Newbie - A few questions...

Hello,
I'm Jason. I saw this forum when I was searching for cornsnake info, and decided to come in and see what it was all about. Lots of great information and people seem to know everything about corns, lol. I have a few questions, since i'm new to the whole cornsnake game (have kept Gartners and other small indigiounous snakes before).

1) I live in sunny Orlando, FL. Will I need a temperature gradient since the temps are warm down here? Anyone from FL or any other southern states that can help me out on this one.

2) What sort of lighting should I use for nightly viewing? Is lighting needed during the day?

3) What substrate, from experience, would you guys recommend, to give it a nice natural looking habitat?

Thanx guys!

I can help on #2 and 3. No lighting is needed for day time. Most people just use uth(under tank heater) for heat. You can use a plue bulb or a red bulb that you buy at petco for night time viewing. They put off heat and look cool at night!!!
On #3 most people have the same oppinion. Aspen. But for a more natural looks I would say bed a beast or eco earth. Both bes a beast and eco earth come in a block form that you just add water too and 1 block fills a 20 long.

Welcome to the corn world and enjoy. I suggest ordering the corn snake manual by Kathy Love from www.cornutopia.com as it is the best book about corns ever made and I'm sure every one will agree.

A few general thoughts...

Welcome to the forum! :wavey: I'll do what I can to help!

I am from Illinois not Florida, but as far as a gradient a lot of people would suggest providing a gradient whenever possible. However, a lot of people don't use a gradient and their snakes do great. Even here in Illinois it is 80 degrees outside (right now) and my cool side is around 80. The only way to change that is to turn the A/C on.

I'm not the best for night lighting advice. I don't use light at night to view. In my bedroom the light from my TV and computer monitor are enough for me to see my snake while still allowing the room to be dark enough for her. Lighting during the day isn't a must as long as your viv gets some light. It is good to have light during the day and dark at night to resemble the natural photoperiod. But a UV light etc isn't required.

I don't know how natural you consider aspen to be, but it looks much more natural than paper towels or newspaper and is very easy to spot clean. There are many types bark-like substrates that people use and seem to like. I am most familiar with aspen.

KillaJBX said:

Hello,
I'm Jason. I saw this forum when I was searching for cornsnake info, and decided to come in and see what it was all about. Lots of great information and people seem to know everything about corns, lol. I have a few questions, since i'm new to the whole cornsnake game (have kept Gartners and other small indigiounous snakes before).

1) I live in sunny Orlando, FL. Will I need a temperature gradient since the temps are warm down here? Anyone from FL or any other southern states that can help me out on this one.

2) What sort of lighting should I use for nightly viewing? Is lighting needed during the day?

3) What substrate, from experience, would you guys recommend, to give it a nice natural looking habitat?

Thanx guys!

Click to expand...

I'm in Tallahassee, so I can contribute to the FL question here.

I do not use a temperature gradient, nor do I use extra heat. Occasionally I'll turn on my red light, but it's not a common occurance.

Light is not needed, for either. As long as some light is available to your snake during the day (normal room light) then he'll be fine. I dont use lights at night to view my snake. The light in my room and from my tv is more than enough to get the job done.

Apsen, reptibark, eco-earth, coconut bark, etc. All of that stuff is fine and will give you a more natural look.