ok i was thinking about getting a corn snake. how big of a tank should i get so that i dont have to buy a new one again. i just want to know about how much im going to spend to to get the snake and everything eles. i have a under the tank heater already but everything eles what other stuff do i need? i have a bearded dragon so i have delt with reptiles befor. im also looking for a red phase corn snake what do they call that and how much will it cost me?
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should i get a corn snake?
- Thread starter beardie
- Start date
Rachel
Vet nurse in training!
If you buy a hatchling you will have to buy a small tank and then get a bigger one as it get's older. You could get a full size tank, so you don't have to buy another, but would have to partition it. A lil baby corn would feel lost in a full size tank!! A general rule I go by is that you shoud get a tank that is long enough to let your snake stretch out fully. (they can grow to about 5')
As for other things you need: you already have the heat mat so you'll need a thermostat to keep temps stable, a thermometer to measure temps, a water dish, hides (bark, toilet rolls, cocohuts, ice cream tubs etc etc), substrate (woodchip stuff or keep it cheap and use paper towels) & mice!
As for red phased corns: there are quite few different 'red phases'. You have your classic normal phase (red n black), amelanistic (red with no black), bloodreds, crimsons, sun glows, candy canes etc etc. Have a look on the photo gallery and you will get an idea of what all the morphs look like.
Good luck!
As for other things you need: you already have the heat mat so you'll need a thermostat to keep temps stable, a thermometer to measure temps, a water dish, hides (bark, toilet rolls, cocohuts, ice cream tubs etc etc), substrate (woodchip stuff or keep it cheap and use paper towels) & mice!
As for red phased corns: there are quite few different 'red phases'. You have your classic normal phase (red n black), amelanistic (red with no black), bloodreds, crimsons, sun glows, candy canes etc etc. Have a look on the photo gallery and you will get an idea of what all the morphs look like.
Good luck!
Neumann
New member
beardie,
Equipment costs are probably the lesser part of your investment (IMHO). Corns are inexpensive at about $20-$100 USD for a hatchling and starter cages are very reasonable also. What you should really ask yourself is if you're ready for a 10-15+ year commitment to an animal. Therefore, before you buy I recommend you invest a little time and money in some books:
The Cornsnake Manual by: Bill and Kathy Love.
Corn Snakes: Reptile Keeper's Guide (Bartlett, Richard D)
Corn Snakes and Other Rat Snakes (Complete Pet Owner's Manual)
I really like the first two on the list. 'The Corn Snake Manual' is the most comprehensive and 'Corn Snakes' is a good inexpensive overview of Corns. These Books can be found on Amazon, your local bookstore and possibly a local petstore. One other thing to consider is that pet shops are not always as knowlegable as you might think so take what they say with a grain of salt and then verify it here. There are a LOT of experienced Herpers on this list..
Good Luck!
Cheers,
Jason
Equipment costs are probably the lesser part of your investment (IMHO). Corns are inexpensive at about $20-$100 USD for a hatchling and starter cages are very reasonable also. What you should really ask yourself is if you're ready for a 10-15+ year commitment to an animal. Therefore, before you buy I recommend you invest a little time and money in some books:
The Cornsnake Manual by: Bill and Kathy Love.
Corn Snakes: Reptile Keeper's Guide (Bartlett, Richard D)
Corn Snakes and Other Rat Snakes (Complete Pet Owner's Manual)
I really like the first two on the list. 'The Corn Snake Manual' is the most comprehensive and 'Corn Snakes' is a good inexpensive overview of Corns. These Books can be found on Amazon, your local bookstore and possibly a local petstore. One other thing to consider is that pet shops are not always as knowlegable as you might think so take what they say with a grain of salt and then verify it here. There are a LOT of experienced Herpers on this list..
Good Luck!
Cheers,
Jason
i understand that it is a 10-15 year comentment i have a bearded dragon that ill have for about 10 years. a 5 foot tanks seem a little big for this kind of snake for me? let me know what u guys think but how big of a tank should for a full grown. will it really not work if i get a full size tank for a babie?
pinatamonkey
Ophidiophile
I bet close to no one keeps their corns in 5' tanks, and keeping a snake in a tank as long as the snake is unneccessary. A 20L tank (30"x12") is about the smallest you'd want to keep an adult in. You can probably keep a hatchling in that size tank, but if you get a bigger one, like a 30-40-50+ gallon, I'd go with something smaller for a while.
Neumann
New member
Snakes in general are not social animals. They tollerate each other well and some people keep their Corns in the same viv but I believe it is generally considered a bad idea . Search the forum for this topic and you can read the controversy for yourself and make an informed decision.
Cheers,
Jason
Cheers,
Jason
Rachel
Vet nurse in training!
Skye-
No I don't because not all my snakes are 5' long!! Just now, they are all in tanks which they can stretch out in and while I have the room I will keep them in tanks that allow for their growth. I know it's not necessary to give them this much space, but it's the general rule that I go by. While I can afford the space, I will give it to them. Quite a few people I know here (UK), give their snakes tanks that are long enough to stretch out in.
edit: I just re-read the posts...just to clear up, when Pretzel reaches 5' (if he does) he won't be in a 5' tank, rather a tank in which he can stretch out so a 5'diagonal would do fine. Still a pretty big tank but not the 5' long you assumed I meant!
No I don't because not all my snakes are 5' long!! Just now, they are all in tanks which they can stretch out in and while I have the room I will keep them in tanks that allow for their growth. I know it's not necessary to give them this much space, but it's the general rule that I go by. While I can afford the space, I will give it to them. Quite a few people I know here (UK), give their snakes tanks that are long enough to stretch out in.
edit: I just re-read the posts...just to clear up, when Pretzel reaches 5' (if he does) he won't be in a 5' tank, rather a tank in which he can stretch out so a 5'diagonal would do fine. Still a pretty big tank but not the 5' long you assumed I meant!
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Skye
New member
ok, thanks Rachel - that still works out to be some pretty big cages though.
I also believe in space, but as always that comes at a compromise with housing many snakes. I use vision cages that are 28 x 36 inches in floor space. I had never thought to work out the diagonal length before, but I just did and it is 45 inches, or 3.8 ft. Since I have a number of 5 ft. corns, this doesn't give them full body length, but I can honestly say that I have never seen them stretch diagonally anyway. They do move around the sides of the cage though when they straighten out. They always lie coiled.
Skye
I also believe in space, but as always that comes at a compromise with housing many snakes. I use vision cages that are 28 x 36 inches in floor space. I had never thought to work out the diagonal length before, but I just did and it is 45 inches, or 3.8 ft. Since I have a number of 5 ft. corns, this doesn't give them full body length, but I can honestly say that I have never seen them stretch diagonally anyway. They do move around the sides of the cage though when they straighten out. They always lie coiled.
Skye
Ice9
New member
I would think that you would need to start with for a hatchling are
A small shoebox size tank/box with a tight fitting lid + air holes (larger viv later after about a year)
A heat mat that will cover a third to a half of the box
A thermostat
A thermometer
A supply of pinkies
Substrate (bark chips etc , newspaper will do)
Hide (toilet roll tube , log etc)
Water bowl
Bottle of mineral water (tap water not good for corns)
A good corn snake manual (essential)
In the UK this can cost anywhere between £80 -£100 depending on what you buy , including the snake.
A small shoebox size tank/box with a tight fitting lid + air holes (larger viv later after about a year)
A heat mat that will cover a third to a half of the box
A thermostat
A thermometer
A supply of pinkies
Substrate (bark chips etc , newspaper will do)
Hide (toilet roll tube , log etc)
Water bowl
Bottle of mineral water (tap water not good for corns)
A good corn snake manual (essential)
In the UK this can cost anywhere between £80 -£100 depending on what you buy , including the snake.
Alex Dew
Corn and Bp Lover
Well said Ice9
The thermostat isn't essential since its not for a heat bulb and the heatmat is not very big. But you can get one if you want. They are pritty expencive though £20-£30.
why is bottled water better for corns then tap water???
I have never heard that before.
Cheers
Alex
The thermostat isn't essential since its not for a heat bulb and the heatmat is not very big. But you can get one if you want. They are pritty expencive though £20-£30.
why is bottled water better for corns then tap water???
I have never heard that before.
Cheers
Alex
shane.N
New member
If it helps this is a picture of the tanks I use for my corn snakes.
The top one is used for my hatchlings.When they get to about 5 or 6 months old they go into the second tank.they stay in this until they are about 1 year old then are put in the next size tank.They can stay in this for another 6 to 12 months when they are put into their adult vivarium.
The heatmat I buy is 11"x11" and will be OK to last the snakes life time(just make sure only half the viv is on the heat mat).I use paper towel as a substrate until they are in their adult viv then I put them on beech chips.they drink tap water with no ill effects and I don't use any other light source other than the lights that are on in the room.Any other questions feel free to ask.
The top one is used for my hatchlings.When they get to about 5 or 6 months old they go into the second tank.they stay in this until they are about 1 year old then are put in the next size tank.They can stay in this for another 6 to 12 months when they are put into their adult vivarium.
The heatmat I buy is 11"x11" and will be OK to last the snakes life time(just make sure only half the viv is on the heat mat).I use paper towel as a substrate until they are in their adult viv then I put them on beech chips.they drink tap water with no ill effects and I don't use any other light source other than the lights that are on in the room.Any other questions feel free to ask.
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they'd feel lost?!?
in a large tank? Geez, I bet the ones in the wild around here are miserable! Honestly, I see no reason to partition off a larger enclosure, unless the animal is having a hard time finding food, which seems unlikely.
Conversely, I keep BIG corns in Rubbermaid blanket boxes where they have nowhere near room to "stretch out". I think most folks with large collections do as well, with no ill result. Except for mating season, they don't travel a lot in the wild, especially if there is a good food supply. I've run across one in the same spot in a mouse-infested barn over and over.
in a large tank? Geez, I bet the ones in the wild around here are miserable!
Honestly, I see no reason to partition off a larger enclosure, unless the animal is having a hard time finding food, which seems unlikely. Conversely, I keep BIG corns in Rubbermaid blanket boxes where they have nowhere near room to "stretch out". I think most folks with large collections do as well, with no ill result. Except for mating season, they don't travel a lot in the wild, especially if there is a good food supply. I've run across one in the same spot in a mouse-infested barn over and over.
RyanR
Canadian Boa Fanatic.
ive housed my 2 corns in 55 gallon Vivs since they were small and seem to enjoy it and they certainly have near 5 feet to strech out theese tanks are HUDGE thats why my collection is 2 because i love giving them everything they need/could want and that gets WAY to exspencive if you were to have 10-1500 snakes like some people
Ice9
New member
Alex
I was told by a vet that the high levels of fluoride and the hard water that you get in some areas of the UK , (calcium etc) , is not good for corns , so we decided not to take the risk.
We use roughly a bottle of mineral water every month which only works out to about 80p.
Its probably argueable though and doubtless many people give tap water to their corns with no ill effects , but seeing as its so cheap I prefer to play it safe.
cheers
I was told by a vet that the high levels of fluoride and the hard water that you get in some areas of the UK , (calcium etc) , is not good for corns , so we decided not to take the risk.
We use roughly a bottle of mineral water every month which only works out to about 80p.
Its probably argueable though and doubtless many people give tap water to their corns with no ill effects , but seeing as its so cheap I prefer to play it safe.
cheers