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.