Here you will find some of the Most Commonly Asked Questions
regarding Corn Snake Care and Husbandry. Following these
simple questions will help you on your way to keeping
healthy snakes. If you have a question that isn't found
here, please be sure to ask it. Check back here often,
as this will be continuously updated to reflect new
questions asked.
How do I house my Corn Snake?
Housing Corn Snakes is very easy. What you will need are an appropriate sized
enclosure, Hatchlings to yearlings would need a 20
gallon long, and Yearlings to end of life can live
happily in a 30 to 40 gallon long. Be sure that the lid
shuts very tightly as corns are master escape artists.
Next you will need substrate of some sort. The most
widely used substrate is shredded aspen. You will need
to put about 2 inches of this in the bottom of the
enclosure. A water dish is a must, and it will need to
be large enough that the snake can submerse his/her
whole body in. Finally you will need hides. Hides can be
anything that will allow the corn to get out of site.
You can find these at any local pet shop, or you can
make them at home with items you have (be sure to
sterilize anything that you use from your home and check
to make sure there are no sharp edges).
How do I heat my corn Snake?
An Under Tank Heater (UTH)is the most widely used provider of heat for most
snakes. A UTH is a pad that you can attach directly on
the bottom of your tank. You then plug it into an outlet
and you have heat. One thing to remember, a UTH will get
very hot, so you will want to invest in some kind of
Temp control like a thermostat or Rheostat. And, make
sure that you are using a Digital Thermometer with a
wired probe attached directly on top of the UTH.
Next, you can use a
Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE). A CHE is actually a bulb
that doesn't produce light. The CHE can be used in a
reflective ceramic bulb housing and pointed at the top
of the enclosure to provide ambient air heat. You will
want to use this in conjunction with a UTH so that you
have Ambient Air and Belly heat for your snake.
Finally, you can use Incandescent bulbs for heat as well as light. If you do
this, make sure that the wattage on the bulb is ok for
your size enclosure (20 gallon Long will require a 60
watt or lower). You will also have to use a white light
for day time and either a night-glo or red light for
night time.
Do I need lighting for my Corn Snake?
Corn Snakes do not
require any special lighting to thrive. Unlike most
reptiles, Corns get their calcium from the bones of
their food. Because of this, you do not need to worry
about UVB or UVA lighting. However, if you are using
your enclosure as a display piece, fluorescent lighting
might be nice to allow viewers to see the tank.
You will not want to
use Black or Blue lighting as this is known to cause
problems with your snakes.
How do I handle my Corn Snake?
Corn Snakes are one of
the most docile snakes that you can keep as pets.
However, you might run into a few of them that are
snappy or just have an attitude. To handle your corn,
you will need to set aside all fear of getting bit
(owning a snake requires you to do this). Corns do have
very small serrations that count as teeth, and can latch
on to human extremities. But, they don't have fangs, so
you won't have to worry about bites like that. To pick up your corn,
you will need to open the enclosure, remove any hides,
and let your snake settle down for about 5 minutes. Then
while he/she is out checking things out, just pick
him/her up about the middle of their body and then hold
on with both hands. Just don't squeeze too tight. Allow
the snake to get used to you holding him/her and just
relax. You snake will soon come to enjoy being held and
it can be a very fun experience for the both of you.
If you happen to be one that is unlucky enough to get a very snappy and
irritable corn (and this doesn't happen often), the best
way to handle the snake is to get a short hook that you
can use inside to lift the corn out of his/her
enclosure, and then run your hand up the tail towards
the head. Using this method will save a lot of
frustration caused by being snapped at, hissed at, or
bitten. You can get hooks just about anywhere. Here are
a couple of websites that you can look for them:
Tongs.com,
The Bean Farm,
Snakesticks. There are plenty more sites you can go
to, just do a Google search on "Snake Hooks" and you
will find a plethora of information.
How do I Feed my Corn Snake?
Corn Snakes in
captivity are fed primarily rodents (Mice and Rats). As
a hatchling, your corn will start out eating pinky mice
and move up to larger sized mice has he or she grows.
The common rule of thumb for feeding size is that the
food item must be no bigger than 1 1/2 time larger than
the largest area of girth on the snake. Now that said,
you will also want to watch your snake's activity after
you have fed him/her. If, after feeding, your snake is
out racing around seemingly looking for more food, then
it is time to upgrade the amount of feeding. The frequency of the
feedings will depend on the age of the snake, and its
feeding behavior. From Hatchling to Yearling, you will
want to feed appropriate sized meals every 5 days.
Yearlings to 2 year olds you will want to slow down to 7
to 12 days. After 2 years old, you can slow the feeding
down even more to 14 to 20 days apart. If your corn declines
a meal, don't get upset, as snakes can go 6 weeks and
longer without food. First thing you do is place the
snake back into his/her enclosure. Then get rid of the
food item, or feed it to the next snake in line. Wait 5
days or until the next feeding day, and offer food to
the non eater. Rule of Thumb, never offer food everyday
to a non eating snake, as you can make the snake refuse
that particular food item from then on.
It is recommended that
you feed Frozen Thawed (F/T) Mice as these will not be
able to harm your snake. Pinks and Fuzzies are ok to
feed live as they can't bite the snake. After you start
to get into Hoppers and Adults, the mice have teeth and
will try and defend themselves from the snake. This can
result in Major damage to the snake in the form of
bites. You can get F/T Mice from your local pet shop, or
you can order in bulk off the web. Orders can be made at
the following sites:
Rodentpro,
Big Cheese Rodents,
American Rodent
My snake is shedding, what do I do?
The skin of your snake
does not grow with your snake. Because of this, your
snake will shed at least once a month. During this time,
your snake may or may not eat, will be very irritable
and snappy, and sometimes may look very sad. But, all
this is normal and when the shedding cycle is complete,
will be back to his/her normal self.
There are three noticeable
stages to shedding in snakes. They are the Blue Phase,
Clear Phase, and the Sloughing Phase.
Blue Phase is the
first sign that your snake is getting ready to shed.
During this time, the eye caps on the snake will
turn opaque and look blue. This is a very stressful
time for your snake as he/she won't be able to see
very well. The snake is suffering just like a human
with a cataract during this time. This is where you
will mostly see an attitude change. The Blue Phase
should only last 3 to 5 days (might be even shorter)
depending on the snake. After the Blue Phase, the
eyes will clear up, and your snake will become very
active, constantly moving around and rubbing his/her
head against everything in the enclosure. The Clear Phase
starts just after the Blue Phase has cleared up.
This is the time when your snake will be extremely
active, constantly rubbing over anything and
everything in the enclosure to try and get the skin
loose. After the skin has started to come loose,
your snake has entered the Sloughing Phase. The
Clear Phase can take up to 3 days to complete.
The Sloughing Phase is the
fastest of all the phases, and will be completed
within a matter of minutes. This is where the snake
is removing his/her skin. During this time, you
should be able to watch, and possibly hold the snake
as he/she is shedding.
During the entire
shedding process, your snake needs to have higher
humidity, and a water bowl that is large enough for
him/her to submerse his/her whole body in. These two
things will greatly help the shed to go as smoothly as
possible.
If your snake is having problems
with a shed, then you can help out by doing the
following:
Raising the
humidity Have fresh water
in a large dish for soaking If the shed breaks
half way through the shed, then you might need to
help the snake out a bit. This can be done by using
damp paper towels (Be sure they are about the same
temp as the enclosure). Pick up your snake and wrap
in the paper towels. Gently squeeze around the snake
and allow him/her to slither through your hands and
the paper towels. This will help to remove any skin
that is still sticking to him.After your snake is completely shed, be sure to
check the shedding for the eye caps and the tip of the
tail. Be sure that both of these have come off, as retained eye caps can cause blindness,and a retained tail tip can cut of blood flow, and cause the tip of the tail to die and fall off.
My Snake has Gone Missing. What do I do?
First off, don’t
panic. Check your Enclosure again and make sure that
you didn’t miss him. Be sure to look inside any hides
that you have. Check under the substrate, and the water
bowl.If you didn’t find
him/her with this last check, then you might have an
Escaped Snake on your hands. But don’t worry; we are
going to help you do everything you can to find your
snake.
First, close all doors out of the room that your
snake is housed. You will also want to cover or
close off any air vents that might be in the walls
or floors. If your vents are in the ceiling, you
should be fine.
Second, you will want to look inside and under
anything that is directly around your enclosure.
Third, expand your search to the rest of the room.
Looking under and inside furniture, on drapes, on
drape rods, along the merging point of the floor and
wall, under the carpet.
Fourth, take a 2 liter bottle and cut off the top
with the opening in it. Then place a feeder
inside. Now place the top back on the bottle, with
the pour spout facing the inside and tape it all
together. Next take this “trap” and place it in the
room you think the snake is in, and put a heat lamp
with it to create a hot spot in the room. You snake
should go to this “hot spot” to eat and warm. Then
just wait and watch.
