Questionable Snake Behaviour: Please Read

[reptile3_cole_16]

Does anyone here use rag towels (very clean) as substrate for your snakes? I ask because I do and my corn snake is constantly hiding underneath them and always in the cold area of the tank. She is eating well and when warmed up is great to handle but I just am wondering if her hiding in the cold area constantly is a problem. She is in a 33 gallon tank. I do have two hiding spots and one is warm and the other is not. The temperature is around 74 degrees Fahrenheit and I use a 75 watt infrared bulb. I use infrared because I was told that her breed (Reverse Okatee) has bright light-sensitive eyes. I do not know if this is right or not but she has been doing fine for a year like this so far. I will post a picture of my set-up soon. I have heard that she may just be too cold, but that does not explain why she still hides in a COLD spot. If by chance it is heating problems can someone suggest what I should do to improve them?
I will post more info if this could be the case.
Please Help!

Cheers
Cole

 

[bitsy]

Warm end of the tank should be mid-80s ish, 74 is fine for the cool end. As long as they have the choice of temps, then they can decide whether they need to stay cooler. Most of mine live at the cool end of their vivs and only go to the warm end when digesting or feeling under the weather.

Corns can be great burrowers, and given the opportunity, some will insist on burrowing under any substrate you give them. You could try encouraging her out a bit more by providing more hides and ground cover like plastic foliage. You could also try switching to a substrate like aspen, to see if this helps.

It all sounds normal to me. If she's eating reliably and showing no signs of ill-health, then all is OK.

Corns don't need lights, so if you're just using the bulb for lighting, then you can do away with that altogether. If it's the sole heat source, then most folks seem to favour belly heat from an Under Tank Heater (UTH) instead, as this aids digestion.

There's anecdotal evidence that UV lights can cause sight problems for morphs lacking black pigment, but no indication that non-UV lights are a particular issue.

 

[v_various]

Sometimes corns prefer one hide to another, regardless of temperature. If you think this might be the case, try switching the hides - but by the sound of things he just hiding under the towel? As long as he can get under the towel on the warm side just as easily then I would say it's just his temperature preference. I use paper towel for FinFang, he's usually under them as well and seems to like it better than any of his hides.

It could be the light is disturbing your snake, but the only way to find out is to try a different method of heating (most people here use under tank heaters) Is the light turned off at night? Is it your heat source? You say she has been fine for a year, so hiding out on the cold side is a new thing?

And as long as she isn't re-gurging it isn't a problem. The reason we have two different temps in a tank is because corns like and use both.