Cornsnake Peeps! Info needed.

I know a bit about them from having Poke at the store but I'm getting my own now and I want to know more! Any websites are super appreciated too!

So Cornsnake peeps give me the rundown on them. I'm getting a 6 year old off kijiji with his entire setup. He's in a 40 gallon.

Here's the ad, if you see anything i need or that's unnecessary or things i should know about let me know! I plan to put in hemp for substrate and change up the decorations and hides a bit so it's nice and natural looking.

http://lethbridge.kijiji.ca/c-pets-...-Snake-and-all-Accessories-W0QQAdIdZ501963358

I would definitely recommend getting a thermostat with a probe to keep your heating pad around the correct temperature. I'll try to find the one I got when I had my snakes and send you the link. I found it on amazon.

Also what brand of tank is the snake in? I really like the ones with the locking lids. My female use to break out of her cage all the time until I got her one with a locking lid. She actually slithered into bed with me one time lol.

1. the lights aren't needed

2. if the UTH (under tank heating unit) isn't regulated, get a thermostat for it. Unregulated belly heat can burn a snake. I have a Herpstat... basic and reliable!

3. get a digital thermometer with a probe, and preferably an option to see % humidity.

4. get another hide, preferably identical to the first one. One hide should be on the cool side, the other should be on the warm side with the UTH.

5. Corns are notorious escape artists. If the terrarium's design allows fr extra clamps, get some. They're cheap.

Pretty snake!

Pretty much these above.

The light is very unnecessary for corns. The heat lamp is most certainly overkill with an under tank heating pad. The "regular" light... I mean, it won't hurt just to light the tank, but again, it is unnecessary. That said, I'd want to know if the "regular" light is a UV light or not. Recent research in the cornsnake community is beginning to suggest that UV lights (specifically UVb) may actually be harmful.

Going back to the under tank heating pad, as others have said, if it isn't regulated, DEFINITELY invest in a thermostat. I like Herpstat by Spyder Robotics, but there are less expensive options out there, too. Especially if you are only ever planning to regulate a single enclosure. A digital probe thermometer is also good insurance to help keep quick check on your temperatures. Thermometers are not very expensive, either. (Not the peel and stick kind, either. Those are basically worthless.)

As for other resources, there are forums for cornsnakes, same as there are for dogs. There are also some good books on the subject, my favorite being "Corn Snakes: The Comprehensive Owner's Guide" by Kathy & Bill Love.

Enjoy and best wishes!

Thanks everyone! My store's corn snake has lights and a heat pad and i didn't know that was bad! So glad I asked people who know more about what they're talking about.

Does anyone have photos of their setups? My friend and I will be definitely working on his tank when he's settled. We want a more natural look. I'm looking into aspen bedding or even hemp (is hemp okay?).

I'm sure i'll add more questions as they come lol.

I personally prefer aspen bedding. I do have pics of my set ups from my last corns. I'll find and post them when I get home. Id love to get back into snakes. Really miss having them.

I prefer aspen. You can get much more for much less. Nothing wrong with hemp, as far as I know, just harder to find and costs more.

That said, whatever substrate you choose, I recommend freezing it for a couple days to a week before using it. There's always a chance of little bugs or mites hitching a ride in the bag, and freezing will take care of that. Not a huge deal, but better safe than sorry. Treating for mites is annoying.

I'm not on my comp, so can't share new pics at the moment, but you can search here to see older pics of my setups. I use a rack system now, which doesn't look as fancy as a decorated vivarium, though. Lol

I will second the freezing the aspen idea...

I didn't do that and ended up having to treat both of my snakes and trust me it is a complete PITA to treat. I had to remove everything from my vivs, bleach, and my snakes lived on towels that I changed out daily until we were mite free.

I loved the locking lid tanks for my corns. Really helped with security for the little escape artists.

I actually loved using eco earth substrate for my guys. I just always thought it looked nicer. Personal preference really, but it had no odor at all and is easy to scoop out and clean. Cheap too.

I'm picking him up on Wednesday! He was just fed tonight so we want to wait a couple days before moving him.

So stoked! Doing a lot of reading on forums as I want to make his tank really cool and nice looking. Looking for a particular skull hide from exoterra around town since he needs a skull in the tank because he's badass My friend wanted to sterilize one of her wolf skulls from her collection but i've been told it's not a good idea. Bummer but oh well!

Here he is! Arbutus Cornholio Shigulak!

Arbutus by mandypug, on Flickr



I love him so much, he's super cuddly and friendly. Way more than our store snake, it's obvious he was loved a lot! I'll get more photos of his setup and stuff tomorrow.