Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok my husbamd just purchased a corn snake that has now become my responsibility since he is in the service and always traveling. Anyway the lady who sold him to us said that his UV light stays on at all times but now im reading that it doesnt, then she said that 75-80 degrees is perfect but im seeing diffrent sights that say 85-95, and the last thing is she also told me not to use a heating matt underneath the tank or at all because it can harm them but now i have read that i should..The way she wsa telling me to care for him is how she has been careing for him for atleast 4 to 5 months and i really dont know what is right and what is wrong can anyone help me please i dont want to put this little guy through any un-needed stress

Mine are all kept with heat provided buy an under tank heat pad. I use heat tape in a rack type setup, but it is basically the same thing as a heat pad. The heat pad is kept at around 85 with the other side of the tank kept at room temperature.

Also don't leave a light on constantly. They need a photoperiod of between 12/12 and 14/10 hours light/dark. Constant light can be a source of stress.

that cornsnakes have no known need for UV light....tens of thousands have been bred and lived long, healthy lives without it. Save the expensive UV bulbs for your diurnal lizards!
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

The Avalanche has already started-it is too late for the pebbles to vote....

i have UTH on couple of my corns and just a basic light on my others. 40wt bulb at the most. the lights are on timers and go on and off so they get a night time. i've never had a UV light on any of my snakes. they dont' need it but they do need a natural day / night cycle.

also IMHO 85-95 degrees is way to hot for corn snakes. in fact my ghost corn does not like UTH's. he likes it cooler. all i have on him is a light from a 10 gallon fish tank even though he's in a 40 gallon size tank (loves the room). we keep our house temp around 76-77 degrees and thats fine with mine. in the SW deserts it doesnt' get that cold here.

just my 2 cents.

I agree with everyone else's replies. If you use a heat pad, put it under one end of the tank so the snake can choose the temperature it wants. It is also a good idea to put a hide box at each end so it can feel secure at whatever temp it chooses.

I don't use lights on my snake cages. Just what comes in the window, and the indoor lights is what they get, and they do fine. I bred cornsnakes a few years back for the first time using this setup.

These are pictures of my first hatchlings in August 2004.

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Kent

Just a little info for you I know most have already said most of this. I dont use any special lighting with my corns at all havnt for over five years. The only time I use under tank heat is in the winter with my hatchlings unless I keep the shoe boxes in the living room instead of the reptile room. I recomend you pick up a corn snake book or two alot of them will tell you the same thing but its always good to have a couple peoples input. Thinks my first year or so I carried the corn snake manuel around in my back pocket every day every where I went. lol
Tom