Caring for a Corn Snake

Perhaps you are looking into buying a corn snake, or have recently acquired one, but are unsure of their characteristics and needs. This article will serve as a basic care guide for beginner corn snake owners. All information in this care guide is relevant for a store bought corn snake. The care requirements of wild-caught corn snakes vary greatly, and I highly discourage anyone from attempting to domesticate a wild snake.

Selecting your snake

If you have not yet purchased your corn snake, there are a few things you should check for before choosing one:

1. What is its activity level in the cage? Is it active, or is it lying around, sluggish, and dull looking? Keep in mind that if it’s not moving, it may be sleeping. Ensure that it is awake before moving on. The snake should be active and alert. If it is not, and no outward signs of illness are visible, than it likely has an internal disease.

2. What is the physical condition of the snakes’ body? Does it have any scars, missing scales, lumps, open sores, oozing, or bruised spots? If so, it is ill and should not be bought. DO NOT purchase a sick snake out of pity in hopes of nursing it back to health. It can be extremely expensive, and usually the snake is already beyond help.

3. Carefully examine its body for mites. These will be tiny, almost invisible red specks that will be crawling over the scales. You should not purchase a parasite infested snake.

4. Ask about the snakes’ diet, and how often it has eaten. Some stores will purposely starve a snake to keep it smaller.

If the snake demonstrates none of these, more than likely it is in good health and safe to purchase.

Housing your snake 

There are several kinds of snake cages, and you must understand the requirements of your snake before purchasing one. Corn snakes are terrestrial snakes, meaning they prefer the ground over tree and high locations. While they may do a little branch climbing, they mostly stay on the ground. Because of this, a corn snake will fair better with a long, short cage. The cage should be about 2x the length of your snake, and its height should be about half of your snake.