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Corn snake enclosure setup and heating
I was looking at getting a reptile basics 18x34x18 as my corn snake's new cage by I have a question about heating. I keep my snake's enclosure in my room since there is really no other place to put her and generally when I'm sleeping at night I keep my room pretty cool around the high 60's or so so my question is would an rhp work to raise the ambient temperature in the cage and then use heat tape or a mat to make a basking spot and would that work or is there any other things I can try out to achieve the right temps?
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High 60's at night is actually fine for a corn snake, as long as you have a good UTH on one end of the cage with hides on warm & cool sides. Corn mostly
prefer temps about 70-73* & use UTH as needed for digestion. What are the day time temps in your room? Be careful you don't over-heat a corn snake,
they aren't like BPs at all. (I currently have 5, & have raised quite a few in previous years.) The nice thing about many colubrids is that you don't have to
be so worried about the whole cage being so warm. During the day, & only IF you need a little more warmth, use a low wattage incandescent light with a
dimmer (rheostat) control switch in an over-head dome-light fixture, but this is best for when your corn snake gets bigger since hatchlings aren't always brave
enough for branches, but as corn & many rat snakes grow, they love branches. Again, just don't over-do the heat, the area in the cage over the UTH should
not exceed 85*, & unless you live in an igloo you want the UTH to be roughly one sixth of the cage floor.
Last edited by Bogertophis; 05-18-2019 at 10:17 PM.
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Re: Corn snake enclosure setup and heating
heat mat on a thermostat
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Registered User
Re: Corn snake enclosure setup and heating
Originally Posted by Bogertophis
High 60's at night is actually fine for a corn snake, as long as you have a good UTH on one end of the cage with hides on warm & cool sides. Corn mostly
prefer temps about 70-73* & use UTH as needed for digestion. What are the day time temps in your room? Be careful you don't over-heat a corn snake,
they aren't like BPs at all. (I currently have 5, & have raised quite a few in previous years.) The nice thing about many colubrids is that you don't have to
be so worried about the whole cage being so warm. During the day, & only IF you need a little more warmth, use a low wattage incandescent light with a
dimmer (rheostat) control switch in an over-head dome-light fixture, but this is best for when your corn snake gets bigger since hatchlings aren't always brave
enough for branches, but as corn & many rat snakes grow, they love branches. Again, just don't over-do the heat, the area in the cage over the UTH should
not exceed 85*, & unless you live in an igloo you want the UTH to be roughly one sixth of the cage floor.
I work 3rd so I'm up at night but when I'm not sleeping I dont run the air conditioner and the ambient temps are probably around the low 70's with the ceiling fan running. I worry about wintertime because that's when the temps really drop but I can always use a heater to heat up my room somewhat. Right now I'm just using a dome fixture with a ceramic emitter on the hot side that's connected to a dimmer so I can control the output
Last edited by BillyBlanco; 05-18-2019 at 10:25 PM.
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Re: Corn snake enclosure setup and heating
Originally Posted by BillyBlanco
I work 3rd so I'm up at night but when I'm not sleeping I dont run the air conditioner and the ambient temps are probably around the low 70's with the ceiling fan running. I worry about wintertime because that's when the temps really drop but I can always use a heater to heat up my room somewhat. Right now I'm just using a dome fixture with a ceramic emitter on the hot side that's connected to a dimmer so I can control the output
The main thing is to have the heat where a snake will & can use it, & since heat rises, over-head heat is not very efficient, nor well utilized by hatchling snakes.
You might consider some insulation on the external sides & bottom of the enclosure in winter, to hold the warmth in...but every situation is different, so get accurate
temps. & make adjustments as needed for your room temps. Corn snakes are FAR more forgiving of cooler or variable temps. than BPs are, so IMO you chose the right
kind of snake.
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Registered User
Re: Corn snake enclosure setup and heating
Yea, I had pet corn snakes in the past that I've just caught in my house and had them for a couple years with no issues but I think alot of my paranoia and anxiety came from the ball python I had which didnt fair to well due to the struggle I had trying to keep its enclosure just right.
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Re: Corn snake enclosure setup and heating
Originally Posted by BillyBlanco
Yea, I had pet corn snakes in the past that I've just caught in my house and had them for a couple years with no issues but I think alot of my paranoia and anxiety came from the ball python I had which didnt fair to well due to the struggle I had trying to keep its enclosure just right.
Lucky you, snakes just invade your place? I used to find tiny night lizards in my former (So. Calif.) house, but no snakes. Darn!
BPs are much harder to keep, & even with everything perfect, they still often fast & drive keepers crazy. I've had BPs in the past, I much prefer other snakes, mostly
colubrids now- they do well with my typical ambient house temperature of 70* in winter (all have UTH heat & some have added over-head warmth as needed).
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Registered User
Re: Corn snake enclosure setup and heating
Originally Posted by Bogertophis
Lucky you, snakes just invade your place? I used to find tiny night lizards in my former (So. Calif.) house, but no snakes. Darn!
BPs are much harder to keep, & even with everything perfect, they still often fast & drive keepers crazy. I've had BPs in the past, I much prefer other snakes, mostly
colubrids now- they do well with my typical ambient house temperature of 70* in winter (all have UTH heat & some have added over-head warmth as needed).
I live out in the country in the middle of VA so I'm surrounded by snakes and pretty much they usually find their way into our basement and chill out. There was a black snake down there not to long ago but I left him alone. My first snake was a baby corn snake that happen to be out on our front step trying to get in the house and this was during the fall season so I took her or him in and I had that snake for maybe 3 or 4 years and for being a wild snake it would let me reach in and pick it up after awhile. It eventually got free because my mom found an exo terra cage at Goodwill for like 10$ but after handling one day I forgot to close the front doors and he got away. I pretty much did no heat for him and I had no issues. Would always eat when i had food even coming up to the glass waiting for it and then would look at me wanting more. That's pretty much why i got another one because they're so easy to manage and handle but the ball python i got was way more then what i thought it would be
Last edited by BillyBlanco; 05-18-2019 at 11:17 PM.
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Re: Corn snake enclosure setup and heating
Originally Posted by BillyBlanco
I live out in the country so I'm surrounded by snakes pretty much and they usually find their way into our basement and chill out. There was a black snake down there not to long ago but I left him alone. My first snake was a baby corn snake that happen to be out on our front step trying to get in the house and this was during the fall season so I took her or him in and I had that snake for maybe 3 or 4 years and for being a wild snake it would let me reach in and pick it up after awhile. It eventually got free because my mom found an exo terra cage at Goodwill for like 10$ but after handling one day I forgot to close the front doors and he got away. I pretty much did no heat for him and I had no issues. Would always eat when i had food even coming up to the glass waiting for it and then would look at me wanting more. That's pretty much why i got another one because they're so easy to manage and handle but the ball python i got was way more then what i thought it would be
All snakes need some additional heat for digestion & for their immune system to function optimally (to keep them healthy). Corn snakes don't need as much, but
they do need some. UTH is very cheap to run, to give them a warm optional area of about 85*. The fact that one survived without heat is like saying you can live
in prison on bread & water...that's not the best life & I'm sorry, but when you keep a snake captive, you owe them better than "no heat"...their bodies have evolved
to thermo-regulate...they need options. They cannot tell you how bad they feel internally...so please don't keep a pet snake if you aren't willing to provide
proper care.
Last edited by Bogertophis; 05-18-2019 at 11:25 PM.
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Registered User
Re: Corn snake enclosure setup and heating
Originally Posted by Bogertophis
All snakes need some additional heat for digestion & for their immune system to function optimally (to keep them healthy). Corn snakes don't need as much, but
they do need some. UTH is very cheap to run, to give them a warm optional area of about 85*. The fact that one survived without heat is like saying you can live
in prison on bread & water...that's not the best life & I'm sorry, but when you keep a snake captive, you owe them better than "no heat"...their bodies have evolved
to thermo-regulate...they need options.
I my room at that time was on the other side of the house that saw more sun and got alot warmer and it also shared a wall with the chimney so trying to keep the house warm sent off heat into my room to the point where I had to open the windows and have a fan running trying to keep it cool during the winter. I did have a small uth for him but this was back in 2011 or so and I cant remember what temps was running but I kept it on a dimmer so it wouldn't get to hot.
Last edited by BillyBlanco; 05-18-2019 at 11:34 PM.
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