Corn Snake Care For Beginners!

[@ReptilesandResearch]

PRODUCTS MENTIONED TO USE: www.amazon.com/shop/reptilesandresearch

[@VenomousColubridSnakeLover]

I'll eventually purchase a six foot long enclosure for my Miami Corn Snake. I am starting with a 40 gallon tank that has locking top.

[@fluffbungle6533]

I have been growing in my appreciation of the corn snake again more recently. It was my first and got a little overshadowed as I got wrapped up in other stuff, but as I had issues and stress the corn sat there being hassle free and friendly throughout. Yes they're easy enough and well suited for beginners, but they are there for a very good reason, absolute joy to keep. As for keeping, I built a 4ft x 2.5ft x 20" (a weird size, but there was a reason at the time) but I want to take him up in height and give more length as he will definitely use it. For substrate I use untreated organic topsoil for substrate, no mix of fuss. I use a 50w acradia halogen set to 30c, but the viv is heavily ventilated as I find he prefers a hot spot in a cooler viv, and an arcadia forest UVB that covers 2/3 of the viv length, but the viv has lots of cover so he can bask in UVB when cool and the shade is at the back. I tend to keep a 40%-55% relative humidity, largely because that's the ambient for the house, the heat of the viv and the big vents let that go up and down without any fuss. I use real stone, slate/sandstone, for the basking spot. Sandstone is really good as it's porous and still holds heat well, which means when I give the viv a bigger spray (once every7-14 days) the water leeches out more slowly and when spraying the basking spot directly it put more water into the air. Once I gave him loads of hides, now he only has two, one beside the basking spot and one sky-hide, which is where he rests 99% of the time. Raised solid platforms are a must for me, the moment I put one in he got right up and sat there and it's been his favoured spot since. I then throw bark flats and tubes around the floor with a healthy layer of leaves. He seems to prefer to either be up in the sky-hide or loosely covered with bark/leaves. I also use potted plants, spider plants do well but he knocks them around from time to time, schefflera does well, and philodendron has proven a bomb proof and well suited plants for him. He goes off his food in spring, but once I established his routine that is fine, including brumation he often goes 4-6 months without feed. Not for lack of offering, and his weight and condition is monitored to make sure he's well, but that's his rhythm and he's okay with that. In spring he gets handled a lot as he wants out, so I open the door and let him climb onto my shoulders, sometimes twice a day, give him a bit of a run and then he goes back in more settled, the rest of the year he gets handled much less often. He's almost always visible, never once been aggressive or caused me harm. He's been to the vet twice in six years, both times because I was worried, he was actually fine. He is a joy. He's also been a fantastic ambassador to friends and family that wonder why I'd keep a snake. It's so easy for them to be considered boring, I am guilty of this too, because they just suit homes so well. I have a good amount of pets, of varying types, right now and he is by far the least fuss, but that also means he doesn't stress me out, doesn't make me constantly worried, doesn't injure me, asks very little of me, doesn't cost me the earth to keep etc etc.

[@ReptilesandResearch]

honestly this description is why i found myself drifting towards corns too, I have gotten into a few things lately that I have to micromanage and sit on my mind. The kings and corns are just solid and reliable. Great description!

[@Lorena5799]

I (as a corn snake keeper myself) agree to many things you say in the video. But one thing I have to disagree with: the enclosure you show in the video is MUCH too small, especially in height, as corn snakes are a climbing species often find in trees. They need a lot of climbing oppertunities! (Also sorry if anything I wrote isn't correctly written, I am from germany.) I love that you mentioned a humid hide, UVB-bulb and a lot of hides!

[@KimeeZM]

Good video, I like the food pendulum. Another helpful video for beginners would be to break out a few snake personality archetypes (hidey, explorey, cuddley) and then have a few sizes of snakes for each personality.

[@ReptilesandResearch]

like different beginner species ?

[@KimeeZM]

@ReptilesandResearch yea, I think so. You did an interview with Lori Torrini a while back and one of the topics you discussed was asking a breeder about the temperment of a snake before buying. So this is sort of one step up from that and looking wt average temperment for a species.

[@ReptilesandResearch]

@@KimeeZM that makes sense

[@RRjames5332]

I like your setup! Could u do a video on setup an enclosure?

[@ReptilesandResearch]

ON IT!

[@moetthepoet]

first problem, "if you get a big female" there is no significant sexual diamorphism amongst corn snakes. average corn snakes are 4.5 feet or 1.36m, which can not fully stretch out in a 40 gallon

[@ReptilesandResearch]

Well I know a lot of 3ft male corn snakes, regardless of sex if the snake is 4ft use a 4ft

[@waylonnowak4930]

What do you think is best for an albino corn snake in terms of lighting and heat? I have one and she has had a UV light but she actively avoided it for a few months but as soon as I removed it and she only had my ceiling light for lighting she has been much more active and displaying signs of comfort. I use a heat mat and was considering a heat bulb but now that it seems she doesn't want light I decided to stick to the heat mat. I'd love to hear your opinion.

[@dacisky]

Love your corn snake. Can you have hognoses in the UK?

[@ReptilesandResearch]

yup theres hognoses everywhere here

[@juelz713]

Everything that was said is true

[@ReptilesandResearch]

Thank you ☺️

[@af7409]

Enjoyed the video 👍 brisk and concise. When considering cold temps, you mentioned

[@ReptilesandResearch]

@@af7409 the corn wouldn’t die at that temp, if you’re gonna hibernate it then I do it at 10 anyway. In winter I let my colubrids temp drop at night, my house has had them down to 12 some nights. They just bask in the day but slow right down. I know they are thinking hibernation time and stop eating. But Ik what is going on. For the beginners I didn’t want to confuse them.

[@roseannacampbell8380]

Do you have any amazon links to uk items ? Most of your amazon suggestions are showing as usa based.

[@ReptilesandResearch]

Not yet atm its US

[@roseannacampbell8380]

​@ReptilesandResearch oh sorry, I always thought you were uk based for some reason. My bad😅.

[@brandonpacheco9961]

Can I just get a adult tank for a baby with a lot of cover?

[@ReptilesandResearch]

Depends on how small, a fresh baby is TINY and might get out, a grown on yearling might be okay. Depends on the size of the snake compared to ventilation holes etc

[@kirillukin2222]

I'd honestly keep an adult male in a 4 by 2 as minimum too Maybe an exo 80 gallon 36×18 ×36

[@ReptilesandResearch]

personally yes for normal size males but sub adults and tiny males can go in a 40g

[@FrootyLoooplizerds]

What do you prefer ball python or corn snake for handling for longer periods? I want a Netflix buddy so that’s why I’m asking ?

[@ReptilesandResearch]

Ball python probably

[@FrootyLoooplizerds]

Thanks

[@elisec9530]

Wish this video existed like a year ago lol. Good to hear I did a good job though. My corn is in a bioactive with like 4 types of lights. Spoiled bastard lmao

[@ReptilesandResearch]

@@elisec9530 sounds like he’s living it up

[@elisec9530]

@ReptilesandResearch don't tell him but he's going to get upgraded to a 6x2x2

[@honeybeeart9382]

I believe male corn snakes are larger than females. This is true for most North American rat snakes. Also, they DO get four feet or sometimes more. My male is approaching 5 feet. This is the one that tried to eat me during brumation, despite being a fatty fat fatty for brumation.

[@ReptilesandResearch]

@@honeybeeart9382 weird I’ve only ever seen males be smaller

[@honeybeeart9382]

@@ReptilesandResearch Google!!! North American rat snakes, the males are larger. LOL. Corn snakes are rather inbred with lots of morphs and again, not lots of folks showing off their pets they've had for years, but the males definitely get larger.