Corn temps

I am getting a lot of conflicted info regarding the temp for the hot spot for corns. Some says no higher than 85F (ie Reptile Magazine), some says about 88F-90F (ie Nerd) and others say up to 95F (I think this is an overkill but please confirm). Which is it?

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Originally Posted by Cheesenugget

I am getting a lot of conflicted info regarding the temp for the hot spot for corns. Some says no higher than 85F (ie Reptile Magazine), some says about 88F-90F (ie Nerd) and others say up to 95F (I think this is an overkill but please confirm). Which is it?

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I keep my corns hot spot at about 88

I run about 85*...and yes, 95* is way over-kill. I've kept corns for many years, they do NOT like it too warm. They seem to prefer low-70's most of the time, &
as long as they have additional heat (I prefer UTH for them) as an option, they'll be fine. I wouldn't worry between 85-88* as long as they have enough room to
be as close as they choose to the heat and can get completely away from it as needed. If using UTH, you should only heat about 1/6th to 1/8th of the cage floor.

What temp do you run your cool side at? What about humidity?

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Originally Posted by Nick_MD

What temp do you run your cool side at? What about humidity?

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The cool side of the tanks my corn snakes inhabit is the same as room temperature for my home, controlled by house thermostat, which is 70* in winter, & about 80* in the summer* (I use less A/C than most people). My state is already humid, but our A/C as well as home heat does remove a lot of humidity, so if I see any issues, I give them a humid hide with damp moss. Most of the time, it's over-kill, but it depends where you live & the age of the snakes (young & very old benefit the most). *Note that in hottest summer temperatures (when my house is about 82*) I may turn off the UTH for the corn snakes for a while & they're fine with this too.

And as I've said before, you don't want to heat anything close to a third or half of the tank for a corn snake, assuming you don't live in a yurt or a cabin & keep reasonable home temperatures. I only mention this because when we talk about "cool side" or "warm side" it may suggest to some reading this that the cage is set up "half & half" with regard to heat. Corn snakes are pretty flexible pets, but it's possible to over-heat them...they're NOT ball-pythons. All of mine spend most of their time on the cool side, & obviously prefer 70-72*. In fact that's a big advantage to pet corn snakes...they're comfortable with our own 'room temperatures'.

Okay, interesting. The in tank temp is reading a consistent 72-73 degrees on the side without the UTH and with 30% humidity. I have 2 test water dishes, but no substrate yet. I'd guess the summer time temp will be ~79ish.

Seems like if I come home with a Corn, then I set UTH to 88 and get a substrate to kick up the humidity a bit to 40-50% range I should be set?

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Originally Posted by Nick_MD

Okay, interesting. The in tank temp is reading a consistent 72-73 degrees on the side without the UTH and with 30% humidity. I have 2 test water dishes, but no substrate yet. I'd guess the summer time temp will be ~79ish.

Seems like if I come home with a Corn, then I set UTH to 88 and get a substrate to kick up the humidity a bit to 40-50% range I should be set?

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I actually don't use a substrate* that adds humidity, but you can if you want. And I'd set the UTH to be not over 86*. If it's too warm, they won't use it at all, when they really should. My 3 "hatchlings" do have humid hides btw, since tiny snakes are much harder to help shed if they have any problems, & they clearly enjoy the moist moss mix. In lieu of humid hides, you can mist instead, especially when they're about to shed.
(*I use a mixture of clean paper shreds & some Carefresh for texture & weight.)

BTW, all of my corn snakes feed happily thru winter & year-round. Only when I bred some Okeetees (years ago) did I cool them somewhat in winter for enhanced
fertility. That's no longer my interest, just letting you know that corn snakes are among the least bothered by temperature fluctuations...that's life in the wild anyway.

So is a consistent 72 ambient temp okay across the entire cage both day and night during the winter? I'm asking again b/c it just feels intuitively low and counter to other corn snake care sheets. I now have the UTH set to 86 which makes it range b/t 84 and 88. Might be totally fine at 72 throughout as long as I have the UTH, but still "feels" like I need another heat source to bring up the ambient temp in at least half of the enclosure (even if it's just to a 86-88 temp to match the UTH).

My snake room is in the basement of my house. I have my tanks stacked 4 high and the top tanks are currently about 76-78* and the bottom tanks are about 70* ambient. My corns are currently eating and breeding.

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Originally Posted by 67temp

My snake room is in the basement of my house. I have my tanks stacked 4 high and the top tanks are currently about 76-78* and the bottom tanks are about 70* ambient. My corns are currently eating and breeding.

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Perfect, thanks! Sounds like one of those instances where gut instinct is wrong. So I should be good with a low of 72 ambient in winter and high of 79 ambient in summer. Are you running a UTH as well?

Any chance you can recommend a good breeder in the area that would be at the Frederick MD show in early March?

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Originally Posted by Nick_MD

...So I should be good with a low of 72 ambient in winter and high of 79 ambient in summer. Are you running a UTH as well? ...

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Yup. A low of 70*-72* is fine. (even 68* overnight is fine) High of 79* (ambient) in summer is also fine. I run UTH (@ about 85-86*) until my house is about 82* or so
in the summertime here (mid-South), then I will turn off the UTH for a month or so (hottest part of summer). Most people run more A/C for their own comfort than I do-
I just stay in the pool swimming laps, lol.

So if your house is at least 80* you can give the UTH a rest...but just to watch & make sure they're digesting OK...you can also use an overhead basking light (dimmed
way down) just to offer a little more warmth for a couple hours a day if you think they need it, & then pay attention to your snakes, see if they use it...they will likely
show you what they need & like. You don't need to be so exact...the great outdoors isn't either.

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Originally Posted by Nick_MD

Perfect, thanks! Sounds like one of those instances where gut instinct is wrong. So I should be good with a low of 72 ambient in winter and high of 79 ambient in summer. Are you running a UTH as well?

Any chance you can recommend a good breeder in the area that would be at the Frederick MD show in early March?

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In the winter I do use uth's and have it set for around 82ish. Mine will typically use the heat for only the first day after eating. Summertime when they stop using the heat I turn the uth off because the room ambient is around 78-80.

I'll be doing the Frederick shows some this year but not till after May. Like most other breeders our number of available babies are low right now. More than likely Rick Krumine will have a few. Depending on the morph you are looking for other good local corn breeders that attend MD shows are port-city-pythons, black heart reptiles, adrians captive creations, enterprise snakes, Susie Q scaleless, and myself (silent hill reptiles).

As long as the corn has a hot spot that's not too hot or too cold (82-84F or so), so they actually use it, it shouldn't be a big issue if temps get down to the low 70's ambient wise.

In my experience with corns, over 85F or so, and they will avoid it. Low 70's is probably too cold to easily digest though. So make sure the hot spot is really dialed in and there shouldn't be any issues.

Corns are pretty hardy animals.

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Originally Posted by dakski

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In my experience with corns, over 85F or so, and they will avoid it. Low 70's is probably too cold to easily digest though. So make sure the hot spot is really dialed in and there shouldn't be any issues.

Corns are pretty hardy animals.

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Exactly. They avoid UTH that's too warm. They can still digest at 70* but much slower. All my corns know where to go after eating, & for how long to digest...trust them.
They evolved knowing what they need- and make excellent pets, with normally-nice temperaments, beautiful colors, & nominal size.

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Originally Posted by 67temp

I'll be doing the Frederick shows some this year but not till after May. Like most other breeders our number of available babies are low right now. More than likely Rick Krumine will have a few. Depending on the morph you are looking for other good local corn breeders that attend MD shows are port-city-pythons, black heart reptiles, adrians captive creations, enterprise snakes, Susie Q scaleless, and myself (silent hill reptiles).

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Is there a seasonality to it? I'm not looking for anything too crazy, but would there be many more choices/options in April, May, or June? I like the look of the Okeetee, Miami, or Okeetee x Miami.

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Originally Posted by Nick_MD

Is there a seasonality to it? I'm not looking for anything too crazy, but would there be many more choices/options in April, May, or June? I like the look of the Okeetee, Miami, or Okeetee x Miami.

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There is a seasonality to corns most of the time. you mihgt be able to still find some forsale. April is still going to be pretty sparse. A few showing up in May. June, July and August is when they are the most available as they hatch and get feeding. Of the morphs you listed the Okeetee will probably be the easiest to get.