Reptile & Amphibian Forums

im planning to get a baby corn snake, but im trying to learn everything i can at first.
i think so far i have everything needed for the snake.
i have a 20 long tank with a screen top. and four green mats for the bottom, i bought four in order to wash one, i would have a few spares...LOL
i also have some aspen, and jungle mix, but i was not sure if they were good bedding for a corn.
i have 2 thermometers on the tank one for the basking side, and one for the cooler side.
i also put in a humidity guage, didnt know if a corn needed one but i had an extra so i popped it in the tank.
i also have 2 hide boxes, and a sand blasted grapevine branch for him to climb on.
of course the water dish.
full spectrum flourescant light, and a basking light, and a night light..... i also have a ceramic heating bulb(if needed).

ok..... heres my question, the snake i have been looking at is about 10 inches to a ft long.... the girl in the shop said they eat once a week......... is that correct? should he be fed more than once a week or less?

this will be my first snake so i am looking for all the info i can find before getting the snake, also i plan to feed the snake frozen prey, will they eat frozen prey ok? the girl at the shop said she was having a problem at first but now they are eating them ok.
im pretty good with reptiles, i have 4 iguanas, max a 5 ft male, argentina a four ft female, brazil a 2 ft unknown sex... and belize a 16 inch baby...... and also a trantula, ferrets, sugar glider, cats and a dog

Hi. I'm no expert but have 3 corns my self. I house my bigger corns in 20 gallon long tanks. My baby zig-zag I started in a 5 gallon size and she is now in a 10 gallon. You don't want to big of an enclosure when they are so small. They can get 'lost' in it and sometimes won't feed. Some folks use a shoe box size.
I have her on that green carpet stuff then paper towels over that. She loves to hide under the paper towels plus it absorbes the waist matter better.
Hide boxes are very good. Mine love paper towel rolls.
In my opinion they don't really need all that lighting. I don't know where you live but here in arizona it don't get so cold to have to worry about to much extra heat sorce. I just have UTH's on my bigger corns and even then they tend to stay on the cooler side alot. I took their lights off since they hid all the time. Now my bigger ones come out more in the day.
Feeding once a week sound right although I feed my baby sometimes every 5-6 days. F/T is the best since you don't have to worry about the pray turning into the predator and doing damage to your snake. It does happen.
If you don't already have it get the 'Corn Snake Manuel' by Kathy Love. Great book. Enjoy your new baby. :0)

I have a 3 year old corn snake (Snakey) in a 40 gallon. He's in there with my 5 year old Ball Python (Sosa). They love curling up together under a shoe box I put in there. I have a heat strip on one side of the tank and a 150 watt ZooMed light (with the metal lamp shade) on top of the tank. I turn the lamp off at night...but the heat strip is always on. Frozen mice are great...they won't put up a fight and feeding once a week is fine. I recommend feeding the snake outside of the tank so it doesn't think food is coming every time you put your hand in the tank. Corns are great snakes and excellent first snakes. Good luck!

once a week should be fine as long as you feed him a good size rodent. sounds like you have everything set up really well Good luck

Derek

I suspect that you will find your new snake to be one of your easiest pets ever. Once a week is fine. As suggested above, a young corn can be fed every 5 or 6 days if you wish. With a new snake, you should probably try to let it settle in for a week or two before handling it a bunch. After that, make sure that you give it a couple of days of peace and quiet after each feeding before handling. If you handle a snake too soon after feeding it (especially a new snake) there is always the chance that it will regurge, and that's NOT good.

One of the above posts mentions a corn in with a ball python. Please be advised that, if and when you get a second snake, one per cage is always best. And mixing species is generally a BAD idea.

I almost always suggest finding out if a reptile show comes to your area (click on Events, above). You will find much variety and usually the best value for your dollar there. But if you have your heart set on the one in the store, that's fine also. You might ask them when "feeding day" is. You probably don't want to bring the snake home within 48 hours of its last meal, and/or you could ask to see for yourself that the snake is eating. Non-eating can be a problem with baby corns sometimes, but it has been my experience that once they get going, they are great eaters.

Sounds like you have all your bases covered and have done your homework. Probably don't need the UV, but it certainly can't hurt. You could eventually simply use it for when you are observing if you wish. Duffy

General thought is that housing different breeds of snakes together is bad, because they could spread sickness. Sure, there is always a chance...however, there is nothing better than seeing two totally opposite snakes become brothers...as long as you keep a close eye on them for a while, until they are in there for a while, all can be well...and I do feed them in separate locations.

with the frozen mice, whats the best way to thaw them for the snake to eat, i was told to put them on the heating source.... i was thinking just let them thaw or in warm water maybe.
also do i need to use calcium dust and vitamins???
thanks to everyone with the info

I soak the mice in hot tap water until they are soft...then I dump the water and put the mouse under hot tap water just before I feed the snake. Some snakes need the mouse to be warm, so it resembles a real live mouse...my corn snake (Snakey) will eat just about any mouse...hot or cold! However...after feeding Snakey white mice for a year, he refused a black mouse last week...this can happen when a snake gets used to one type of mouse...however, he ate a black mouse this week...I suggest giving your new snake different colors of mice, so it gets used to all colors...there's no telling when you'll only be able to get one color in mice!

It is not a good idea to mix species. Snakes do not need extra calcium. They get it from the bones of their food item. Snakes don't need UV lighting either. If you want a light on the tank, save yourself some money and use a regular light bulb.
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1.1.20 albino burms (male also labyrinth)
1.1 normal burms
1.2 ball pythons
1.1 spotted pythons
1.2 albino corn snakes (1 female snow)
0.1 house snake
1.2 kenyen sand boas
1.0 guyana red tail boa
1.0 amazon tree boa
1.1 everglades rat snakes
1.2 iguanas
0.1 water dragon
0.2 green basilisks
0.0.1 ornate box turtle
1.2 dogs
0.1 children
0.1 wife

So...if my corn snake's behavior has not changed since the Ball Python joined him...and they haven't gotten sick...and they hang out together all day and night...accept the fact that sometimes, different breeds can live together.
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1 Corn Snake (Snakey)
1 Ball Python (Sosa)
1 Pine Snake (not named yet)