Post by Reptile Dill on Oct 20, 2012 20:17:58 GMT -5
Back when I first opened up the original Reptile World blog, I started what I called "The Simple Care Sheet Series". These care sheets are the basics for caring for a certain species. This thread is the collection of all the current care sheets in the Simple Care Sheet series. I'll post the most recent care sheet in the series in it's entirety on this OP, otherwise click the link to access the animal you'd like to view.
Ball Python: Simple Care Sheet 1-Click here!
Leopard Gecko: Simple Care Sheet 2-Click here!
Burmese Python: Simple Care Sheet 3-Click here!
Corn Snake: Simple Care Sheet 4-Click here!
Also! Feel free to suggest and request care sheets you'd like to have in the series
[glow=red,2,300]Corn Snake Care Sheet[/glow]
About
Corn snakes are medium sized colubrids from southern United States. They are part of the rat snake species and are also commonly referred to as the red rat snake. Being a colubrid, they are a slender snake, but pretty long in length. Typically ranging from 4-5 feet with some rare specimens reaching up to 6 feet. Today they have many morphs available, and because they breed easily and lay many eggs, many morphs are available at fairly cheap prices. They are fairly long lived snakes, living up to 25 years in captivity.
Housing
The housing of corn snakes is pretty basic. Baby and juveniles can be housed in standard 10 gallon aquariums. As adults, corn snakes should be housed in atleast a 20 gallon long aquarium, of course though larger tanks are acceptable. I don’t suggest going past a 55 gallon though, just for the snake to feel more secure in it’s home. If you must use something larger, be sure to use several hides in the terrarium to make it feel secure to the snake.
On that subject, your snake should atleast have one hide in their terrarium on the hot side (the side with the UTH, which I’ll get to later). If you have the room, put another on the cool side, however, on the cool side you should have the water dish. The dish should be a sizable dish for the snake to soak in. For my snakes, I use dog dishes I get at the dollar store because they are large and cheaper than the reptile specialty dishes. Change the water atleast every 2-3 days.
There are several suitable substrates available for corn snakes. The basic and best all around is probably aspen bedding, as it will hold a little bit of humidity, it’s fairly cheap, it’s readily available, easy to clean, and doesn’t look too bad either. Reptile bark is also suitable. It will hold humidity better and gives the tank a more naturalistic look, however, it’s a bit more expensive. Paper towels are acceptable aswell, they are cheap and are just very basic setup. Reptile carpet is also another choice. Never use pine or cedar beddings as they have oils that are toxic and bad for snakes. Be sure to change the bedding at least once a month with spot cleaning regularly.
Lighting, Heating, and Humidity
Corn snake temperatures should be between 80-85 degrees ambient temperatures (temperatures through the entire cage) and the hot spot (one half) should be around 93-95 degrees. Humidity should be around 40-50% for corn snakes. Daily misting will assist with this. Also, try using sphagnum moss. This moss will hold humidity very well if you’re having trouble. During shedding times, you can bump humidity up to around 60%.
There is really not that much in the category of lighting for corn snakes. Corn snakes do not require any specific lighting, such as UVB. However, if you wish to use a heat lamp as a source for correct ambient temperatures, then this is fine. I suggest 50 watts at the most for ambient temps between 80 and 85 degrees.
The best source of heating for a corn snake, and most snakes in general, is the use of a UTH or undertank heater. Stick these underneath your tank and they should supply the correct temperatures, around 93-95 degrees. I personally suggest using Zoo-med’s repti-therm. I’ve had the best success with these.
As anyone will tell you, always be sure to avoid heat rocks. These heat sources are directly on the reptile without any control to the temperature. These have constant risks of burning your snake. Never use heat rocks.
Brumation, or hibernation for snakes, is not necessary for captive corn snakes unless you plan to breed, which I will not get into in this simple care sheet.
Shedding Snakes
I’ll quickly cover snakes shedding. You’ll first notice a pinkish tinge on their belly. After this the snake will begin to dull out and their eyes will become a light milky blue colour, known as “the blue”. In this state, it’s advised not to handle or feed them because their senses are slightly dulled, and you may risk a chance of being bitten, or the food being ignored. Some snakes will eat in the blue though, so it never hurts to try. And I’ve handled my snakes deep into the blue without ever being bitten by them. The whole shedding process can take up to 2 weeks, but may be as short as 5-7 days.
During this time, corn snake humidity should be around 60%, otherwise you risk the chance of a dry shed. In this occurrence, simply soak the snake in luke-warm water and lightly stroke the skin off.
Feeding
Babies will eat mouse pinkies. Adults will eat adult mice. So starting with the pinkies, gradually move up your snake through the levels, pinkies, fuzzies, hoppers, adults. Large corn snakes may take rat pups or pinkies.
There are three methods you can go. The safest being frozen/thawed feeding. You can either freeze your own or purchase prepackaged frozen food. Thaw them out in a warm cup of water and feed them to your snake. This is the safest, no risk of parasites or rodent attacks.
Prekilled is the next safest method. This would involve you having to kill a fresh mouse and then feeding it to your snake. This reduces the greatest risk of rodent bites, but doesn’t reduce the very slim risk of parasites the rodent may have.
Finally, live feeding. A very controversial method. Most argue it’s very dangerous, however, I’ve been feeding live ever since I got my snakes with no problems ever. However, if you feed live, there are several precautions you MUST take. Please view the guide to Feeding Live Rodents, located in the Care sheets category of this blog.
Feeding should be done every 5-7 days and maybe every 2 weeks as adults.
Wrap-up
So in conclusion, corn snakes really are a great beginners snake. Corn snakes come in such a variety aswell. Their relatively small size and great dispositions are very easy snakes to care for. If you’re new to snakes and are looking at purchasing one, corn snakes should be one at the very top of your list.
All of the writing in this care sheet is of my personal background knowledge and are solely my ideas. No copyright infringement intended.
Ball Python: Simple Care Sheet 1-Click here!
Leopard Gecko: Simple Care Sheet 2-Click here!
Burmese Python: Simple Care Sheet 3-Click here!
Corn Snake: Simple Care Sheet 4-Click here!
Also! Feel free to suggest and request care sheets you'd like to have in the series
[glow=red,2,300]Corn Snake Care Sheet[/glow]
About
Corn snakes are medium sized colubrids from southern United States. They are part of the rat snake species and are also commonly referred to as the red rat snake. Being a colubrid, they are a slender snake, but pretty long in length. Typically ranging from 4-5 feet with some rare specimens reaching up to 6 feet. Today they have many morphs available, and because they breed easily and lay many eggs, many morphs are available at fairly cheap prices. They are fairly long lived snakes, living up to 25 years in captivity.
Housing
The housing of corn snakes is pretty basic. Baby and juveniles can be housed in standard 10 gallon aquariums. As adults, corn snakes should be housed in atleast a 20 gallon long aquarium, of course though larger tanks are acceptable. I don’t suggest going past a 55 gallon though, just for the snake to feel more secure in it’s home. If you must use something larger, be sure to use several hides in the terrarium to make it feel secure to the snake.
On that subject, your snake should atleast have one hide in their terrarium on the hot side (the side with the UTH, which I’ll get to later). If you have the room, put another on the cool side, however, on the cool side you should have the water dish. The dish should be a sizable dish for the snake to soak in. For my snakes, I use dog dishes I get at the dollar store because they are large and cheaper than the reptile specialty dishes. Change the water atleast every 2-3 days.
There are several suitable substrates available for corn snakes. The basic and best all around is probably aspen bedding, as it will hold a little bit of humidity, it’s fairly cheap, it’s readily available, easy to clean, and doesn’t look too bad either. Reptile bark is also suitable. It will hold humidity better and gives the tank a more naturalistic look, however, it’s a bit more expensive. Paper towels are acceptable aswell, they are cheap and are just very basic setup. Reptile carpet is also another choice. Never use pine or cedar beddings as they have oils that are toxic and bad for snakes. Be sure to change the bedding at least once a month with spot cleaning regularly.
Lighting, Heating, and Humidity
Corn snake temperatures should be between 80-85 degrees ambient temperatures (temperatures through the entire cage) and the hot spot (one half) should be around 93-95 degrees. Humidity should be around 40-50% for corn snakes. Daily misting will assist with this. Also, try using sphagnum moss. This moss will hold humidity very well if you’re having trouble. During shedding times, you can bump humidity up to around 60%.
There is really not that much in the category of lighting for corn snakes. Corn snakes do not require any specific lighting, such as UVB. However, if you wish to use a heat lamp as a source for correct ambient temperatures, then this is fine. I suggest 50 watts at the most for ambient temps between 80 and 85 degrees.
The best source of heating for a corn snake, and most snakes in general, is the use of a UTH or undertank heater. Stick these underneath your tank and they should supply the correct temperatures, around 93-95 degrees. I personally suggest using Zoo-med’s repti-therm. I’ve had the best success with these.
As anyone will tell you, always be sure to avoid heat rocks. These heat sources are directly on the reptile without any control to the temperature. These have constant risks of burning your snake. Never use heat rocks.
Brumation, or hibernation for snakes, is not necessary for captive corn snakes unless you plan to breed, which I will not get into in this simple care sheet.
Shedding Snakes
I’ll quickly cover snakes shedding. You’ll first notice a pinkish tinge on their belly. After this the snake will begin to dull out and their eyes will become a light milky blue colour, known as “the blue”. In this state, it’s advised not to handle or feed them because their senses are slightly dulled, and you may risk a chance of being bitten, or the food being ignored. Some snakes will eat in the blue though, so it never hurts to try. And I’ve handled my snakes deep into the blue without ever being bitten by them. The whole shedding process can take up to 2 weeks, but may be as short as 5-7 days.
During this time, corn snake humidity should be around 60%, otherwise you risk the chance of a dry shed. In this occurrence, simply soak the snake in luke-warm water and lightly stroke the skin off.
Feeding
Babies will eat mouse pinkies. Adults will eat adult mice. So starting with the pinkies, gradually move up your snake through the levels, pinkies, fuzzies, hoppers, adults. Large corn snakes may take rat pups or pinkies.
There are three methods you can go. The safest being frozen/thawed feeding. You can either freeze your own or purchase prepackaged frozen food. Thaw them out in a warm cup of water and feed them to your snake. This is the safest, no risk of parasites or rodent attacks.
Prekilled is the next safest method. This would involve you having to kill a fresh mouse and then feeding it to your snake. This reduces the greatest risk of rodent bites, but doesn’t reduce the very slim risk of parasites the rodent may have.
Finally, live feeding. A very controversial method. Most argue it’s very dangerous, however, I’ve been feeding live ever since I got my snakes with no problems ever. However, if you feed live, there are several precautions you MUST take. Please view the guide to Feeding Live Rodents, located in the Care sheets category of this blog.
Feeding should be done every 5-7 days and maybe every 2 weeks as adults.
Wrap-up
So in conclusion, corn snakes really are a great beginners snake. Corn snakes come in such a variety aswell. Their relatively small size and great dispositions are very easy snakes to care for. If you’re new to snakes and are looking at purchasing one, corn snakes should be one at the very top of your list.
All of the writing in this care sheet is of my personal background knowledge and are solely my ideas. No copyright infringement intended.