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How difficult are corn snakes to care for?

T

The Breaker

New member
I mentioned to my GF that i'd like to get a corn snake. But she told me she didn't think this was a good idea as snakes are difficult. (She is a huge animal lover so she told me this for the snakes sake)

And she went on to tell me how her father had kept snakes and how difficult they could be, not eating and being aggressive. But her father kept large boas and pythons. Nothing as simple and easy as a corn snake. I tried telling her that but she said all snakes are difficult. I know that all snakes require a responsible and informed owner and attentive care, but they are beginner snakes for a reason aren't they? She tried telling me it'd probably be that difficult and aggressive no matter what. But as long as I handled it enough and properly that should not be true right?

So my question is, is she right? And if not what can I tell her to change her mind? I had never really been interested in reptiles but snakes have recently peaked my interest. And after doing a bit of research i'd really like to get a corn snake. I've never really had a pet of my own. And though id like something like a macaw someday, I feel like this would be something nice for now. Something relatively cheap and easy to care for. Id just really like an animal to take care of and stuff. And a snake seemed like the perfect fit as we share a living space with others.

Any thoughts on this would be much appreciated. ( :
 
most snakes are not aggressive. Snakes don't generally chase people or harass them It's the other way around. People are the aggressors. The snake generally wants to be left alone. Even a venomous rattlesnake will warn you before it bites. So if you get bitten by one, is it the snake's fault? Who was the aggressor?

Snakes are not like dogs or cats. They are more difficult. Proper temperatures must be maintained. Proper feeding. Snakes shed their skin occasionally. Not all snakes are the same. Different species of snakes require different care.

I would suggest you get some books about snakes, in particular Corn Snakes, if that's what you want. Study it. Then Study it again.

Buy the proper housing and furnishings ahead of time. Have everything set up and ready ahead of time.

And if you can't afford the books, or the proper set up, and you don't have the time to learn about snake care, then you really don't need a snake.
 
Karl_Mcknight said:
most snakes are not aggressive. Snakes don't generally chase people or harass them It's the other way around. People are the aggressors. The snake generally wants to be left alone. Even a venomous rattlesnake will warn you before it bites. So if you get bitten by one, is it the snake's fault? Who was the aggressor?

Snakes are not like dogs or cats. They are more difficult. Proper temperatures must be maintained. Proper feeding. Snakes shed their skin occasionally. Not all snakes are the same. Different species of snakes require different care.

I would suggest you get some books about snakes, in particular Corn Snakes, if that's what you want. Study it. Then Study it again.

Buy the proper housing and furnishings ahead of time. Have everything set up and ready ahead of time.

And if you can't afford the books, or the proper set up, and you don't have the time to learn about snake care, then you really don't need a snake.
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Id never get any kind of animal without doing as much research as I possibly could. And only if I knew I had enough time. I love animals and id never get one if I thought I couldn't take care of it or without doing an ample amount of research.

So as long as I do that shouldn't it be an relatively easy snake and good pet?
 
I've raised snakes and other reptiles for over 55 years. Colubrids in general, and Corns more specifically, are not aggressive. Corn snakes are often recommended for beginners because of their minimal husbandry needs and gentle demeanor. If your girlfriend has other objections to your acquisition of a snake you may want to discuss it further with her. Why not have her read some of the posts on the forum from people who love their corn snakes?
 
Twolunger said:
I've raised snakes and other reptiles for over 55 years. Colubrids in general, and Corns more specifically, are not aggressive. Corn snakes are often recommended for beginners because of their minimal husbandry needs and gentle demeanor. If your girlfriend has other objections to your acquisition of a snake you may want to discuss it further with her. Why not have her read some of the posts on the forum from people who love their corn snakes?
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I will most likely do that. She likes snakes but thinks just because her father dealt with more complex breeds that they are all like that. I just want to get her to understand corns aren't anywhere near as difficult as boas and pythons.
 
The Breaker said:
more complex breeds
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A point of semantics, but this is a pet peeve of mine. Dogs, cats, and goldfish have breeds; the word you're looking for is "species." ;)

I went from 1 to 8 to 28 corns (plus a garter and ball python) in less than a year. Between my SO and I, we still spend more time caring for one cat (including necessary social interaction) than I do caring for the snakes.

I do recommend a well-started juvenile if attitude is a concern, which right now would be a 2016. It's very rare for a corn to be excessively defensive, but here I am with a subadult that will draw blood if you so much as touch her. Two of my youngsters are still only somewhat hesitant to nip, but don't only because I'm used to handling them. A newbie might not be so lucky.

For this reason, I would advise against buying from a pet shop or other cheap wholesale distributor. A good breeder who is passionate about the hobby will be able to tell you a bit about the temperament of an individual snake and will take the time to find the right juvenile for you. If you have a budget in mind (assuming your gf eventually allows it), I can try to help you find what you're looking for.
 
Hi I am a 61 years old young lady I am a first time snake owner .
I have a Amal corn snake his name is George.
He is 6 months old now I had him at 9 weeks old
They are so easy to look after .
What I did was read all about care they need
He is not aggressive I handle him most days apart from his feed day and 2 days after or when he is shedding .
I love him to bits go on get a corn snake .
This site is very good for advice
Good luck please let me know what you are going to do
Pat x


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Dragonling said:
A point of semantics, but this is a pet peeve of mine. Dogs, cats, and goldfish have breeds; the word you're looking for is "species." ;)

I went from 1 to 8 to 28 corns (plus a garter and ball python) in less than a year. Between my SO and I, we still spend more time caring for one cat (including necessary social interaction) than I do caring for the snakes.

I do recommend a well-started juvenile if attitude is a concern, which right now would be a 2016. It's very rare for a corn to be excessively defensive, but here I am with a subadult that will draw blood if you so much as touch her. Two of my youngsters are still only somewhat hesitant to nip, but don't only because I'm used to handling them. A newbie might not be so lucky.

For this reason, I would advise against buying from a pet shop or other cheap wholesale distributor. A good breeder who is passionate about the hobby will be able to tell you a bit about the temperament of an individual snake and will take the time to find the right juvenile for you. If you have a budget in mind (assuming your gf eventually allows it), I can try to help you find what you're looking for.
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Oh okay, I'll remember that for next time. ( :

I don't really mind being bitten by a hatchling as from what I've heard you can hardly feel it. And from what I've read with proper handling they almost always grow out of it.

I've looked it up and there are no reptile shows or reptile specific shops near me. I haven't looked for individual breeders yet so I might have more luck with that. But if not I might be forced to buy a hatchling online anyway as from what I've seen there aren't many juveniles online.

I would never buy from a chain pet store, but we do have a small locally owned pet store that cares very much about their animals. When we get a cocketiel from them there was a very informed gentleman making sure that we knew everything to give it a great home. Would places like this sometimes be an exception?
 
WELCOME !!!

Congrats on doing your homework before purchasing a snake!

I highly recommend reading this
https://www.cornsnake.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=56&Itemid=143&lang=en

Everything in relationship to CORN snake care is touched upon in detail by Don S. Don's claim to fame, besides being an expert with more experience than all of us, is he will go into extreme detail to the simplest question :bowdown:
You will also see that he does NOT recommend regulating UTH's. His reasoning has been proven by others including myself.

Corn snakes are the best first and beginner snake to own.

Macaws, BTW, are one of the worst pets to own.

THe first question usually asked at expo's, school and educational shows that we do is " does it bite ?". Our answer is always " if it has a mouth then it bites!!. Every feeding day one of my snakes bites me :face_palm_02: including but rarely a corn snake. But unlike a Macaw and my Tegus a corn snake can't take a finger off :)

There's nothing wrong with buying from a chain store. Their snakes can come from breeders on here too. There are newbie to expert breeders that can give you bad advice or a trouble animal also. Honestly, even as a fellow vendor, I get mostly lied to about a reptile at the expo's.

:)
 
I've owned a variety of pets and so far the corn snake has been the easiest to care for. They don't require a massive terrarium or have any difficult habitat requirements, and they only eat around once a week (depending on age and size). Generally, they aren't aggressive and are very tolerable of handling.
 
Corns are great snakes...first, last and in between LOL.
There's a morph (color) for every taste, and some absolutely wonderful, honest and caring breeders on this site who would help you find what you are looking for.
 
Snakes are very easy to care for. The hardest part is getting their environment set up correctly. Once you do that, it's super easy.

Cornsnakes are one of the easiest to care for and have great temperaments.

There is a lot of great information in this forum, and pretty easy to find. Go to the top of the page and use the search option for the topic you are looking for. There are many posts about almost every topic you can think of in relation to Cornsnake care.

They are a lot of fun to keep, and can be addictive!
 
Very addictive. Each one has his or her own unique personality and cute quirks/mannerisms. I adore them.
 
The Breaker said:
I would never buy from a chain pet store, but we do have a small locally owned pet store that cares very much about their animals. When we get a cocketiel from them there was a very informed gentleman making sure that we knew everything to give it a great home. Would places like this sometimes be an exception?
Click to expand...

Yes, that is definitely an exception. I intended to specify big box pet stores. The top grossing pet companies do not typically buy from small breeders, and I know PetSmart definitely does not.
 
I had my George from our pet shop she was very good told us about setting his home up and feeding him
We get his food from there she really looked after us
Pat xx


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Once they're set up, they're easy to care for, but keep in mind that they'll live 20+ years if kept well.
 
Hi there! I grew up with massive retics and actually got my love of snakes from the big love-bugs. Yes, some large boas and pythons can be aggressive and their care is fairly complex for a newbie, but a corn snake is nowhere NEAR as difficult. Their husbandry needs are minimal when it comes to snakes and they're actually very friendly. I've only ever been bitten by my 6 month old once, and that was during feeding time. As long as you're handling your corn every day (with the exception of feeding day, the day after feeding, and during shed), it'll most likely be a perfect example of the species.
 
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