Reptile & Amphibian Forums

And not sure what to do. We just got a baby cornsnake yesterday and he is doing fine so far. But we are going out of town for the weekend Friday. Which light should I leave on for him? The day heat light, or the night heat light? He should eat on thursday, and I'm going to put an extra water bowl in, just in case he poops in one. It that ok? Should I leave both lights on? Thanks for the help.

Circe

You could place both lights on timers and save yourself teh trouble of manually truning lights on and off, or worrying about such while vacationing. If such is not a possibility, I would either leave the night light on or the light within the room.
One thing I have always enjoyed about keeping snakes is the luxury of being able to leave for a week and not worry.
Also, I am certain the water within your existing water dish will be plenty for the weekend.

Now, go enjoy your weekend!

jeff
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Jeff Snodgres
University of Arkansas
snodgresjeffreys@uams.edu
501.603.1947

I agree, and I would point out that unless you've tried leaving both lights on for a day or more while you're there to monitor them, you don't know how hot the cage might get...

What are the temps with the lights off? Does ANY natural light get into the snake's room/area? If so, the night light may keep the temps fine with even just a tiny bit of natural light offering a natural day/night cycle. I agree that one of the great things about keeping snakes is that you can go away for several days and with just a little planning they should be OK. I think the extra water bowl is a good idea, for just the reason you mentioned.

Generally snakes should not be heated with a heat lamp.
They do not need a basking lamp, and often are uncomfortable with a basking lamp.

They should have a heat source under one side of the tank that is controlled by a thermostat. The water dish should be on the opposite side of the tank. This allows them to thermoregulate.

You can get an on/off thermostat for 20 to 30 that controlls an under the tank heating pad.

As far as day light goes, snakes do not need UVB/UVA lamps at all. It doesn't hurt, but if provided, it should be on an on/off timer.

My recomondation - don't feed him. If he regurgitates for whatever reason, the regurgitated food in his tank will start to rot and give off gases that will make him even worse.

I'd suggest leaving both lights off since you are just going to be gone for the weekend, and feed him when you get back. Then set him up with an under the tank heat source controlled by a thermostat, and ditch the heat light.
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3.0 WC; 0.2 CB L. getula californiae
0.1 WC; 10 eggs (7/11) Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata