Thinking of getting a cornsnake

I have one ball python, and I want to get a 40 gallon tank for him soon, as he is getting a little big for his current 20 gallon. I was wondering first of all, if corn snakes can be housed in a 20 gallon long terrarium for their whole lives. Secondly, if anyone knows of any good websites or threads on this site for care sheets for corn snakes. I had looked at corn snakes before, and I love their colours, and I have heard they are good beginner snakes. I also will not be getting one until the middle of next year if I do, so I figured this would be a good time to start reaserch for one:D any info will be greatly appreciated!

I read 'Corn Snakes: a comprehensive owners guide' by Bill & Kathy Love. Loads of good info even though I then found out I couldn't keep a corn snake in GA. I got it in Kindle books

Thanks. I'll have to look into that:)
And one more question. How much do albino corns usually go for? I really love the albino corn snakes.

If you wait for a reptile expo, you can usually find amels for anywhere from $15 to $30.

Thats a lot less than I was expecting. Thanks! Although I have no clue,as to when or where the next expo will be by the time I am even able to get a corn snake (mid next year)

June/July is when most people will have plenty of babies if they breed corns.

google reptile show in your city/state to find the closest/next one. I bought my coral snow for $40 at a show. Online they were all $80+.

Thans for the info everyone! I was also wondering about caging. Will a 10 gallon be enough to quarentine a young corn snake, and will a 20 gallon long terrarium be big enough for a corn snake their whole lives? Thanks again for all the info! It's really helpful to me.

Another question just occurred to me. What sized food do they eat? I know they are thinner than ball pythons, so could they stay on mice their whole lives, or would they end up being able to eat rats when they are older? I have read a few different things regarding this, some saying adults can eat small rats, but other web sites say they can stay on mice their whole lives. My BP is 860 grams and eating small rats right now, so it didn't sound right for them to be eating small rats (although I have only seen baby corns, so I don't know how thick they get)

They can stay on mice their whole lives. My adult female snow weighs about 550g and she east 1 large mouse every 2 weeks.

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Originally Posted by HVani

They can stay on mice their whole lives. My adult female snow weighs about 550g and she east 1 large mouse every 2 weeks.

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Awesome! Thanks for the information! Can I see pics of your snow?

Ya they can stay on mice their whole lives. Mine is only 5 or 6 months old and he has gotten quite long since i brought him home. He was about the size of a pencil when i brought him home and he is about a foot maybe foot and a half now. Grows in length quite fast.http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...f90a38c5c5.jpg

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Originally Posted by SpecialGreg

Ya they can stay on mice their whole lives. Mine is only 5 or 6 months old and he has gotten quite long since i brought him home. He was about the size of a pencil when i brought him home and he is about a foot maybe foot and a half now. Grows in length quite fast.http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...f90a38c5c5.jpg

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Ooo, he's pretty. What size enclosure do you use for him?

He is a sunburst and he is in a 20 gallon at the moment. Have a 30 that my bp is in right now that he will move to when my bp grows up and is ready for a 60 gallon i have sitting in my spare bedroom. :)

Do you think they could use a 20 gallon long for their whole lives, or would I need to eventually upgrade. I want to get my BP into a 40 gallon this new year, and I thought a corn would be cool to occupy the 20 gallon I would have. I was going to put the tank for the corn snake under my BP tank (after quarentine is done), but the way it is shaped, I would need something smaller than a 40 gallon for it to fit, and I have tried (unsuccessfully) to find a 30 gallon terrarium, but only could find 40.

You know im not to sure. It might be a lil small but they could def live in it for a year or maybe longer but they do get between 4-5 feet when fully grown.

And he is in a 10 gallon actually was a typo. :)

Ok, thanks. I wasn't sure, because many websits said 20 gallon, but I know they aren't always accurate. Wasn't sure if because they were also smaller in width if a smaller enclosure would be alright. The current tank I have for my BP is 30"x12"x14". So it is almost 3 feet long. Didn't know of having the "long" 20 gallon would do anything. I will try to look into a 30 gallon, we just have two 10 gallon tanks, and we will soon have an empty 20 gallon long tank, so I was hoping to use the 10 gallon for Quarentine (I want a young corn) and move it into the 20 as a permanent home, but if that is too small, I will look into finding a 30 gallon. Thanks for all the info! It's really helpful!

A 20 gal long will hold a corn for life. My big one is in a 40 gal that sits above 3 ten gal tanks I have for smaller corns. I buit the shelving myself to hold the 4 tanks though. I'll try and remember to take a pic of it and post it when I get off work. I have him in a 40 gal for 2 reasons..display and Petco had the $1 per gallon sale going on. So the tank and screen lid was about $70 total.

I don't keep corns but my kings are pretty similar. I keep them both in 40 gallon breeders. A 20 gallon long could probably house an adult corn but I say give them as much space as you can. A 40 gallon tank gives them a little more room but I think a 4x2x2 is the perfect size. I've also seen some larger corns eat small rats. Better one small rat than 3-4 large mice.:)

Thanks everyone for the information! It's really helpful:). I would like to keep him in the 20 as long as possible, but im sure I could find a way to fit another 40 gallon if needed, or I will try to find a 30 gallon. Does gender play a role in the average length (like BPs)? And pics of setups would be cool if you want to share them (don't have to if you don't want to).

My corn eats small rats. Mainly because he would eat multipule mice and i buy rats for all my other snakes so it makes sense for me to just feed him what everyone else dose.

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Originally Posted by calmolly1

I read 'Corn Snakes: a comprehensive owners guide' by Bill & Kathy Love. Loads of good info even though I then found out I couldn't keep a corn snake in GA. I got it in Kindle books

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I have met the Love's and had lunch with them at their home. Wonderful people and oh my what a collection they have....or i should say had as they were preparing for retirement when i spent the day with them.

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Originally Posted by Kamerick

I have one ball python, and I want to get a 40 gallon tank for him soon, as he is getting a little big for his current 20 gallon. I was wondering first of all, if corn snakes can be housed in a 20 gallon long terrarium for their whole lives.

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And so it has begun....next step, animal hoarders! Lol

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Originally Posted by Kamerick

Awesome! Thanks for the information! Can I see pics of your snow?

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Here she is :)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y13...psc629d538.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y13...ps49560161.jpg

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Originally Posted by HVani

Here she is :)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y13...psc629d538.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y13...ps49560161.jpg

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She's very pretty! I love corn snakes for their colours and patterns (as shown here)!

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Originally Posted by andyroof1979

And so it has begun....next step, animal hoarders! Lol

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Yep. New show coming soon to *insert channel here* featuring most people on this site:rofl::D:P

I personally don't have a corn snake but I have a king snake I keep in a 20 gal. Long tank and she does just fine. There are a lot of cool looking king snakes out there if you're looking for cool morphs for a good price. I have an albino prairie KS and she looks really nice even as she ages. I breed rats for my ball pythons so I feed my king rat fuzzies every 7 days. But when I 1st got her I had to get pinkie mice because the rats were too big.

Here's my other corn. This is him when I first got him. Now he has shed a couple times and is much more orange. He's an extreme okeetee by South Mountain Reptiles

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y13...ps705de870.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y13...ps9762648b.jpg

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Originally Posted by HVani

Here's my other corn. This is him when I first got him. Now he has shed a couple times and is much more orange. He's an extreme okeetee by South Mountain Reptiles

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y13...ps705de870.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y13...ps9762648b.jpg

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Oh wow! I really like her colours!

Another question if you don't mind, do cornsnakes require a UTH and/or a heat lamp? and how high/low should the temps be?

UTH is preferred and easier IMO. I keep my corns at 85 on the hot side.

ok, so not as hot as ball pythons need. and just normal household humidity should be fine for them too? as well, are there any health risks that stand out for corn snakes? I know ball pythons tend to have issues with RI due to them needing more specific temperatures and humidity, and they will not eat sometimes too. is this an issue with corn snakes? or are they pretty good as far as those things go?

In the drier months it might help to add a humid hide but I have never needed to here in Wisconsin.

The only thing I have heard of with corns is mites, but there's a risk for mites with any snake. They are really tough snakes and pretty fool proof. Males will sometimes go off feed in the spring and some won't eat if they are getting ready to shed.

Ok, that sounds good. thanks again everyone for the information! humidity hides I can do, as I have one for my ball python. I was a bit short on info for caring for my ball python (although he is now a very happy and healthy BP:D), so I am really trying to make sure I got everything covered if I get a cornsnake, which I plan on. One more question (for now), what substrates should I use. I don't want to use paper towels or newspaper, because I like the tanks to look nice, and when I get the corn, I will only have 2 snakes, so its not really a problem to get something nicer. would reptile bark be ok? I have also heard aspen is good for them because they do not require the extra humidity, but if repti-bark is alright, I already have some of that on hand already.

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Originally Posted by Kamerick

Ok, that sounds good. thanks again everyone for the information! humidity hides I can do, as I have one for my ball python. I was a bit short on info for caring for my ball python (although he is now a very happy and healthy BP:D), so I am really trying to make sure I got everything covered if I get a cornsnake, which I plan on. One more question (for now), what substrates should I use. I don't want to use paper towels or newspaper, because I like the tanks to look nice, and when I get the corn, I will only have 2 snakes, so its not really a problem to get something nicer. would reptile bark be ok? I have also heard aspen is good for them because they do not require the extra humidity, but if repti-bark is alright, I already have some of that on hand already.

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Either aspen or reptile bark is fine. I don't like aspen so my snow is on carefresh and my okeetee is on reptile bark.

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Originally Posted by Kamerick

Another question if you don't mind, do cornsnakes require a UTH and/or a heat lamp? and how high/low should the temps be?

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The UTH question depends on your ambient temps. Ours is 75 for most of the year so I don't need one. For the heat lamp, corns are primarily nocturnal like the bp's so you really shouldn't use a light on them. I would suggest the ceramic "bulb" if your house is too cold and you aren't using a UTH.