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ideas for
excellent care care
Corn Snakes
Corn Snakes
The corn snake (Pantherophis
guttatus) is a harmless snake
that is found in the
southeastern states of the
U.S. A corn snake’s pattern
often contains a great deal of
red or orange, but the color
is variable in the wild. They
usually grow to between
three and four feet in length.
Corn snakes can live in
wooded areas and open
fields, and are good
climbers. Their diet mostly includes mice and rats, but sometimes they eat birds or their eggs, and babies may eat small frogs or lizards.!
These snakes have been kept in captivity and bred for many years. Corn snakes with various different colors and patterns have been
produced by selective breeding, so a pet corn snake might look nothing like its wild cousins. However, the overall form and habits of
the snake remain similar - they are moderate sized snakes that eat rodents and are generally easygoing and rarely bite (babies may be a
little nervous and feisty).!
Life Span!
Corn snakes can live for 15 years or more in captivity. They reach adulthood in about three years and reach maximum size within 5 or 6
years. When deciding on getting a corn snake, think about whether you are prepared to take care of it for 15 years. Snakes are not
disposable, short-term pets, so do not buy them on impulse. !
Handling!
Pick them up by sliding your hands underneath the snake, and provide lots of support so that they do not feel like they’re going to fall.
Let the snake move from one hand to the next while gently controlling its movement without squeezing. Corn snakes may wrap part of
their body around your arm or part of your clothing to feel more securely supported, and this is not in any way aggressive. Either
patiently wait for it to move and release what it is wrapped around, or else gently unwrap it. It is important to keep up with your corn
snake, because if it gets away from you it may quickly disappear into hiding places where it may be very difficult to find. Do not
handle a corn snake right after feeding. Also, if you have been handling mice, do not handle the corn snake or you may be bitten
because you smell like food!!
Housing!
The requirements for a corn snake cage are that it be secure, able to be heated, and kept clean. A good cage for a baby corn snake might be
a 10-gallon aquarium, or perhaps a 9-liter plastic storage box with holes drilled for ventilation. A larger cage will be needed as the snake
gets longer. A general guide is: the front and side of the cage should at least be as long as the snake is, so a three-foot snake should have
a cage floor that is something like 2 feet long by 1 foot deep. Make sure any ventilation holes are smaller than the end of the snake’s
snout, or it may push into the hole and injure itself. Translucent storage boxes (such as the “Really Useful Box” brand) must have rigid
edges and lockable lids, because snakes can push up against lids and escape through even very small gaps. Glass terrariums must have
screen lids that can be held in place with clips or weighted. !
Cages made of glass or plastic are generally easy to clean. Avoid porous materials like wood. Cleaning can be done with mild detergent.
If cleaned with a bleach solution, make sure to rinse thoroughly and dry before putting the cage back together. Do not use cleansers that
leave any residue. A corn snake cage should have temperatures near 80 degrees F. Cooler temperatures slow the snake’s metabolism
and digestion. Avoid getting cages too hot, because this will result in stress or even kill the snake. Be careful not to place a cage by a
window where sunlight may heat it up, like a greenhouse, much warmer than the air in the room.!
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jsdragons
ideas for excellent care
Corn Snakes
One way that heat can be provided is by a commercially available “under tank heater” that can be placed under a part of the cage to
provide warmth. You should heat no more than 1/3 of the cage floor, so the snake can choose warmer or cooler spots. Use a thermometer
to make sure the heater is not overheating the cage, and follow all safety information to make sure the heat mat does not overheat or
scorch the surrounding material. Never use a “hot rock!” The cage should have a water bowl that is easy to keep clean (and it does not
have to be big enough for the snake to get inside), preferably a heavy one with a wide base that would be hard to tip over. There should
be a “hide box” that the snake can curl up snugly inside and feel protected. It is also good to have a few branches or rocks, but be
careful that the rocks cannot shift and fall on the snake. The cage floor can be lined with folded newspaper or with bedding materials
such as shredded aspen. Do not use cedar shavings! The bedding should be dry and absorbent, and should be changed whenever
soiled.!
Diet and Feeding!
Even if you buy a very small corn snake, it should already be feeding on pinkie mice - a mouse diet is adequate for a corn snake and
there is no need to provide other items or dietary supplements (though some may provide some supplementation to adult females
during breeding season). Whole mice at various sizes, already frozen and packaged, can be bought from businesses who supply these
things. The snake does not need to be fed live mice and in fact this should be avoided because an adult mouse may bite or chew up a
snake. Thaw the mouse until it no longer feels cold to a firm, deep touch. It can then be placed into the cage or may be offered to the
snake on tongs. An even better idea is to put the snake and thawed mouse together into a separate feeding box (maybe a plastic
container with holes and a snap-on lid) so that the snake does not associate something entering the cage with food, and this may avoid
you accidentally being bitten when you reach into the cage. The feeding box would need to be left inside the secured cage, for the
necessary warmth and to prevent escapes. Because hungry corn snakes often strike the mouse just as if they were feeding in the wild,
don’t get your hands near the snake while feeding. If the snake is reluctant to feed right away, you can leave the snake and thawed
mouse together overnight.!
Even though snakes can eat surprisingly large meals, it is better to feed moderate-size meals regularly than to feed an enormous meal
occasionally. The mouse can be about as big around as your snake is in the middle or a little larger. Baby corn snakes can eat about
every five to seven days, and an adult can be fed weekly. This feeding schedule can be a little flexible, but stay pretty close to it. Do not
try to speed up or slow down growth by underfeeding or overfeeding. !
Shedding!
As the snake grows, the outer layer of skin does not grow with it, and instead is replaced with a new layer. As this happens, over
several days the snake’s colors appear less bright and it looks as though the outer layer becomes a little milky-colored. This happens
over the eye caps as well, so the snake’s eyes look cloudy. During this time, the snake should be left alone and you should make sure
the cage conditions are not too dry. You might provide an extra hide box with damp paper towels or damp sphagnum moss in case the
snake chooses to spend time there to soften the skin. After several days, the cloudiness goes away and the snake will soon shed its skin
by rubbing the snout against things until the outer layer is loosened around the upper and lower lips. The snake then crawls forward
out of its old skin, which turns inside-out like when you pull a tight-fitting glove off your hand. Do not try to hurry up this process,
even if you are impatient to see what the new skin will look like. If you peel the skin before it is ready, it will injure the snake. If after
several days of being “clear” again the snake has not shed, you might confine it in something with a towel that has been wet and then
wrung out, to assist it in getting ready. If that does not help, talk with an experienced snake keeper or reptile veterinarian. When
shedding occurs, look to see if the eye caps (clear scales over the eyes) came off with the skin. If the old eye caps were retained, get
experienced help to get the old caps removed. !
Other Topics!
For information about breeding your corn snake, consult reputable websites and books such as Don Soderberg’s Corn Snakes in Captivity
(ECO, 2006). For information about reptile diseases and injuries, consult resources such as John and Roxanne Rossi’s What’s Wrong With
My Snake (Advanced Vivarium Systems, 2012).
Ideas for Excellent Care provided by: jsdragons f inspired by nature
P.O. Box 150842 h Arlington, Texas 76015
www.jsdragons.com
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