Questions about Corn Snakes

[N.W.A.]

Can someone please give me detailed instructions of the requirements of Corn Snakes (don't know scientific name).

 

[Kid Dragon]

NWA,

Corn snakes aka red ratsnakes (Elaphe guttata gutatta) are great pet snakes. They can be kept successfully at room temperature (72-78F). In the winter time you can use a heat lamp. When they are newborns they eat pinkie mice and anole lizards. As they get older one adult mouse every week or two will be good. They can be kept in a ten gallon tank until they reach about three feet long. Bedding can be as simple as newspaper, which they will hide under. They are usually a very hardy, docile species. In my opinion one of the best pet snake species. Good luck.

 

[N.W.A.]

What depth of newspaper? What size tank do they need after 3 feet?

Edit: Is $30 a good price for a corn snake?

 

[Kid Dragon]

What depth of newspaper? What size tank do they need after 3 feet?

Edit: Is $30 a good price for a corn snake?

The newspaper doesn't have to be shred, you can line the botton of he tank with folded to fit newspaper. You can use two or three layers thick.

Corn snakes can get over six feet, so a 29 gallon would be good for full grown adult.

Corn snakes are sold in a variety of sizes and color morphs, so price will vary greatly in this species. They even hybridize readily, so you can get all sorts of genetic variations.

In my opinion Kathy Love is one of the best corn snake breeders in the nation. Check out her web site: CornUtopia

She can answer any question you could possibly have about corn snakes.

 

[N.W.A.]

Thanks for the information. I might get a corn snake now that I know how easy they are to take care of.

 

[Beardo]

Corn Snakes are know as Pantheropis guttatus by the way.

 

[Schlyne]

I'd recommend getting The Corn Snake Manual by Kathy Love if you're looking for a book on them.

 

[Mister Internet]

Thanks for the information. I might get a corn snake now that I know how easy they are to take care of.

Well, now wait a minute... they require LESS care than most other snakes, that doesn't automatically mean "easy to take care of". They are without a doubt some of the most docile and handleable snakes, as well as being just about the most forgiving with husbandry errors. You should not, however, run off and buy one based one someone's one-paragraph explanation of how 'easy they are to take care of'. They deserve the same respect as any other reptile, and you should put the same time and research into them as you would any other captive animal.

The book you must get is here: http://www.corn-utopia.com/Corn Uto...or sale Cornutopia corn snakes cornsnakes.htm

THere are many things in that book that will contradict the "Easy Care" advice you are given by many keepers... they are rewarding pets, but are so cheap and readily available that many new keepers don't invest the appropriate money and time into their care. As long as you make a commitment to do that, no matter how cheap the snake, you'll be fine...

 

[N.W.A.]

Dude I'd treat the snake like of one of my own. I'm kind of a slithery person myself. I love snakes. If people would let me, I'd lay with it in my bed, but some people might get just a little pissy with that one. The reason I said it's "easy to take care of" is because it 1. doesn't require a heat lamp and 2. has needs that I KNOW I can provide. That's the only reason I said that, because I don't feel like paying for an electric bill, too. I have another question: do 10 foot albino burmese pythons need heat lamps? My dealer doesn't provide it with one and I just wanted to know if he's wronging. Plus he's only got it in like a 6 foot tank with 2 feet taken up by a box with 2 blood pythons in it. The python is ALWAYS curled up and doesn't look too happy.

 

[skinheaddave]

All snakes require a heat gradient of some sort. How you provide it depends on the snake and, to some degree, your preferences. Corn snakes require a heat gradient just as much as other snakes and you would do well to provide a lamp or an undertank heater or a radient heat panel or whatnot.

As Tom suggested, lots of research is still required. My first snake was a Deckert's ratsnake .. closely related to corns, very similar requirements. Had I not done a LOT of research before starting, I wouldn't have had as pleasant an experience with him and definitely wouldn't have built my little zoo around him. Incidentally, he is still doing really well.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[N.W.A.]

What wattage lamp does it need? And also what humidity?

 

[arachnojunkie]

Cornsnakes DO NOT need a temp gradient. Yes most owners do give them that but it is not necessary. If I remember correctly Kathy Love (a.k.a. the cornsnake queen) dosen't even use extra heat. I Don't, and more and more keepers are coming around to the thought. Many years ago people(and some still) thought snakes "needed" a heat lamp to survive...WRONG. Now, I don't know much about Boids but IMO "most" Colubrids need room temps(75-80), natural light, fresh water, food, proper humidity/ventilation and proper housing. Pantherophis guttatus will THRIVE in those conditions. Alas, HAVE FUN.

 

[Cirith Ungol]

Cornsnakes DO NOT need a temp gradient. Yes most owners do give them that but it is not necessary. If I remember correctly Kathy Love (a.k.a. the cornsnake queen) dosen't even use extra heat. I Don't, and more and more keepers are coming around to the thought. Many years ago people(and some still) thought snakes "needed" a heat lamp to survive...WRONG. Now, I don't know much about Boids but IMO "most" Colubrids need room temps(75-80), natural light, fresh water, food, proper humidity/ventilation and proper housing. Pantherophis guttatus will THRIVE in those conditions. Alas, HAVE FUN.

If you need extra heat depends on how high minimum room temperature you can guarantee doesn't it? I've had one of my corns regurgitate its food because I fed it in the evening when the heat pad wasn't on anymore. In the morning I found rotting extremely disgustingly smelling mouse-slime-lumps in the tank. The smell was killing me and it was an absolute mess to clean out! I'm sure the snake wasn't too happy either. So I'd suggest you don't generalize about an extra heat source because it works for *some*.

Eventho you *might* not need an extra heat source, it is always the best to give your snake the option so that it can chose where to be. Because some/many people seem to not need it doesn't mean the snake doesn't want it or won't profit from it.

N.W.A.-
Please get a heat pad! If they are too expensive for you I wonder how you're gonna pay for the rest. They DO normally come quite cheap and are easy to install! Thanks!

Corns don't need extra light. They can do with as much as without. They don't even need UV light if they are fed mice all the way. They get all what they need from them. It's more important you provide them with a steady climbing branch.

Humidity: Anything is ok I'd say. But if you see that they approach a shed you should start moistening the tank a little every day until it has shed because then you have a high chance of the skin comming off in one piece. If you keep humidity too low arround that time the skin will rip off in smaller fragments and if you're extremely unlucky the eyelids won't come off. In such a case you'd have to peel them off yourself after giving the snake a carefull bath.

As substrate I'd recommend something else than paper, but that's up to you. It just looks crap. Besides, if you still wanna use paper, be sure to put a reasonably heavy rock in the tank or anything else the snake can rub against. If it has nothing to rub it's head against during a shed it will have problems getting the old skin off (which starts to come off arround the head).

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Mister Internet]

If I remember correctly Kathy Love (a.k.a. the cornsnake queen) dosen't even use extra heat. I Don't, and more and more keepers are coming around to the thought. Many years ago people(and some still) thought snakes "needed" a heat lamp to survive...WRONG. Now, I don't know much about Boids but IMO "most" Colubrids need room temps(75-80), natural light, fresh water, food, proper humidity/ventilation and proper housing. Pantherophis guttatus will THRIVE in those conditions. Alas, HAVE FUN.

From The Corn Snake Manual, "Heating and Lighting", pg. 19:

Corns thrive at temperatures in the same range that humans find to be comfortable. This means approximately a range of 70-88 F (21-31 C). But unlike humans with self-regulating body temperatures, snakes can't sustain all bodily functions if kept at any one temperature constantly. There are times when they must experience higher or lower to facilitate natural functions such as digestion, embryo development, parasite or infection control, or spermatogenesis. Undoubtedly there are reasons for which corn snakes thermoregulate which we don't yet understand. Thermoregulation is the process by which animals purposely move in and out of areas of higher or lower heat to optimise their body temperatures. In nature the sun is the ultimate source of heat, either directly or indirectly (by warming other surfaces). Snakes seek that warmth when they need it and can count on that option on most days of the year. Denying this vital freedom to them is surely an important factor behind many of the health problems that arise in the often-restrictive atmosphere of captivity.

Copyright © 2000 by Advanced Vivarium Systems, Inc.

You are correct that KL doesn't use heat gradient style heating in each individual cage, as she has thousands of specimens in a large room... kind of impossible. However, she does raise the heat of the entire facility to 82-84 during the day, and lower to 78-80 at night... so it's a heat gradient of sorts. She has told me personally that moving all enclosures to a heat tape system is her desire once the collection is thinned out a bit, as she believe it is BEST to keep corns on a heat gradient.

So there you have it... ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY? No. However, depending on "room temperature" to maintain your snake's needs is foolishness, especially when you're only talking about a few specimens... no one has an ambient room temperature of of 82-84 during the day and 78-80 at night. Ambient temps in most homes is more like 70, and that will not make for a good environment. The effort is minimal, the cost is minimal, and the benefits are many. Snakes can SURVIVE not eating for months as well... are you going to argue that is the BEST way to keep them?

 

[N.W.A.]

So I can buy a small heat lamp, turn it on during day and off @ night and the snake will be good to go?

 

[arachnojunkie]

Reread My Post

I clearly said that if you can maintain a room at 75-80 you will be fine.....MAINTAIN, and yes I have a room in my house (with tarantulas and snakes) that stays at those temps.(around 80 in the day and around 75 at night) Please inform me on how that is "foolish". I'm not trying to start a debate here I was just letting N.W.A. know the facts. As I said, most owners do give their corns temp gradients, but(with the proper conditions) It isn't vital to their health. I think the "foolish" thing to do is for people to tell this guy that he NEEDS a U.T.H. and not even once mentioning a thermostat. Count the snake deaths from heat pad malfunction and compare it to the almost nonexistant deaths from keeping snakes at constant 75-80 room temp. Do whatever you want dude, but I would not recommend a heat lamp, they dry out the air in the enclosure which can lead to shedding problems. If you must have heat I would recommend a high quality heat pad and a high quality thermostat. But please don't use "just a heat pad".

 

[Mister Internet]

Hey, don't take offense, none was intended. I think you're making a lot of broad statements as if they're fact, and I think you need to have better reasons than the ones you gave for disregarding the conventional wisdom. If you're going to drop Kathy Love's name, at least give it some context like I did... I can post an email I received from her if you would like, that outlines why she tells EVERY CUSTOMER to give a heat gradient if you would like. And what other "proper conditions" are there aside from heat gradient? Water? that's about it... saying that as long as it's kept in "proper conditions" that no heat gradient is necessary requires a bit more explanation. A big part of keeping snakes properly is maintaining a heat gradient.

There are people that feed their tarantulas 5 times a week... now THAT is an example of something that is unnecessary. There is no way I would tell a brand new snake keeper to "keep it at room temperature", because they don't know enough anecdotal information about what snakes actually require. You and I know that "room temp" means QUITE WARM, but someone else might not.

And I agree 100% about the UTH/thermostat. Better to use no heat at all than unregulated heat. Although I'm a bit curious as to where you get your statistics?

 

[Mister Internet]

So I can buy a small heat lamp, turn it on during day and off @ night and the snake will be good to go?

No, if it results in a basking hotspot of 120 degrees, you're better off not doing it at all. They do best with a heat gradient, but if you can't regulate the temp properly, you'd probably better not do it. It requires an investment in a good thermometer and a good UTH, but it's worth it.

 

[arachnojunkie]

Hey, don't take offense, none was intended. I think you're making a lot of broad statements as if they're fact, and I think you need to have better reasons than the ones you gave for disregarding the conventional wisdom. If you're going to drop Kathy Love's name, at least give it some context like I did... I can post an email I received from her if you would like, that outlines why she tells EVERY CUSTOMER to give a heat gradient if you would like. And what other "proper conditions" are there aside from heat gradient? Water? that's about it... saying that as long as it's kept in "proper conditions" that no heat gradient is necessary requires a bit more explanation. A big part of keeping snakes properly is maintaining a heat gradient.

There are people that feed their tarantulas 5 times a week... now THAT is an example of something that is unnecessary. There is no way I would tell a brand new snake keeper to "keep it at room temperature", because they don't know enough anecdotal information about what snakes actually require. You and I know that "room temp" means QUITE WARM, but someone else might not.

And I agree 100% about the UTH/thermostat. Better to use no heat at all than unregulated heat. Although I'm a bit curious as to where you get your statistics?

I totally agree with you here but I was just pointing out the fact that he "could" get away with it with the probability of harm being low, thats all. Not offended at all, the internet makes things easy to take out of context.

 

[N.W.A.]

What if the room temperature is always around 75-80 degrees? Would it be good to go in this area?