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Question About housing.

S

steve600f2

New member
My son and I just bought our first corn snake today. The problem is the water bowl dries up in a matter of hours. I got the bedding that the guy at petsmart told me to get.Aspen bedding. It seems like it is soaking every bit of the water up. I was told that the snake needed to stay pretty warm at all times. If the water keeps soaking into the bedding it stays wet and makes him cold. Sorry if this is a stupid question or something really easy to fix. I just don't want to do something to hurt our new friend. thanks for any help you can give.
 
It's not in the bowl at all. I'm asuming it just sucking up the moisture . Like I said I'm new to all of this so I don't know.
 
Oh is the water bowl under the heat lamp? That will dry a bowl out in no time. And there is a great wealth of information under the Husbandry Section and others about heat gradients, etc. I suggest you check it out! (I know it's helped me)

Also, if you want a great reference book, try Kathy Love's Comprehensive Guide to Corn Snakes. (I <3 that book) Good luck!
 
What kind of bowl are you using? The snakes will tip them if they aren't heavy enough, and it may be just heavy enough to right itself when the snake gets out.

Or it could be from the humidity (less likely) especially if the bowl is really big (lots of surface area to the water) and there is little ventilation.

How are you heating?

If you can post a picture of his setup!
 
I don't believe everyone is in agreement on this, but I really don't like using the lamps for corns.

1 They are very drying
2 Bulbs are expensive to run and buy
3 They are difficult to control temperature wise
4 They can move and mess up your gradient
5 They can burn your pet..
6 Corns pretty much hate being exposed in the light
7 They need belly heat to digest their food anyway..

You might consider an under tank heater and thermostat..

I'd also bet you'll see your snake IN the water more often if the temps are too high from the bulb, that would mean he moves the water around alot more than if he was just drinking from it.
 
here are some pictures of my set up. Sorry I don't have a temp that I can give you.
DCP_8362.jpg

DCP_8363.jpg

DCP_8365.jpg
 
steve600f2 said:
Sorry I don't have a temp that I can give you.
Click to expand...

Then how exactly do you know that you are providing the snake the appropriate temperatures? :shrugs:

You need to acquire a digital thermometer. You can find one at Walmart for about $12 that does heat and humidity. Also, you can't leave the light on 24-7, you need another heat source for nights (unless you switch to a red or purple "night" bulb).

Here is a basic care sheet and the Husbandry FAQ.
 
The only reason I can think of for the substrate to be so wet, is that the water bowl has a major leak or has not been sealed properly and is therefore allowing the water to seep out into the bedding.

Try taking the bowl out and refilling it, then leave it on the kitchen counter top or something for a while to see if the area around or under it gets wet. If it does, then you need a new bowl, a tupperware container or small animal pet bowl will do the job.

If the tank stays that wet, your corn could end up with scale rot or a respiratory infection, so you need to find out where that water is coming from!

Once you've got that sorted, then you need to find out the temperature in there, like TripleMoonsExotic said. If it's too hot, you could be unintentionally cooking your snake. If it's too cold, then it will have problems digesting it's food.

It would also be good for the snake to get at least one more hide in there, they ideally should have at least one on the warm side and one on the cool side. You will also have to get a secure screen top for the cage, if you haven't already got one, as corn snakes are notoriously good at climbing and it will be able to escape.

Hope you get it all sorted soon :)
 
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