Book: The Art of Keeping Snakes

I am on the verge of getting my first Corn Snake. The snake will be one of this years hatchlings, housed in a 20 gallon long. For now, I will be housing him the standard way- with aspen and a big water bowl and two hides, at least until he is relatively tame.

I purchased the book "The Art of Keeping Snakes" by Phillip de Vosjoli, part of the Herpetocultural Library series. I find the ideas interesting and intriguing so far (I'm on Ch. 12) and think it might be interesting to try a more naturalistic vivarium. As I said, for now, while s/he is a baby, I will keep a standard set up for convenience in taming.

Has anyone else read this book? What is your opinion on keeping a Corn Snake in a more naturalistic vivarium?

I haven't read the book, but, Phillip de Vosjoli is a well respected name in the hobby. Personally I prefer to keep my viv's simple for cleaning purposes. Housing a snake in a more elaborate, natural looking viv, is strictly for aesthetics. The snake could care less (IMO). Nothing wrong with it if you're willing to keep it clean :cheers:

I will see how I like the aspen as flooring. I already have two very nice pieces of grapevine- one is about 24" long and the other makes a rough loop, about 12" high. I am going to link the two with cable ties for climbing purposes. I picked up half-log huts for shelters... may also add a rock cave.

In any case, the natural viv may be something to experiment with in the future, when s/he's tame. Thanks for the reply.

Just to clarify myself, I love the look of a natural viv. Just not practical when you have 20+ snakes. Post some pics when you get it set up :wavey:

Do you think it's a good idea to start with a simplistic viv while taming my new snake?

Hypancistrus said:

Do you think it's a good idea to start with a simplistic viv while taming my new snake?

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Absolutely, easier to check for signs of illness as well.

Yes, that's what I figured. The book reccomends a taller viv- mine is a 20L, locking. To my knowlege, they don't make 29 gallon locking vivs, at least the brand I went with. So that might be a problem. I was planning on upping him/her to a 40 gallon breeder once he's about 2-3'. The tank would be !36" long and 18" deep. Slightly taller, maybe 16" high instead of 12".

A 20L is a perfect size. Anything taller is just wasted space IMO. Floor space is more critical :wavey:

What kind of King Snakes do you have? The first snake I ever REALLY held (besides having a pic taken with a Burmese Python around my neck when I was 10) was a California King Snake in my 10th grade biology class. It was love at first sight, and I really thought about getting a King instead of a Corn. But my sig. other likes the Corns better.