I'm going to be getting my first corn snake, which will actually be my first snake, in about a week and I'd like some input on my setup. I also have a few questions in regards to feeding as well as sanitizing my terrarium.



The Terrarium

The terrarium will be a 30g aquarium that measures 36"Lx12"Wx17"H, I had from when I kept fish. It was stored outside, rained on significantly, and became very dirty, with lots of algae growth on the bottom (the bottom side of the glass, not the “floor” of the tank but it was kept upside down and never made contact with the ground.



Cleaning

I started by washing it with just water to remove all of the surface dirt, then I washed it again with a 1:4 solution of vinegar:water to clean the glass. Follow by several more times with just water until I couldn't smell the vinegar and then one more time on top of that for good measure. I let it dry on a clean surface in the sun. Next, I purchased some Wipe Out 1 and cleaned it, inside and out, as per the directions, followed by another heavy water washing. After that, I felt it was safe to take it inside where I cleaned it with Wipe Out 1 once more.



That's the state it sits in now. My question is if that is sufficient or if I should wash it with water and Wipe Out 1 a few more times before I introduce the animal?



The Setup

The tank will be filled 2 inches deep with Repti Bark; an Exo Terra 16 Watt heat pad to one side, three hide boxes, a large, stable water dish filled half the snake’s width of bottled water, digital thermometer, large piece of grape wood for climbing and a large fake mandarin plant for extra cover. It'll also have a screen top.



As the snake will be quite small when I receive it, about 6-10inches, I'm a little worried about it escaping, so I'm considering applying a 3-inch lip of plastic wrap all the way around the top of the aquarium as well as a weighed down screen top mentioned above. Are there any foreseeable problems with this?



Diagram



Another concern is that it may burrow causing me to think it had escaped, tearing apart the house to look for it only to discover it hanging out happy as a clam still inside the terrarium.



Feeding

I've read a ton of articles and guides that say baby Corn Snakes should be fed up to twice a week, sometimes they mention how many pinkies they feed to their example snake, but they never explain how to gauge how many your snake needs. I'd like the snake to grow as quickly as possible without risking its health.

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