Snake Hiding or Dead?

Alicia, Loose the UV keep the Heat lamp...Your saying.!? Yeah he can move away from the light if it's too hot... He is been shutting a lot more than usual! I think it's because of his skin condition. ( which I can't complain about now he's made a full recovery basically). But sometimes I'll find him burrowed up in his water container.. That's first!

I don't know what these other things are you mention

Yes, loose the UV - keep the heat lamp.

Ideally when a snake sheds it should all come off in 1 long piece. If it is coming off in pieces then the environment is most likely too dry. I imagine he is hanging out in his water dish because he is dry. A humid hide would give him a cool damp place to get moisture. You can make a humid hide with a tupperware type container. Cut a hole in the side or top (make sure the edges are smooth) and fill it with damp spaghnum moss (not peat moss). Then simply put it on the cool side of the tank, he will go in it if he needs to. You can just re-dampen the moss as needed.

If you notice he has any shed still stuck on him this thread is very helpful http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56170

The tank size is very nice, but I would personally add more "stuff' to it. The suggestion of a humid hide is perfect! And using a flipped upside down tupperware container is not very expensive at all...I made one for my leopard gecko who was having some shedding issues, no more problems now!. To make it I flipped the container upside down (the lid is the "Floor"), cut a small opening in one of the sides, sanded the edges down, and have paper towel in for the substrate. I mist it every other day and she's had no issues shedding now..

I have a feeling if you provide some more hides for him you'll probably seem him "out" more often..mine likes to chill out in her hide and poke out her nose to say hi.

If you want to stick with the "desert" theme, Petsmart has a hide that I really really like:

http://www.petsmart.com/reptile/habi...alue%3Dfaceted

I wanted to add that there are other materials you can use to hold moisture in, Sphagnum moss (this would be the best option of the three IMO) Orchid Bark or coconut husk...Personally I just find the paper towel a much cheaper and easier to clean alternative. When the paper towel starts looking nasty, remove and replace.

I can't stress enough that I would turn his fluorescent lamp off. I have personally had UVB bulbs damage an amelanistic snake's eyes.

They hide a lot, so don't get much exposure, but those bulbs don't put off appreciable heat anyway, so at best it is doing nothing -at worst, injuring your reptile. I would look into an under the tank heater, too. Flukers makes one now that maintains a constant 100 degrees. I won't say you *should* run it without a thermostat, but it would probably be safe to in that large of an enclosure. Finally, I would consider a thinner layer of substrate besides carefresh. Hard to find poops and so forth in inches of substrate, you'll tend to keep a shallow layer more tidy. And handle him once in a while! They're great animals because they don't need attention besides their basic needs, but nothing wrong with giving one a chance to stretch out and explore some fresh air once in a while. They're inquisitive, cool creatures. Welcome to the forums!

To me, he looks dehydrated. Has he been drinking? Is the water replaced often? Is he laying in it, instead of drinking it?

Wow that enclosure is a palace of a home for him! Did you build it? (something about the pics makes me think it's plastic and not glass?)

I am for ditching the lamps altogether. A good UTH like the one recommended under one end of the viv is all he needs. The heat lamp dries the viv out and can cause bad sheds like you are experiencing.

Do some reading, there are "stickies" at the top of each topic here, and there are some great books on corns, some even written by our members.

Here is a link to a page I wrote for someone else, but I think it may help you as well.

corn care info