New Snake questions :))

Hi everyone!

I’m looking into getting two corn snakes from a friend of mine soon, and I’m trying to research to make sure I have everything properly set up when I get them.

Right now, the two of them are still pretty small, so I was gonna start them off in two 20 Long tanks. I was planning on using aspen, as most people seem to agree that that’s a pretty good substrate for them, but I’m getting a little mixed up trying to figure out proper heating for them.

Right now, I’m looking at the Ipower 6”-8” heat mat, but i’ve seen some people recommend 50-60w daytime bulbs, or heat emitters for them. I was just wondering what you all preferred.

I haven’t started looking for things to go in the tank yet, but I know I’ll probably need a few flat slate pieces, hides, water bowl, and a few things to climb on like wood pieces/plants. I haven’t decided if I want to try to establish a bio active tank yet, but I am at least somewhat considering it. I was wondering if cornsnakes required a dripper or something to keep the water from being still. I’ve been told some reptiles won’t drink from stagnant water.

Sorry to dump that on all of you, but this would be my first time owning a snake, and I really don’t wanna do anything that could hurt either of my girls.