Hey mate, welcome to the forum.
Right, well it might seem obvious; but make sure you have a secure, tight-fitting lid. Corn snakes (like most snakes) are excellent escape artists, so one slip-up, and bam! They're gone. (Please, no one quote the Cillit Bang advert, lol)
Okay, well here's a list of what you need:
- Heat mat covering 1/3 of the tank
- Thermostat to control the mat
- Digital thermometer (with a probe, preferably)
- Two hides (one on the warm side, one on the cool side)
- A water dish
- Substrate (aspen's great, but make sure you feed in a seperate tub)
Anything else is an extra, but with a tank that size, a hatchling's gonna get freaked out (and probably not eat). Either you put the hatchling in a smaller tub, or you buy lots of artificial plants, lots of hides, places to climb etc. The aspen will also help it feel secure (by burrowing)
Feeding
You should be feeding a prey item that's 1 to 1 1/2 times the girth of your snake. With smaller prey items, I feed once every 5 days, and with larger prey items, I feed once every 7 days (eventually once every 10 days). You should leave 48 hours before handling your snake, apart from briefly handling it to place it back in the tank after feeding. If you get a regurge, don't feed for 10 days, and feed a smaller item (if it's a hatchling, it should be a pinkie head or half a pinkie).
Cleaning
I spot clean whenever there's waste, and I give a total clean out once every 6 weeks. I clean the water bowl and replace the water every other day. I use a biological cleaner for spot cleaning and the total clean out, but a 5% bleach solution is fine too (allow an hour or so to air it out).
Heating
I've explained what equipment you need, but you'll need a warm side that's between 80 - 85F, and a cool side that's between 70 - 75F.
If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask or send me a PM.
All the best
David
