What Are The Basic Husbandry Requirements?

[thehoofbite]

I've been looking into getting a BP for the last couple months and I have done my research and starting getting everything together. Can't get one until the end of the summer so not in a big rush.

Anyhow. Told my family that I was getting a snake and all that stuff just making small convo or whatever.

Well today, my father called and said that a friend of his is looking to get rid of their corn snake. didn't really elaborate but he said that his friends son no longer wanted the snake and that I could have the entire setup. Pretty much just go over and grab everything at no charge.

At fist I told him that I couldn't get a snake for a couple months and he said okay and that he would keep looking but Im been brain storming a little bit and could probably get it done.


So with that background knowledge, what do I need to know should I go ahead and adopt him.....

thanks.

[fishmommy]

you've come to the right place to get all the info


just curious....where are you located?

[dr del]

Hi,


Well to get you started here is a link to the care sheet on corn snakes.

And feel free to ask any questions you like - it might be wise to get more details of the "complete setup" you are being gifted to see if there is anything that could benefit from upgradings or changing so you have time to sort that out before the little one is in your care.

And congratulations - I have 2 cornsnakes so far and they make great pets.

dr del

[thehoofbite]

you've come to the right place to get all the info


just curious....where are you located?

Guess thats not too descriptive......closer to Lawrence, KS.

[Jay_Bunny]

Corn snakes make great pets. I have one and she's so sweet and doesn't mind handling.

As far as housing requirements:

I've heard a 20L is minimum for a full grown corn snake and they do better with something a little bigger. If you go tub, 32qt or 41qt for full grown.

Heat requirements:

Cool side: Around 75 F.
Warm side: Mid to upper 80's. Mine stays around 88.

Hide requirements:

2. One for warm side, one for cool. I give my corn three.

Humidity:

I've heard they don't require any special humidity and regular house humidity is fine. I only mist when Zim goes into shed so the sheds come off perfect. Boosting humidity to 40-55% works for me during shed.

Substrate:

Newspaper is easier to use, clean and obtain. But corns do like to dig and Bed-A-Beast was a favorite of Zims but it got annoying really quick for me to clean so I switched back to newspaper. She is happy enough to 'burrow' in between the layers of paper.

Water Dish:

Needs to be shallow but big enough that if needed, they can curl into to soak. I've had Zim since December and have never seen her soak.

Lid (if going to use tank) needs to be secured with screen top clips. I have two on, but just bought two more to add to Zim's cage. I have heard corns are escape artists. They can get into some pretty tight places.

Food:

Feed once a week an appropriately sized rodent. A good sized prey item for a corn will create a slight bulge in thier largest section. Technically they can eat 150% of thier widest girth, but that is not recommended.

[sweety314]

They do well w/slightly cooler temps then BPs, and they're not as rigid for humidity requirements, but b/c we have the 2 corns, and the LTR in the same room as the balls, boas and Kenyan, they're housed similarly.


Haven't had a problem w/any of Kishnah's or Flurry's sheds. Flurry is about 9-10 months and almost out of his 10g tank, and Kish has been in the 30 qt. rack for about 6 months, doing well.

The humidity is @ 50%, 84* cool and 94* hot. They all have two hides. Kish doesn't use his anymore, now that he's 18+ months. Much easier to feed than ball pythons. Kish and Flurry have only refused 1x or 2x between them, and that was b/c they were in shed....otherwise, they're both little piggies.

Little ones??? VERY, VERY fast and can get out of ANYTHING!!! Kish has escaped a couple of times and Flurry has been loose once, when R didn't get the lid on tight enough. When they're little, they're basically WORMS and will squeeze into and out of the smaaaaaaaaaallest spaces!!!!



Have fun! They're fantastic snakes.

[Kagez28]

i second the tight fitting cage.

also they like to climb, or at least my 2 do, so some branches or fake plants would be good for them.

for substrate i use aspen since they like to burrow.

right know i have one in a 10g tank and one in a temp 15qt tub, i will be getting a rack next month when they will go in there.

thats about all i can add.

[Flagg]

75 degree cool side, 85 warm side, don't go over 88 degrees.

BP temps of 84/94 are too warm for corn snakes.

[Nifer]

Yeah...94* is a bit too hot for a corn snake, in fact anywhere you go and do reasearch you'll find that tempatures like that have very negative long term affects on a snake.

So do you have any specific husbandry questions?

[Kagez28]

Yeah...94* is a bit too hot for a corn snake, in fact anywhere you go and do reasearch you'll find that tempatures like that have very negative long term affects on a snake.

So do you have any specific husbandry questions?

i got a quick one... is a higher humidity bad for corns. my room humidity is like 45% most of the time. for my BP i have a homemade humidifier running all day to keep it to 50%+, and it makes my corns tank usually 35-45%. is there a way to lower humidity, or is 45% ok for them when not sheding?