Just a few questions

[Ditto]

Like the title says, I've got a few questions about corns and I figured some of y'all would be able to help

1. If I do end up getting a corn I'll almost definitely be getting a hatchling because I just LOVE watching animals grow. I've heard that it's best to keep hatchling corns in small tubs for the first few months, and the one's I've seen recommended for them are too small for a UTH so I'm wondering if the only option would be heat tape? If so, how do you go about setting that up? This question feels weird to ask, but I'm honestly so clueless about heat tape I don't even know where to begin.

2. When they shed, what's the best way to increase humidity for them? Since they need such low humidity would it be detrimental to their health to increase humidity throughout the whole tank/tub? Is just a humidity box better?

3. I use eco earth for my BP, when I put new stuff in his tank I mix it with a bit of water so it holds more humidity, but after a week or two it's almost completely dry and I have to resort to using moss to keep the humidity up. If I were to dry out some eco earth would that be okay to use for a corn? I don't have any problems with getting a different substrate if that wouldn't work, I just thought it'd be worth asking

Thanks for reading! <3

[Dianne]

My hatchling corns were always set up in a 10 gallon tank with securely clipped lids...they are escape artists. I mostly used toilet or paper towels tubes as hides, about the only thing small enough. I also included some branches for climbing. The ambient temps in my home were fine when I had hatchling corns, room was mid-to-upper 70’s year round. I didn’t do anything to boost humidity, but their water bowl was large enough to soak in if they chose to do so...they never did.

In my current home the winter temperatures are too cool to not provide a heat source, and my corn is a 16 year old adult. He’s set up in a Reptile Basics 3’x2’x12” cage with an Ultratherm heat mat on a Herpstat thermostat to provide a basking area of 85-87F. Ambient temps in my snake room are 74-77F. He mostly stays on the cool side of the cage except for right after a meal, and then rarely right over the heated area...mostly to the edges which read around 80F.

Ultratherm makes a small heat mat that is 6”x11” that is perfect for a 10 gallon tank or small tub (see link below). I’m using this size for Selene’s quarantine tub on a Jumpstart thermostat (link below) in an upstairs room with ambient temps of 77-79F. I think this would work pretty well for a hatchling corn.

Edit: Forgot to answer substrate...I used paper towels for hatchlings and juveniles...they are pooping machines. Easy to see waste and easy to clean.

http://www.reptilebasics.com/ultrath...ater-uth-6-x11

https://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-Ger...art+thermostat

[Bogertophis]

Yes, it's fun to watch them grow...they start off so tiny, about the size of a pencil. I've never used tubs for hatchlings- I used "shoebox" size plastic "Critter Cottages"
with the (colorful) ventilated snap-on lids, and used UTH narrow tape under one end. DO NOT OVERHEAT corn snakes...they are very different from BPs...and mostly
prefer room temperatures (mine are 70-72* in winter) but should have one corner (only) that is warmer, about 87*. Paper towels for substrate, small boxes or card-
board paper towel tube for hides, small bowl water.

If you use heat tape, please read the cautions carefully on this site (Reptile Basics) below the illustrations...I've used yards of Flexwatt for decades safely & prefer it.
I'd expect the same performance from the similar tapes sold that are other brands. http://www.reptilebasics.com/heat-tape

Corn snakes love a humid hide, & btw, you are misinformed that they need low humidity...they are from various eastern U.S. states that rain a lot- Carolinas thru Florida.
But I've even lived in the desert with corns without problems, just gave a bigger water bowl. They are EASY snakes. For my adults I use a single layer of paper towel-
(it makes it easier to roll up & change too) & on top of that, a mix of clean paper shreds & Carefresh (-which does have a somewhat dehydrating effect, it's very absorb-
ent). When they shed you can also mist the cage a few times, but in my adult's cages, they have a humid hide with moist moss...however, they don't need it as much
as they just seem to enjoy it. I consider it "habitat enrichment". I would not use moist substrate (like damp eco-earth) thru-out their cage, & honestly they normally
don't have trouble shedding even without a humid hide.

[dakski]

Like the title says, I've got a few questions about corns and I figured some of y'all would be able to help

1. If I do end up getting a corn I'll almost definitely be getting a hatchling because I just LOVE watching animals grow. I've heard that it's best to keep hatchling corns in small tubs for the first few months, and the one's I've seen recommended for them are too small for a UTH so I'm wondering if the only option would be heat tape? If so, how do you go about setting that up? This question feels weird to ask, but I'm honestly so clueless about heat tape I don't even know where to begin.

2. When they shed, what's the best way to increase humidity for them? Since they need such low humidity would it be detrimental to their health to increase humidity throughout the whole tank/tub? Is just a humidity box better?

3. I use eco earth for my BP, when I put new stuff in his tank I mix it with a bit of water so it holds more humidity, but after a week or two it's almost completely dry and I have to resort to using moss to keep the humidity up. If I were to dry out some eco earth would that be okay to use for a corn? I don't have any problems with getting a different substrate if that wouldn't work, I just thought it'd be worth asking

Thanks for reading! <3

Getting a young corn is a lot of fun. They grow fast and it is really fun to watch. A couple things to note, and then I will answer your housing question.

First, young corns are TINY! They are delicate, fast, and often defensive (although they cannot do any damage and they grow out of it really fast 99.9% of the time). I got Figment (https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...nder-Corn-Baby) at 9G and he's 5 now and about 650G and about 5FT. He was flighty, but never defensive. He's still quite active, but very calm comparatively, and he calmed down quick. Solana (https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...ow-Motley-Corn), a more recent acquisition, is now 8 months old, and we got her at 2 months old and 8G. She was defensive the first two days and during her first shed a week later and would rattle her tail and fake bite/strike with her mouth closed and hit my hand or Katie's hand. We would call he bluff and pick her right up. Once she realized we weren't going to eat her, she calmed right down. After the fist week, she's been nothing but calm since. She actually is incredibly calm for a corn snake, period. I just want you to be prepared for tiny, tiny, cuteness, nothing like a young BP. This also makes them great escape artists, so be prepared for that too.

Secondly, they grow fast and go through a lot of different food items quickly. You will need frozen mouse small pinkies, normal pinkies, small fuzzies, normal fuzzies, hoppers, weaned mice, and finally, adult mice, through the first two years of having a corn. The pinkies, fuzzies, and hoppers, will all be in the first year.

Okay, here are the answers to your questions, in order, and labeled.


1. You can keep a young corn in just about anything for the first few months. Frankly, if you want to make it easy and keep costs down, I would get a reptile designed 5 or 10 gallon enclosure. Humidity is not a big issue for corns (as you alluded to later in your post) so a screen top is fine. However, I would get a sliding screen top with lock, designed for reptiles, or a front opening tank, but a small one will work great for a while. A 10G will last for a year or so. You can get a small UTH and if your room temp is 72F+ just use that for an 84F hot spot and you are done. I prefer to keep ambient around 78F for my corns, with an 83-84F hot spot, and a 75-76F cool spot, but they are okay with room temp as long as they have an 83-85F (max 85F) hot spot to digest.

Secondly, the idea that (most) snakes need tiny tanks is a fallacy, in my mind, and from most breeder's minds that I've talked to. There are exceptions to this rule, yes, for species, and for individual snakes. However, there are advantages to larger tanks, and there are ways to make snakes feel secure. These are not always easier for the keeper, but they can and do work. Don Soderberg, from South Mountain Reptiles, and Solana's breeder, said it best to me when I asked about moving her from her 10G quarantine tank into her 3X2' life tank at 5 months of age and 20G. He said, "how much space is there in a forest in Florida, or New Jersey, or anywhere in between?" Corn snakes adapt to large environments, by finding small spaces to feel secure. To make a small corn snake, or any snake feel secure in any environment, but especially, a larger one, give them plenty of clutter and/or hiding spaces. For Solana, I have 6 hides and 2 water bowls in her 3X2' (which for reference is a little bigger than a 40G breeder - a little bit deeper). She cannot move more than 4 inches without hitting a hide.

Again, are there exceptions to this rule? Yes, I've heard Hognose snakes do not do well in large enclosures even with many hides, and BP's can struggle. However, in my experience, even with young BP's, in 4X2' tanks, give them plenty of hides, and clutter it up, and they do fine as well. The advantage of a large enclosure is that you can more easily create a temp gradient and generally more reliably create proper temp zones.

The downside of having a small snake in a big tank with many hides is finding him/her.'

In any event, in my experience, and in talking with breeders of corn snakes, BP's, and Boa's (BCC and BCI), proper humidity and temps are more important than a tight space as long as you create an environment that feels safe to them by cluttering it up and giving options to hide in different temp zones.

So, bottom line, get a cheap tank, or a tub size that works for you, get a heating element, UTH, etc. that works for you, and get some hides, and make it work for the new corn snake. Just my opinion, but I think you will be fine.

2. Corn snakes can benefit from a moist hide, but unless it's really dry, I usually just mist 1-2X a day when I know they are going to shed and their eyes clear. They don't need a lot of humidity for a successful shed. Figment has perfect sheds if humidity is 45-50% plus and I spray 1X a day or every other day to keep it 55-60% max. Solana, being scaleless, I try to mist daily when I know she's going to shed, and keep it about 60-65% for her. It's not that she needs more humidity, but I want to make sure she has a good shed. On the off chance Figment's isn't perfect, being scaled and protected by his "armor," a quick soak in some shallow warmish water with a towel over the container to increase humidity and it comes right off. I'd have to be a little more careful and gentle with Solana, so I work a little harder to ensure she has a great shed.

On humidity, corns are fine with, breathing and health wise, etc. with humidity from about 30%, give or take, to about 60-70% give to take. A good sweet spot for them is 45% or so. However, keeping a water bowl in my boaphile tanks, which hold humidity well, and offset the drying effects of the RHP, and then some, means I never spray my corn tanks, even in the dead of winter, unless they are in shed. Only exceptionally low and exceptionally high humidity exposure, for extended periods, will cause issues for corns under normal circumstances (not in shed and with proper temps, etc).

So, just increase the whole enclosure when they are going to shed (after the eyes clear) and you should have a perfect shed every time.

3. I would use printless newspaper for your corn. I use it for all my animals, but I would definitely use it for a corn, or frankly, most colubrids.

First, they have fast metabolisms. Thus, they go the bathroom A LOT! There is also a lot of it and since their metabolisms are fast, it's pretty rank. Figment, after eating a 25G mouse, can clear a room. Behira (BCI) or Shayna (BP) can eat a 115G rat, poop it out 3 weeks later, and it smells like roses compared to what Figment drops 3-4 days after eating. You are going to want to clean that up quickly and well. Trust me. My corns also love to burrow under and in between the paper layers in addition to using their hides.

Secondly, humidity, as discussed, is not a big issue for them, so you do not need a substrate the holds humidity incredibly well.

Finally, see #1 and remember that cleanliness is important with all reptiles and all reptile keeping, but especially with young animals and animals on quarantine/new animals.

I have 12 tanks and 12 animals currently. That means I want easy to maintain and easy to keep clean. That means printless newspaper for me. I don't have time spend an hour a tank changing substrate, disinfecting, etc. Someone goes; paper out, F10SC in, ten minutes later, wipe it up, spray in Healthy Habitat and get everything smelling nice, put new paper in, and done. If I had to fully clean each tank in a day it would take me 2 hours if I had to do each one in succession. Not bad. While the F10SC in disinfecting I am either handling the animal, weighing them, cleaning water bowls and hides, etc. or some combination. Very efficient. Having said all that, I usually break it up and do a couple tanks a day. So it's very manageable.


Anyway, as your collection grows, you may want to consider things like printless newspaper, less pretty tanks/barer tanks that are functional and feel safe for the occupant, but are clean and easy to maintain for you, etc.

I went on here, but I hope this helps.

Feel free to ask for clarification on anything or ask more questions.

Good luck and feel free to post or PM me if you have questions on corn morphs, breeders, etc.

[Bogertophis]

Afterthoughts:
I doubt that you can feel the bite of a hatchling corn snake...I sure can't...it's like being pecked by a small sunflower seed, their teeth are too small to feel.
Some act more defensive than others, but they catch on pretty fast...they'll be tame (not trying to bite) LONG before you can feel their teeth.

I'd avoid a reptile tank with sliding lid: most of them have just a bit of wiggle room that a tiny snake like a corn can escape thru the track. It happened to me
years ago, only it was a similarly-sized hatchling king snake...the sliding screen was locked but that little stinker slid out anyway. (I found him in a boot in my
closet...) So if you use such a cage for a hatchling, be sure that every time you open/close it, you tape the corners so the screen has no wiggle-room & cannot
move even a quarter of an inch...'cause that's plenty for escape.

One thing the hatchlings really like is shredded & fluffed paper towels to hide in (torn in strips & tossed like a salad) makes endless hiding but easy to move thru. And paper towels for substrate have traction...newspaper does not & that's why I never use it, even if it wasn't so ugly, lol.
But there's no single "right way"...many things work for corn snakes, & when they get bigger, they love branches too.

[Ditto]

Getting a young corn is a lot of fun. They grow fast and it is really fun to watch. A couple things to note, and then I will answer your housing question.

First, young corns are TINY! They are delicate, fast, and often defensive (although they cannot do any damage and they grow out of it really fast 99.9% of the time). I got Figment (https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...nder-Corn-Baby) at 9G and he's 5 now and about 650G and about 5FT. He was flighty, but never defensive. He's still quite active, but very calm comparatively, and he calmed down quick. Solana (https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...ow-Motley-Corn), a more recent acquisition, is now 8 months old, and we got her at 2 months old and 8G. She was defensive the first two days and during her first shed a week later and would rattle her tail and fake bite/strike with her mouth closed and hit my hand or Katie's hand. We would call he bluff and pick her right up. Once she realized we weren't going to eat her, she calmed right down. After the fist week, she's been nothing but calm since. She actually is incredibly calm for a corn snake, period. I just want you to be prepared for tiny, tiny, cuteness, nothing like a young BP. This also makes them great escape artists, so be prepared for that too.

Secondly, they grow fast and go through a lot of different food items quickly. You will need frozen mouse small pinkies, normal pinkies, small fuzzies, normal fuzzies, hoppers, weaned mice, and finally, adult mice, through the first two years of having a corn. The pinkies, fuzzies, and hoppers, will all be in the first year.

Okay, here are the answers to your questions, in order, and labeled.


1. You can keep a young corn in just about anything for the first few months. Frankly, if you want to make it easy and keep costs down, I would get a reptile designed 5 or 10 gallon enclosure. Humidity is not a big issue for corns (as you alluded to later in your post) so a screen top is fine. However, I would get a sliding screen top with lock, designed for reptiles, or a front opening tank, but a small one will work great for a while. A 10G will last for a year or so. You can get a small UTH and if your room temp is 72F+ just use that for an 84F hot spot and you are done. I prefer to keep ambient around 78F for my corns, with an 83-84F hot spot, and a 75-76F cool spot, but they are okay with room temp as long as they have an 83-85F (max 85F) hot spot to digest.

Secondly, the idea that (most) snakes need tiny tanks is a fallacy, in my mind, and from most breeder's minds that I've talked to. There are exceptions to this rule, yes, for species, and for individual snakes. However, there are advantages to larger tanks, and there are ways to make snakes feel secure. These are not always easier for the keeper, but they can and do work. Don Soderberg, from South Mountain Reptiles, and Solana's breeder, said it best to me when I asked about moving her from her 10G quarantine tank into her 3X2' life tank at 5 months of age and 20G. He said, "how much space is there in a forest in Florida, or New Jersey, or anywhere in between?" Corn snakes adapt to large environments, by finding small spaces to feel secure. To make a small corn snake, or any snake feel secure in any environment, but especially, a larger one, give them plenty of clutter and/or hiding spaces. For Solana, I have 6 hides and 2 water bowls in her 3X2' (which for reference is a little bigger than a 40G breeder - a little bit deeper). She cannot move more than 4 inches without hitting a hide.

Again, are there exceptions to this rule? Yes, I've heard Hognose snakes do not do well in large enclosures even with many hides, and BP's can struggle. However, in my experience, even with young BP's, in 4X2' tanks, give them plenty of hides, and clutter it up, and they do fine as well. The advantage of a large enclosure is that you can more easily create a temp gradient and generally more reliably create proper temp zones.

The downside of having a small snake in a big tank with many hides is finding him/her.'

In any event, in my experience, and in talking with breeders of corn snakes, BP's, and Boa's (BCC and BCI), proper humidity and temps are more important than a tight space as long as you create an environment that feels safe to them by cluttering it up and giving options to hide in different temp zones.

So, bottom line, get a cheap tank, or a tub size that works for you, get a heating element, UTH, etc. that works for you, and get some hides, and make it work for the new corn snake. Just my opinion, but I think you will be fine.

2. Corn snakes can benefit from a moist hide, but unless it's really dry, I usually just mist 1-2X a day when I know they are going to shed and their eyes clear. They don't need a lot of humidity for a successful shed. Figment has perfect sheds if humidity is 45-50% plus and I spray 1X a day or every other day to keep it 55-60% max. Solana, being scaleless, I try to mist daily when I know she's going to shed, and keep it about 60-65% for her. It's not that she needs more humidity, but I want to make sure she has a good shed. On the off chance Figment's isn't perfect, being scaled and protected by his "armor," a quick soak in some shallow warmish water with a towel over the container to increase humidity and it comes right off. I'd have to be a little more careful and gentle with Solana, so I work a little harder to ensure she has a great shed.

On humidity, corns are fine with, breathing and health wise, etc. with humidity from about 30%, give or take, to about 60-70% give to take. A good sweet spot for them is 45% or so. However, keeping a water bowl in my boaphile tanks, which hold humidity well, and offset the drying effects of the RHP, and then some, means I never spray my corn tanks, even in the dead of winter, unless they are in shed. Only exceptionally low and exceptionally high humidity exposure, for extended periods, will cause issues for corns under normal circumstances (not in shed and with proper temps, etc).

So, just increase the whole enclosure when they are going to shed (after the eyes clear) and you should have a perfect shed every time.

3. I would use printless newspaper for your corn. I use it for all my animals, but I would definitely use it for a corn, or frankly, most colubrids.

First, they have fast metabolisms. Thus, they go the bathroom A LOT! There is also a lot of it and since their metabolisms are fast, it's pretty rank. Figment, after eating a 25G mouse, can clear a room. Behira (BCI) or Shayna (BP) can eat a 115G rat, poop it out 3 weeks later, and it smells like roses compared to what Figment drops 3-4 days after eating. You are going to want to clean that up quickly and well. Trust me. My corns also love to burrow under and in between the paper layers in addition to using their hides.

Secondly, humidity, as discussed, is not a big issue for them, so you do not need a substrate the holds humidity incredibly well.

Finally, see #1 and remember that cleanliness is important with all reptiles and all reptile keeping, but especially with young animals and animals on quarantine/new animals.

I have 12 tanks and 12 animals currently. That means I want easy to maintain and easy to keep clean. That means printless newspaper for me. I don't have time spend an hour a tank changing substrate, disinfecting, etc. Someone goes; paper out, F10SC in, ten minutes later, wipe it up, spray in Healthy Habitat and get everything smelling nice, put new paper in, and done. If I had to fully clean each tank in a day it would take me 2 hours if I had to do each one in succession. Not bad. While the F10SC in disinfecting I am either handling the animal, weighing them, cleaning water bowls and hides, etc. or some combination. Very efficient. Having said all that, I usually break it up and do a couple tanks a day. So it's very manageable.


Anyway, as your collection grows, you may want to consider things like printless newspaper, less pretty tanks/barer tanks that are functional and feel safe for the occupant, but are clean and easy to maintain for you, etc.

I went on here, but I hope this helps.

Feel free to ask for clarification on anything or ask more questions.

Good luck and feel free to post or PM me if you have questions on corn morphs, breeders, etc.

Thank you for such an in depth reply, very helpful!
I've actually got a spare 10 gal that I wasn't sure I'd be able to use, but I think I'll give it a shot. I'm also a firm believer in no such thing as too much space for snakes (though I obviously don't have enough experience to REALLY judge that, it's just what makes sense to me), I think I'm just worried about losing such a tiny snake in a larger enclosure.
About the substrate, I don't think I'll be going with eco earth based on yours and others replies, but I'm not sure newspaper is best for me long term either. Of course the animal's needs come first and I'll be doing what's best for the snake, but the thing is I have a LOT of time on my hands lol. In my current situation I'm home every day and I have lots of time to spend on my animals, so I really have no issue taking longer to clean my tanks, and on top of that I doubt I'll be expanding my collection beyond 2-3 snakes for a while due to limited space. And of course I'm not trying to argue or say that your way is the wrong way, because I'm absolutely sure it isn't! I prefer more decorated enclosures and have the time to care for them, and honestly I think most enclosure types and substrates are okay as long as the animal is well cared for and thriving, but I've only been doing this a few months and this is just my opinion
I've heard it's best to start new/young snakes on paper towels or newspaper to better monitor their bowel movements and such, so I think that's what I would start out using, if this is correct? I didn't do this with my ball python, but I have a feeling I should have..

And a question I forgot to ask in my original post, do they prefer tight hides like ball pythons or do they do okay with more open/loose ones?
Thank you again! <3

[Ditto]

Afterthoughts:
I doubt that you can feel the bite of a hatchling corn snake...I sure can't...it's like being pecked by a small sunflower seed, their teeth are too small to feel.
Some act more defensive than others, but they catch on pretty fast...they'll be tame (not trying to bite) LONG before you can feel their teeth.

I'd avoid a reptile tank with sliding lid: most of them have just a bit of wiggle room that a tiny snake like a corn can escape thru the track. It happened to me
years ago, only it was a similarly-sized hatchling king snake...the sliding screen was locked but that little stinker slid out anyway. (I found him in a boot in my
closet...) So if you use such a cage for a hatchling, be sure that every time you open/close it, you tape the corners so the screen has no wiggle-room & cannot
move even a quarter of an inch...'cause that's plenty for escape.

One thing the hatchlings really like is shredded & fluffed paper towels to hide in (torn in strips & tossed like a salad) makes endless hiding but easy to move thru. And paper towels for substrate have traction...newspaper does not & that's why I never use it, even if it wasn't so ugly, lol.
But there's no single "right way"...many things work for corn snakes, & when they get bigger, they love branches too.

Ohh yeah I don't think I'm worried about them being nippy, I've been tagged a few times by my bp and barely felt it, I couldn't imagine a tiny little baby like that being much worse lol
Oh man that's scary! Definitely gonna be taking some extra precaution, anything that small has gotta be tough to find!

[dakski]

Afterthoughts:
I doubt that you can feel the bite of a hatchling corn snake...I sure can't...it's like being pecked by a small sunflower seed, their teeth are too small to feel.
Some act more defensive than others, but they catch on pretty fast...they'll be tame (not trying to bite) LONG before you can feel their teeth.

I'd avoid a reptile tank with sliding lid: most of them have just a bit of wiggle room that a tiny snake like a corn can escape thru the track. It happened to me
years ago, only it was a similarly-sized hatchling king snake...the sliding screen was locked but that little stinker slid out anyway. (I found him in a boot in my
closet...) So if you use such a cage for a hatchling, be sure that every time you open/close it, you tape the corners so the screen has no wiggle-room & cannot
move even a quarter of an inch...'cause that's plenty for escape.

One thing the hatchlings really like is shredded & fluffed paper towels to hide in (torn in strips & tossed like a salad) makes endless hiding but easy to move thru. And paper towels for substrate have traction...newspaper does not & that's why I never use it, even if it wasn't so ugly, lol.
But there's no single "right way"...many things work for corn snakes, & when they get bigger, they love branches too.

Good point on the sliding lid. I hadn't thought of that. I kept Solana in a front opening acrylic tank and then the boaphile. By the time she was in the boaphile she was way too big to get through the side vents or the slits in the door for ventilation.

Thank you for watching my back on that one. Would hate for Ditto to have a bad experience on my account.

[dakski]

Thank you for such an in depth reply, very helpful!
I've actually got a spare 10 gal that I wasn't sure I'd be able to use, but I think I'll give it a shot. I'm also a firm believer in no such thing as too much space for snakes (though I obviously don't have enough experience to REALLY judge that, it's just what makes sense to me), I think I'm just worried about losing such a tiny snake in a larger enclosure.
About the substrate, I don't think I'll be going with eco earth based on yours and others replies, but I'm not sure newspaper is best for me long term either. Of course the animal's needs come first and I'll be doing what's best for the snake, but the thing is I have a LOT of time on my hands lol. In my current situation I'm home every day and I have lots of time to spend on my animals, so I really have no issue taking longer to clean my tanks, and on top of that I doubt I'll be expanding my collection beyond 2-3 snakes for a while due to limited space. And of course I'm not trying to argue or say that your way is the wrong way, because I'm absolutely sure it isn't! I prefer more decorated enclosures and have the time to care for them, and honestly I think most enclosure types and substrates are okay as long as the animal is well cared for and thriving, but I've only been doing this a few months and this is just my opinion
I've heard it's best to start new/young snakes on paper towels or newspaper to better monitor their bowel movements and such, so I think that's what I would start out using, if this is correct? I didn't do this with my ball python, but I have a feeling I should have..

And a question I forgot to ask in my original post, do they prefer tight hides like ball pythons or do they do okay with more open/loose ones?
Thank you again! <3

Paper towels to start are fine.

Tight hides are much better for them as well.

However, there is a work around if you want to put a few different size hides in, or get a few larger ones for him/her to grow into.

I have a few extra small hides for Solana, but she prefers the small hides instead. They are huge for her, but I have stuffed them with paper towels. She gets in there and wedges herself between the walls of the hide and the crumpled up paper towels (I kind of ball it up tight and put in the hide and let it expand into the space that's available in the hide). She loves that! She feels really safe in those hides. The paper towels block out the light and she feels nice and tight and protected. Her whole body is touching something. Don Soderberg suggested that.

For what's worth, I tried that with Shayna, my BP, as well, and added a large hide in her tank, in addition to the mediums that were in there. She really seems to like it too.

[Bogertophis]

Another afterthought (& you probably know)- screen top is best...ventilation! So yes, I use glass tanks & your 10 gal. is fine for some time with a hatchling.
They like tight hides as dakski already said...you can use a larger hide & stuff w/ paper towel, crumpled or shredded as I described. Corns aren't terribly fussy-
they're easy to live with. But just like other baby snakes, feed first without handling...most take f/t very well. (pinky mice)