Please help with my first setup

Hello everyone

I am going to be purchasing my first snake in the near future and am trying to get everything ready beforehand. But the more I research the more confused I get. There is so much information but even worse is almost all of it contradicts each other. I really just want to provide the snake with the absolute best environment I can. So here is what I am thinking of getting

40 gallon (36”x18”x18”) screen top front locking glass tank. I really don’t want to have to continually upgrade the size so I want to make sure it will have plenty of room for an adult

Aspen or cypress mulch or maybe something like lugarti natural bedding.

Plenty of hides and decor to help a baby corn feel hidden

Water dish

Zoomed uvb 5.0 tube light and hood. I figure it will be good for a day night cycle plus the uvb can’t exactly hurt and may even help.

My biggest issue is heat. There are so many people advocating of one vs the others that it leaves a new owner so overwhelmed. So my biggest notes here are I live in Florida and have small children in the house. And here are my thoughts on the methods

Heat lamp with dimming switch. Seems simple but don’t want to be checking the temps and constantly adjusting. Also can’t be used for night heating though that should be need very rarely if at all

Heat lamp with dimming thermostat. Seems like a great solution and keeps the heat high away from children potentially touching it. Though thermostats are expensive

Che with proportional thermostat. Same perks as the heat lamp but can be used at night. Though I have seen arguments that it doesn’t work well to give a “real” basking area

Heat mat. From browsing this seems to be popular here so I will give my concerns and hopefully you guys can talk me off the ledge. I have seen arguments that it is unnatural and promotes unnatural behavior. I have heard it is hard to keep the probe inside the tank where you want it and most default it putting a thermostat between the glass and pad which gives bad reading. Also since corn snakes are burrowing snakes they can easily get burned by the hot glass where the pad is. Additionally it doesn’t provide a good heat gradient for the snake throughout the enclosure. Also I worry it gets hot enough and it will be low enough one of the kids may touch it. Plus it will be on a solid surface so fire hazards are worrisome.

Any help with the heating you can provide would be absolutely fantastic. I really wanted to ask this here since pads are so preferred here that you may be able to dispel my worry’s. Also any advice on placing temp proves without tape would be amazing as well.

Thanks in advance.

Sounds like you've done your research!

Personally, I will always prefer heat mats. Lamps are a higher fire hazard (especially if you have children or free roaming pets), dry out the environment more (which can make sheds bad), and snakes use belly heat to digest anyway. Placing a probe on a heat mat is not a problem (and should NOT be placed between the mat and the glass). You can attach it directly to the glass inside the enclosure with some hot glue. On a thermostat, a heat mat will not get hot enough to burn your kids or the surface it's on, since corns need an ideal hot spot of only about 87.

If you'll be using a front opening tank, just make sure there is no gap for a baby to squeeze through or get stuck. And with any size tank, make sure there's lots of clutter and hides for a baby - I always love using toilet paper tubes and dollar store fake vines to provide lots of ground cover for a baby.

Welcome!

Thanks. I really have been trying to do as much research as possible which is why it can be frustrating when there is so much disagreement between sources. Since you do recommend a heat pad I had a few more questions. With the probe on the inside of the glass and using a thermostat what temp should be the maximum at the glass to prevent burns for the snake. I know the temp you are aiming for ideally is the inside of the warm hide but I assume there is a max to avoid at the glass.

Also any good recommendations for sealing off gaps if there are any since tape is best to be avoided?

The temp of the glass inside should be about 87. The snake can burrow into the substrate to sit right on the glass if it wants that temperature.

As far as gaps, most new tanks will be fine, but I personally would avoid the sliding glass style front opening as those ones tend to be gappy. Otherwise, try to just look them over carefully to see if you see any potential escape worthy holes. I have used hot glue and silicone in the past to seal holes.

Awesome. Thanks for the help I really appreciate it. I definitely plan on getting a brand new enclosure and I am also planning on getting the swinging door front opening as the ones I have looked at look to have less gaps than the sliding door type.

Perfect, sounds good. I've used the swing open style enclosures with no issue before. I love that type actually!

I hate to bother you more but I did have one small question about the enclosure. For the front opening ones in the area that are not a huge lead time there are two sizes. 36”x18”x18” and a 36”x18”x12”. The shorter (height wise) is obviously less expensive so I’m wondering do corn snakes climb enough for it to matter?

If not it seems the shorter one saves money and would be easier to heat if I ever switch to an top heated setup but the savings isn’t big enough to matter if the snake will actually use the room. Thanks again

Most adult corn snakes are not big climbers. Babies tend to be all over the place, but most grow out of that. I think the shorter one will be no problem.