enclosure to live in, ACAP = AS CHEAP AS POSSIBLE, of course. I'm a total newbie and figured I should get some advice from you all to see if what I'm thinking of is ridiculous or not. The snake and I really appreciate your advice! Thanks!


Imagine those Zoo Med ReptiBreeze Open Air Aluminum Screen Cages, but one that's like 7' long x 3' wide x and perhaps tall enough to walk into, 7'...

Inside, on one corner, there will be a 3 or 4' long x 18" wide aquarium, perhaps 1 or 2' tall (65, 75, or 90 gallon aquarium), which will serve as the main sleep den (1/4th the size of the screened cage, I think). Actually, this part doesn't really have to be an aquarium. It could be one of them sliding glass door cabinets, but aquariums tend to be cheaper, I think, not sure.

Anyhow, another 1/4th of the cage, like a 10 gallon aquarium, might end up being a little pool to swim and drink, and another 1/4th of the cage might be like a bush, and what-not, to climb/play/hunt/hide. That will be the heated side, around 88 degrees, while the other side, with the den, is around room temp, 76 degrees.

What do you all think?
 
No heat rock, no heat light. She needs an under tank heater regulated by a thermostat. You can never make a cage too big!
 
AliCat37 said:
No heat rock, no heat light. She needs an under tank heater regulated by a thermostat. You can never make a cage too big!
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Well, I definitely need a light for the bush, but um, thanks for suggesting the thermostat regulated under tank heat pad. I'll use that for the den, set not to go below 71, I guess.
 
She most likely will not get to be 6 feet long. 3-4 feet is about average for an adult, although they will continue to slowly grow throughout her life.

I agree that a cage can never be too big, but while you're designing and building your enclosure, I would recommend at least a 20 gallon tank for her, or if you'd like her to have more space, a 40 gallon.
 
hypnoctopus said:
I agree that a cage can never be too big
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I do pretty good in 750 square feet, quite the hermit. lol

I wonder, what other critters, if one dared, might be kept in such a terrarium with a corn snake, as long as it's well fed?

Green tree frogs?
Green anoles?
Fire belly newts?
Crickets and beatles?
Caterpillars and butterflies?

?
 
Don't keep anything else in the cage with the snake. And I would get a glass enclosure, not a open air one. There should be an under tank heater under one third of the tank regulated with a thermostat to around eighty five degrees. And corn snakes don't need such a huge cage. One would be happy in a twenty gallon, though you could go larger. I see you're wanting a large tank, which is totally fine, but it will need tons of foliage and such to feel secure and safe. Cornsnakes.net has a great care sheet, as does this site. Hope this helps. :)
 
The Cat said:
Don't keep anything else in the cage with the snake. And I would get a glass enclosure, not a open air one. There should be an under tank heater under one third of the tank regulated with a thermostat to around eighty five degrees. And corn snakes don't need such a huge cage. One would be happy in a twenty gallon, though you could go larger. I see you're wanting a large tank, which is totally fine, but it will need tons of foliage and such to feel secure and safe. Cornsnakes.net has a great care sheet, as does this site. Hope this helps. :)
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I can't imagine being a 4 or 5 foot snake, living in a 20 gallon tank. I'd need to stretch out a bit more, without my master having to take me out.
 
mef1975 said:
Green tree frogs? natural food item
Green anoles? natural food item
Fire belly newts? potentially toxic
Crickets and beatles? good luck getting Sir Paul and Ringo into a cage
Caterpillars and butterflies? Could possibly stress out the snake, along with crickets
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HerpsOfNM said:
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I hear you, but I once put a brown anole in the 10 gallon with the 3 foot snake, and she left it alone for over a day. Put a mouse in there, she came out of the substrate and got straight to eating. I think keeping other critters is possible, especially if the enclosure is big enough and caters to each of their needs (being kept well fed). I do suspect to see a lizard or frog missing every now and then, but I am curious to see how long they'd last.
 
mef1975 said:
I can't imagine being a 4 or 5 foot snake, living in a 20 gallon tank. I'd need to stretch out a bit more, without my master having to take me out.
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They're fine in a twenty gallon, really. Of course, you could go bigger, but corns don't like to stretch out in the open. They like lots of vines and hides so they feel comfortable. Too much space could stress a corn snake. And snakes aren't like people. They stay curled up for a large portion of the day, unless one is particularly active.
 
I think you'll find that a corn snake won't really use that much space. Only one of my ten snakes is very active, and he does seem to 'enjoy' a larger enclosure. My other nine spend 95% of their time hiding.

That being said, as long as there is lots of ground cover (so the snake feels secure) and easy access to both water and appropriate heat, having a very large enclosure would not be a bad thing.

I can't think of any other reptiles that would do well with a corn snake. Other small reptiles would most likely become food, and you would not want to risk having your snake overeat. In the wild, other animals would be much more able to get away. Also, most animals have different environmental needs, and I think it would be hard to meet the needs of both species simultaneously.

I definitely wouldn't do crickets. They will sometimes chew on other animals, and again, even with a very large cage, the snake can't really escape completely.

Maybe something like preying mantises or butterflies might work?
 
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I've heard that cedar mulch can keep spiders and snakes away. What kind of material should one use to build a cage? Is pine spruce bad cause it's a conifer tree?
 
Pine and cedar shavings/mulch contain toxic resins that can kill your corn. Stick with aspen.
 
mef1975 said:
I've heard that cedar mulch can keep spiders and snakes away. What kind of material should one use to build a cage? Is pine spruce bad cause it's a conifer tree?
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I would stay away from any of the resinous woods; no cedar, no pine. People often use melamine to build racks, so that might work for a cage as well.
 
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