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Just got my first corn snake and just have a question about how he's acting

T

Trippy Clock

New member
Hey guys, I'm new to the snake world so excuse me if my question is a bit silly! I just got back with my snow corn Ghost, and put him in his new tank. He explored the warm side for a bit, kinda stuck around in it for 5 or so minutes, then discovered his cool hide and quickly slithered into it. He's been in there for about 10 minutes now just curled up and staring out the entrance. He peaks out every once in a while but sees us and recedes.

Is this normal? Is my warm side potentially too warm? The warm hide has a heat pad at ~85 and there's a CHE above the warm side warming it to an ambient temperature of about 84.
 
Congratulations on your new corn. :D Also, as corn snakes use belly heat, I would say that in addition to the heat mat, you won't be needing the CHE. It will dry out the humidity and possibly make it uncomfortable for him. In my experience, corns do tend to stick to the warm most of the time (well, for my ones only - can't speak for other people's obviously). I personally would keep it at 82-84 to keep it comfortable and not too warm. Is he digesting normally?
 
nimbuzz said:
Congratulations on your new corn. :D Also, as corn snakes use belly heat, I would say that in addition to the heat mat, you won't be needing the CHE. It will dry out the humidity and possibly make it uncomfortable for him. In my experience, corns do tend to stick to the warm most of the time (well, for my ones only - can't speak for other people's obviously). I personally would keep it at 82-84 to keep it comfortable and not too warm. Is he digesting normally?
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I just got him today so I haven't fed him, but from what my breeder told me he seems to be feeding normally. The CHE is there cause my room is a bit cold and I need it to bring up the ambient temp.
 
Trippy Clock said:
I just got him today so I haven't fed him, but from what my breeder told me he seems to be feeding normally. The CHE is there cause my room is a bit cold and I need it to bring up the ambient temp.
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Oh, then I'd let him settle before feeding, but honestly, I sleep with my bedroom window open and I do a 82-84 and a room temp like about 77. Because of the belly heat, I genuinely wouldn't worry about the ambient temps. Although I'd get a small hide on the warm side if you've got a larger one. The small space will insulate heat while making them feel secure. I'd definitely get rid of the CHE as the ambient temperature may even be stressing him out (leading to him avoiding the warm spot).

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My problem with removing the CHE is that without it the temp on the cool side is aroun 68-70 and doesn't really get higher than that. Should I just turn the CHE heat down a bit?
 
Trippy Clock said:
My problem with removing the CHE is that without it the temp on the cool side is aroun 68-70 and doesn't really get higher than that. Should I just turn the CHE heat down a bit?
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It might actually be a thought to have the CHE on the cool side (if possible) to bring the temps up to around 75. Has he been back to the warm since then? Bear in mind that if he's not alone (you in his line of sight) it may be likely he won't come out. Most, if not all young corns are massive fans of hiding and being flighty. How old is he?

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I left for a bit and came back to him on the warm side again. So I think he was just shy. One thing though, he doesn't seem interested in his warm hide, he just hangs out on the edge of the warm side or on top of his warm hide.
 
Yeah he's been curled up in a ball on top of his warm hide since my last post. I think he just hasn't discovered that he can go inside it yet, and there are some plants around it so the place he's sitting is somewhat hidden.
 
It's probably the fact that he's in a very new place. Don't forget that moving home is a very stressful ordeal for a young snake. When I brought my girl home, she explored when I wasn't around (she still does), and she's perch herself upon her hides. This lasted for a day, until she figured what it was that she needed to do to get inside. I'd say for the first week that you have this little guy, it's best to leave him alone for now, just to keep an eye on the temps and humidity to keep everything calm. Given his age (and new home), the hiding behaviour doesn't seem VERY unusual.

One question, is the hide too small for him? What kind of hide is it?
 
The hide's definitely big enough, the cool side hide is smaller and he was easily able to fit in that. I don't remember what brand of hide it was, but it's supposed to be like a rock cave, I think it's made of clay or ceramic.

Also an update, he's moved to his cool hide and is chilling in there now.
 
Trippy Clock said:
The hide's definitely big enough, the cool side hide is smaller and he was easily able to fit in that. I don't remember what brand of hide it was, but it's supposed to be like a rock cave, I think it's made of clay or ceramic.

Also an update, he's moved to his cool hide and is chilling in there now.
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Ah, you've got the rock hide. That's good, I hear the resin insulates quite well. (I use coco huts, logs and resin skulls.) As long as he seems to feel secure and hidden away, that's the important part.

The fact that he's willingly moved to another hide (on the other side of the viv), then I would safely say that he is just thermo-regulating his body temperature. Giving him space and observing him (and his temperatures) from afar is probably your best bet at the moment.

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He stayed in his cool hide all night from what I could see(maybe he came out when I was asleep). Now he's just gone. He's not in either hide and no where on the surface. I think he tunneled and just decided to stay underground but I've been looking through the aspen for a bit and can't find him. There's no way he escaped so he's probably just really good at hiding underground.
 
The "Ambient Temp" of the air inside the tank is not too critical. your snake does not fly through the air nor does he stick to the sides. He probably lays or crawls along the bottom like most snakes do. That's where you measure the temps - where he actually is.

If you have 85 degrees on the warm side and about 70 to 75 on the cool side on the bottom then that's perfect - forget this "ambient crap." The extra heat and the overhead lights and heaters and so forth will only dry out the air and cause more problems later on.
 
But the humidity in there is still at about 50. Also, without the CHE providing some extra heat, I'm pretty sure the temp at the bottom of the cool side won't be between 70-75. Like I said, my room is cold.
 
Lol dude I'm just giving some context to my reasoning. If the bottom temperature on the cold side is too cold, I should add some more heat, right? That's what I've done. I was looking for your input on that, don't "ok whatever" me.
 
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