soon im going to be buying a corn snake, so is there any advice someone could give me?

also, at my local pet store, they say that when the snakes are young, and are being kept in a small container, they dont need any heat lights at all until they are at least one year old, and are kept in a big tank. is this true?????


felix

First tip, don't listen to pet shops... the advice they give is usually inaccurate and incorrect. If you were to buy a corn snake, the first place I'd go is to a breeder, or to purchase one from a vendor at a local herp show. Pet store reptiles are usually not cared for properly, and 9 times out of 10 you're setting yourself up for large vet bills and heartache in the end.

Before you even get the snake, you definitely want a good reptile vet lined up. If this is your first reptile, and you don't have one already you can find one at Herp Vet Connection or at the ARAV Website (Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians). I found my vet through both of these sites.

For a baby corn snake, a 10 gallon tank is the best bet to house him in. You'll want the appropriate sized Under Tank Heater (or UTH) to sit beneath the tank. For substrate, paper towels or even reptile carpet is good for that. You'll need to make sure that the substrate temp is in the acceptable range for optimal digestion, which is usually around 85 F. To achieve this, a good thermostat and a digital thermometer with a probe is a good way to monitor and regulate the temps. I got both of these items online from LLL Reptile. The model thermostat I purchased was the Alife 1000, it's a good little analog thermostat for the price (under $30). As far as lighting, corn snakes are naturally nocturnal, so UVB or supplemental lighting of that kind is not really needed. A light to provide additional heat is okay, so long as you don't overheat it!

Feeding... I'd personally stick to what the snake was raised on and is used to. The corn snake I bought was three months old when I bought him, and was raised on frozen/thawed pinkies. So this is what I continue to find him, if he's fed live, I'd advise you to stick to that. Although I'm not too familiar with what you should do with live feedings, as I have never done this.

Hope all this helps, and good luck with your new friend!

And welcome to the forums

FYI... there's some excellent corn snake care sheets on this site http://www.reptilerooms.com/Sections+index...s-secid-10.html, read through those, and if you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask!

You really shouldn't feed live as it can cause injury to your snake. Switching a corn from live to frozen thawed when they are young is easy. Just remember as your corn grows so does the size of the prey item. The mouse be it pinky, fuzzy, etc. should be about the same size as the thickest portion of your snake. They also need a larger tank once they are older, but not in the first year since open spaces stress baby snakes out. Other than that Eirecocaigh mentioned everything else.

they say that for a fully grown corn, a 20 galleon tank would be perfect.
how many feet is this??

also, not really related to snakes, but how do you put a picture underneath your name at the side of the page?

thanks

Well a 20gal is actually the MINIMUM size tank for a corn and there are quite a few ppl and caresheet that disagree with this. I wouldn't say it's perfect either. I have my 5ft corn in a 40gal and he seems cramped in that even. But as both Eirecorcaigh and Lews said, a 10gal for a baby is good, and make sure to put 2-3 hides in there as they are shy snakes; one on the warm side, one on the cold side and preferably one in the middle.
For feeding, the mouse should be about 1.5 the size of the largest part of the snakes girth. You should be able to see a bump after it's done eating.
You'll need a water bowl, some plants and something to climb, and aid in shedding like a rock or branch.
For substrate, you'll want to use something to make it easier to monitor your snakes excriments, such as paper towel, repti-carpet or non-toxic print newspaper. After a little while you can switch to something the snake can burrow in like aspen or coconut chips.
You'll also need to put a heat pad on one side of the tank bottom to make a heat gradient and monitor it with a thermometer. And use a thermostat to control it. If you need help upping the heat, you can use a heat bulb, preferably an infrared.
And like Eirecorcaigh also said, you should beware of pet stores and get the corn from a breeder instead, or from a vendor at an expo. Not only will you be guaranteed health but it's also cheaper! Have you picked out a colour morph? Good luck!

Depending on the size of the youngster you get, a 10gal might even be too small. If you go to a show, oftentimes breeders will sell babies that have only eaten once, or even some that haven't eaten at all. This means that they're barely out of the egg. I purchased a pair of Butter Mots this way. We keep all of our snakes in a pull-out drawer rack system and they were put into shoebox sized drawers. This was too big for them as they felt rather insecure even with hides and refused to eat. We couldn't get them to eat till they were placed in deli containers. Many breeders keep hatchlings in similarly sized containers because they feel more secure.

As far as an adult, we use sweater box sized containers for ours, and some of the larger ones probably could do to go into something a little longer. The main issue I have with the 20gal size "requirement" is that a standard 20gal tank is only 12" wide. I would go with something at least 18" wide. My sweater box drawers are about 18" x 24".