Corn SNakes

About Corn Snakes

Area of origin: South Eastern and Central USA
Adult size: 4-6ft
Captive lifespan: 20+ years

If you’d like to see the setups for my Corn Snakes, Ziggy, Yuki and Indi, check out the video!

Housing, heating & lighting

Enclosure

Corn snakes are sleek, active snakes. They love to burrow and they’re rather fond of a good climb too. Due to these behaviours, it’s best to make sure your Corn snake has plenty of space. A secure 4 x 2 x 2ft enclosure will provide your scaled friend with room for all their favourite activities (of course hatchlings and juveniles can be kept in smaller space). The enclosure should be well ventilated and longer than it is tall so you snake can stretch out with ease. Corn snakes can be shy souls in some cases, so you’ll want to provide lots of hiding spots- I like to use a mix of purpose made snake hides, and natural pieces of cork bark, or branches, to create hiding spots. The more places your snake has to hide, the more confident they’ll be to venture out. Branches are a great addition to a Corn snake enclosure, as I mentioned, they do love a good climb and they’re brilliant at it too. Branches and vines will help keep your snake fit and healthy by encouraging them to be active. These snakes rival Harry Houdini when it comes to escaping from seemingly secure spaces, so check, check and check again that the enclosure is escape proof.
Substrate should be dry on the whole as you are aiming for a humidity between 40 and 50%. I like to use Lignocel for my snakes, as it’s soft, easy to clean, and most importantly, easy to burrow in! I’ve used Aspen in the past, and while it does the job, it can be rather dusty. Some keepers prefer to use coconut coir, and that’s fine too- just keep an eye on your humidity.

Heating

When it comes to heating, it’s all about providing a heat gradient. As with any reptile, Corn snakes thermoregulate themselves by using their surroundings. They’ll burrow to cool down, so heat mats aren’t the best idea. Instead, provide heat from above- I like to use ceramic heat emitters. The cooler end of your enclosure should be 24°C during the day, with the temperature rising to 28°C towards the warmer end. The basking temperature should be no higher than 32°C. As Corn snakes are crepuscular, a night time temperature drop helps to regulate their circadian rhythm.

Lighting

Corn snakes require a day/night cycle, so some form of lighting is required. You can introduce UVB at 6% if you choose. As Corn snakes favour dawn and dusk, they would gain UVB exposure during these periods, and it is widely considered to be beneficial. If you’d prefer not to introduce UVB, LED lights will provide the prompt your snake needs that it is day or night time. Make sure they lights are on a timer so your snake has a routine they can become familiar with.

Feeding & handling

Feeding

Let’s discuss food! Corn snakes tend not to be fussy eaters and will eat most things they’re offered. However, that doesn’t mean they should be offered food at the first wide eyed sign of hunger- these snakes would eat all day if they could. ~
Corn snakes can become overweight very quickly, and by the time you notice it, the damage is done, as fat deposits have already collected around the internal organs, putting them at risk of an early death. So, offering your young Corn snake a mouse each week is spot on, however an adult will only need a meal every 10-14 days. Mice are a great staple food, however small rat pups and day old chicks are great for variety.

Handling

Corn snakes can be fast and flighty, so regular handling with young snakes is helpful in teaching them to be calm and relaxed. That being said, some remain speedy their entire lives. If the snake is to belong to a child, I’d suggest handling is supervised to make sure the snake does not escape, or be gripped too tight by small hands.
Corn snakes tolerate handling well in most cases, however they tend to prefer it be on their terms. Let them move around you and explore your arms and fingers rather than trying to maneuver them too much. Youngsters may give you a little warning bite if you try to fish them out of their enclosure, so scoop them up from behind rather than presenting tasty fingers to eager little mouths!