New Blizzard Cornsnake owner

Hey everyone, I recently purchased a 1 year old blizzard cornsnake (my first one), and just have a few questions about lighting and other husbandry topics.

I have him in a 20L tank (30x12x12) with wire screen top. For bedding I'm using Zoomed Forest Floor (Cypress) with a UTH set to 85°. Inside I have a faux rock hide sitting over the heat mat, but on top of the bedding. I have 3 cork bark hides spread around the middle and far end of the enclosure, and a water dish at the cool end.

As this is my first corn snake I just want to make sure I'm doing everything I can to make him comfortable and control any variation I can for his safety and health.

When I use my IR temp gun I get a pretty stable 65°-70° surface temperature unless I turn on my red IR heat lamp which QUICKLY warms up the surface underneath to about 95°+. It is sitting directly on the top screen so this tells me I should attach it to a lamp stand and elevate it to get a lower surface temp and more of a temp gradient to the cool side. I'm just amazed at how fast this thing warms everything up, maybe a little too much.

So my question is, as he is a Blizzard, should I keep using the IR lamp as a surface heat source, or swap it to another kind? I read that albino corns dont require UVB and it might well be harmful as they have no melanin (or general coloring) to protect from absorbing too much. So I wanted to stay away from that if it's unnecessary. I just feel that the IR heat lamp isn't the best option either. Maybe a ceramic one mounted on a stand over the cage?

Anyone with experience with albino or white morph cornsnake experience, I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks so much!

The morph of the snake doesn’t matter in this case because it is very unlikely that any corn snake requires UVB lighting, scientifically speaking. In fact, based on your report of getting surface temps way too hot for your snake, I would recommend discontinuing use of any overhead lighting or heating source.

Your undertank heater is sufficient enough for producing the heat they need to digest. Just temp the hot spot and make sure it is always at least 85 degrees. Then you are all set!

The rest of your setup sounds great as long as the cork bark on your cool end is big enough to serve as a cool hide.

Keep asking questions as needed. We are all happy to help as we can.

Thanks a lot for the reassurance! I've done a lot of reading, but as this is my first time I just worry I'm inevitably overlooking something. So, as a clarification, is the ambient air temperature less important than the heat generated by the UTH? Just seems a little cool in the viv. The corks are all semi circular, so they have more area underneath to use as a hide. One is fully round like a tunnel.

I currently dont have any other lighting on the viv, maybe swap out the IR bulb for a warm white light, or do you feel like that too would be overkill?

Thanks again, so happy I found this forum.

As long as the glass itself has a warm spot, the snake can burrow down if he wants to reach the warmth. I wouldn't worry too much about the ambient air temp as long as it's around room temperature. You really don't need lighting, so it would only be for your viewing pleasure. If you choose to use lights, I would make sure to turn them off at night.

Fantastic, I've read these suggestions on the forum, just nice being reassured directly haha. Yes I have a automatic timer in storage that I can use, would you suggest a 12/12 or more of a longer day/shorter night cycle (or does it matter?) I come from a more plant-centric biology background and those things matter there atleast.

Thanks again guys!

I don't use lights, so I'm not sure. I don't think it really matters much though as long as it's roughly the same as a natural day/night cycle.

If you want lights for viewing/ambience, maybe do an LED situation, that way you don’t have to worry about overheating the viv which will kill the snake obviously. If a stand or connection fails and the incandescents fall off the stand or viv, then you have the risk of starting your house on fire. Just seems like a lot of risk having a lamp over a corn snake if it provides zero benefit to the snake.

Corn snakes dying from being overheated with incandescent bulbs is way more common than snakes dying from lower ambient temps.

Thanks everybody, I really appreciate all your info. I did have one other question about temperature regulation.

My current set up is using a zoomed UTH on the far right of the tank. Its sized appropriately for the tank (20L), the temp probe however is placed directly above the mat on the inside of the tank using a suction cup. My temperature setting is 85°, and my snake does seem to love it, as it has burrowed down into the substrate on top of the mat (inside the hide).

The placement is taken from numerous YouTube videos I've watched, but admittedly the probe placement aren't expressly stated. Should I place the probe further from the mat, possibly somewhere near the top of the substrate?

I dont want to set the temperature too high, but as I am using a denser bedding than Aspen, I'm unsure whether the temperature is too low elsewhere than directly on top of the mat.

Thanks again guys, you're a wealth of knowledge.

I would keep it exactly where it is. Sounds like a good setup.