Tub question?

Hello! I'm sorry if I'm not posting in the correct area, this is my first time using this forum.

I just have a quick question about the previous housing situation of a corn snake I now have.
My corn snake is named Althea, and is about 3 years old (I don't have a solid hatch date). I got her in November of 2014 because my friend no longer wanted her. She's a real sweetheart, she never hisses or bites, and rarely rattles. She's a butter motley morph and I really couldn't be happier with her. She's in great health now, but was somewhat underweight when I got her.

But she HATES being out during the daylight. I know they range from crepuscular to nocturnal but this babe is hardcore nocturnal.

So this gets to my question. Her entire life (before I got her) she lived in an opaque tub without any source of light, except for the air holes in her tub. Could this now explain her aversion to light?
Also, is this a safe practice? It seems iffy, but I can't find any information on it.


**Althea now lives in a clear tub (30" x 12" x 12") on aspen bedding. She has two hides, one on the cool side (75F) and one on the warm side (85F - warmed by UTH)) of her enclosure, and her humidity is steady at 60%. She's got lots of vines and paper towel tubes as well, which have proven to be her favorite.

Again, I'm really sorry if I'm posting this in the wrong area! I'm very much looking forward to exploring this forum more and learning all about the glorious corn snake!!!

Welcome to our forum! It seems like she has a better home with you. I would not recommend that previous opaque setup - as I am sure that would be very stressful to the animal.

I just leave the overhead light on in the room with my snake in a pattern that sort of mimics the sun outside. If I forget to turn the light on one day before I leave, its not the end of the world - some light gets in through my windows and maybe there are dark rainclouds in my snake's imagination .

As for the aversion to light, could you illustrate some examples that make you think that?

Once again welcome the community! And I love the name of your snake - very pretty.

Hi! Thank you for answering!

I've got her on a light cycle now, her tub is in my room so I just flip on the lights when I get up in the morning and leave them on until it gets dark outside - she's not near windows so she doesn't get direct sunlight but she gets some.
I was worried about the opaque tub messing up her light cycle or confusing her, but her other owner said it comforted the snakes. Unfortunately the more I learn about snake husbandry the less I can side with my friend on her snake care.

Maybe I'm making this up, or reading too much in to her behavior. If I come in my room at night, she'll be out and roaming around, doing snake things, and then I'll go to turn on the light (she can see in the dark, I can't!) and she'll immediately dart into her hides or bury herself. Or if I take her out to handle her and I have the ceiling lamp on, which is pretty bright) she'll try to cover her head with her body or with my arms.
Could I be overreacting? I was thinking that because she's got amel in her and has red eyes, she might be more sensitive to light, but that could be a myth.

Thank you for the warm welcome!

I think it's more likely that the sight and vibrations of you are what startles her. I would just continue to handle her and she'll eventually get used to you, although she may still hide when she sees you come in.

Corn snakes, in my opinion, do not NEED a light schedule. I think that they would be perfectly happy living in the dark their entire lives. That being said, having a regular light schedule will obviously not harm them. Sometimes very shy snakes or ones that don't want to eat will benefit from having their enclosure covered so that it's dark and they can feel comfortable and safe. I personally like to be able to see my snakes going about their snakey business, so I wouldn't like an opaque tub.

And as far as I'm aware, your snake actually can't see any better than you can in the dark. They rely much more on their sense of smell/taste and feeling vibrations through their body.

I have seen lots of people keep snakes in these "Rack Setups" with these slide out bins, and most of the time all they have in them is a single Hide box and a water dish. There is virtually no light to get in, no room to move about, and very little Air exchange. I could imagine if any animal lived like that for several years they'd not only be afraid of light, but everything that came their way. It seems cruel to me. Of course some people will say Keeping any animal in captivity is cruel, and I won't argue that, but most of us still do whether it be a dog, cat, goldfish or snake. But it would seem that if a person is going to keep an animal in captivity as a pet, the very least they could do would be to meet all the animal's needs, comforts, and try to mimic it's life in the wild with the correct heat, light, food, surroundings...etc.....

Just my thoughts.

Hey all, thanks for your well put and diverse responses