How to Care for Your Corn Snake

Corn snakes are the most popular pet snake there is, and for a very good reason. These are snakes with a very good temper, and they are very easy to keep in an enclosure. Their adult size will usually be between 4 to 6 feet, and they have a very slender body type. The "original" corn snake has a black and white checkered pattern on their bellies that resembles a corn cob. I say original because corn snakes have been bred to get the most amazing colors and patterns; spotted, striped, no pattern, and all kinds of colors. Even pet shops usually have a wide variety of these "morphs".

Corn snakes live for a long time, around 15 to 20 years, so keep this in mind when buying one. In this care sheet I will try to explain the most important sides of having a pet corn snake.

Setup

When you get your first corn snake, it is important that you have its setup ready.

First they need a tank to live in, a ten gallon tank is a good size for a young one. Then you increase the size of the tank up to 20 or 30 gallon when it reaches adult size.

At the bottom of the tank you need substrate. You could use newspaper or plain paper, but a better choice is aspen wood shavings. The snake might burrow in it, it's very easy to clean and it even helps the snake shed by allowing it to rub against it. There are also specially designed reptile carpets you can get, but whatever you choose just remember that cedar is poisonous to snakes, and pine can dehydrate their skin. Most stores have aspen, and it's cheap and easy so I would say go with that.

One of the most important things, especially for a young corn snake is a hide. A lot of people forget just how important this is. The snake needs to feel safe, and a large empty tank will make the snake very stressed. I can guarantee you that the hide will be the one thing that your snake will use the most. For a hide you can use a box with a hole at the side, a flower pot with a hole at the bottom turned upside down, or you can buy a more fancy one at a pet store. Even an empty toilet roll will work! You should have at least two hides, one on each side of the tank; one on the cool end, and one on the warm end.