Description

The Corn Snake originates from the Eastern United States. These snakes have a good temperament and are easy to care for. There are a vast range of different colours and patterns which have now been bred. The Rat Snake is the closest relative to the Corn Snake and the only difference between a Corn Snake and a Great Plains Rat Snake is colour. In some other Rat Snakes, the head is a slightly different shape. Rat Snakes originate from more Central / Western parts of the United States. The care for Corn Snakes and Rat Snakes is the same.

Housing

Corn Snakes need different sizes of housing depending on the size of the snake. Unlike lizards which usually need lots of room Corn Snakes prefer to have a small environment, especially when they are small. For a hatchling Corn Snake we advise they be kept in either a hatchling box (which is also sometimes referred to as a shoe box as they are about the same size) with a heat source under one end of the box. A faunarium again with heat source under one end of the box or a small Perfecto glass vivarium again with heat source at one end of the tank are also ideal housing for a hatchling Corn Snake. They can usually stay in the latter two enclosures until they are about a year old dependent on growth rate. They can then move up to a vivarium 36"x 15" x15". Once the snake has gone into a wooden vivarium we then recommend the heat source being a red heat bulb controlled by a dimming thermostat. The bulb must have a heat guard around it so the snake can not wrap itself around the bulb and get burnt as reptiles can not sense when they are being burned. The temperature at the hot end of the vivarium should be 84f - 86f. The Corn Snake should be provided with two hides one at each end of the vivarium. We use aspen bedding as the substrate for most of our Corn Snakes. The enclosure should have a heavy water bowl, large enough for the snake to coil up in if it wanted to. Snakes do not need uv-b light as they eat whole vertebrate prey, but the use of a low percentage such as a 2% bulb can be beneficial and will also simulate a day / night cycle.

Feeding and Shedding

Corn Snakes are fed on a diet of frozen mice. The size of the mouse to be fed to the snake depends on the widest girth of your snake. Hatchlings will feed on pinkie mice (day old mice) and then as they grow they move up to the next size of mouse which is a fluff and so on. You should not handle your snake for 48 hrs after feeding them as they may still be digesting their meal and handling could lead to the snake regurgitating its food. We also advise not to handle the snake the day before feeding so as not to put your snkae off its feed. Snakes should be fed every 5 days when babies and then when they have ascertained a more substantial size and weight, every 7 days.

Snakes shed their skin which happens about once a month when they are small. As they get bigger they shed less often. When snakes go into shed their eyes have a glazed appearance also known as blue eyes. They will usually hide and be very quiet whilst they are shedding. Once the eyes have gone clear again it is usually about 7-10 days and the skin will then be sloughed. It is important to check the skin when the snake has shed to ensure the eye caps have come off of the snake. The shedding process can be helped by placing live spaghnum moss in the hides this helps with raising humidity. You may find your snake will not feed when he is in shed. This is quite normal. Do not handle your snake when in shed as this is a vulnerable time for them. They should just be left alone.