What is the best way to heat a habitat for a corn snake?

RANGE: Kingsnakes have one of the widest distributions of any American snake. They range throughout the southern United States and Mexico. The Eastern sub-species can be found as far north as southern New Jersey and as far west as southern Alabama. HABITAT: Pinelands, hardwood hammocks, prairies, marshes, and estuaries

quote from: https://seaworld.org/Animal-Info/Animal-Bytes/Reptiles/Eastern-King-Snake

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I keep and raise many corn snakes and have had numerous successful hatchings...they are a lot of fun. Age and size will determine the enclosure they will need to start with. A 20 gallon long will do fine for a few years...make sure you get the type with the sliding locking lid to prevent escapes.



I use under tank heat pads for my snakes typically abbreviated UTH (under tank heat). I UTh on the side I choose to be warm and nothing in the other side ...so in effect you have a hot side and a cool side. The hot side will be maintained at 82-85F and the cool side is room temp. usually no lower than 71-73F in my house except on the coldest of winter nights. but thats OK because the snake will migrate to the warm side as it desires.



Now we need to address the substrate. After many years I have settled on ASPEN bedding ....inexpensive. clean and free of harmful odors and caustic oils. Cedar and Pine and Redwood have toxic chemicals that over a long term exposure can cause problems like caustic burns and respiratory issues. Please use ASPEN. Snakes love to burrow through the aspen bedding. Or on the cheaper side newspaper is common and easily replaced when soiled. Aspen bedding can be spot cleaned for a month or 2 and then replaced depending on the amount of feces and size.



A water bowl is required and a place to hide out...A small box for free from the USPS the PRIORITY small box is perfect and free if you need to replace it. cut a few openings on the side and the top so the snake can get in and out.



Feeding of rodents / mammals is required. The snake is a carnivore. You must learn to feed frozen thawed rodents available at the pet stores or raise your own. Depending on the size of the snake you will need to feed it something as big as the largest part of the snake. Usually a corn snake at 2 years of age can eat adult mice ...or young adult mice. Another term often used is a HOPPER mouse which is a younger / smaller mouse fed to 1 year old snakes. Newborn snakes require pinkie mice / newborn mice and will quickly graduate to fuzzie mice in 6 months time.

The reason I say frozen thawed rodents is for the safety of the snake. It is possible for the adult mice to bite the snake and do damage to the snake, if you choose to feed live rodents. I realize after many years and seeing the results of my snake being bitten by a rodent ...it happens and I prefer to feed frozen thawed. The damage was minor but if the mouse had bitten the snake any closer to the eye cap it might have been serious and irreparable.



As your snake grows and sheds it can live for many years. Shedding skin is another area that requires a bit of common sense...offer the snake more moisture when the eyes get cloudy and dull. After a week the snake will turn clear again and then shortly after it will shed its skin. During this time misting of the enclosure and a moist damp towel / washcloth will keep the humidity up to facilitate shedding.



Any more questions I will be happy to help with if I can.

I bet the snake is there to eat bugs. Do you have a light on by the door. The light attracts bugs. The snake just wants to eat them. Keep the light off unless you really need it and the snake will find another place to catch bugs.

I know this question is really old...did you find a solution??

You will need a fluorescent bulb that emits UVB light for 10-12 hours a day.

Garter snakes, like most snakes, need a thermal gradient in their tanks. What this means is that they will need some areas to be cooler than others. Try to keep a gradient between 70-72F on one side and 80-82F on the other. This way your garter snake can self-regulate its body temperatures as needed.

There are several heating options available:

• Nocturnal light bulbs

• Ceramic heat emitters (CHE's)

• Radiant Heat Panels (RHP's)

• Heating Pads

• Heat Tape

Yes they can. You can do one of the following:

Replace the light with a heating pad

Buy a bulb guard

Place the light where the snake can't reach it, maybe above the tank cover.

The best source of heat is through an overhead radiantsource so I would lose the hot rock. You should know that reptiles do not havethe nerves in their bellies to detect if they are being burned. So if the hotrock malfunction the reptile will keep sitting on it and can get severelyburned.

To ensure that your reptile is happy and healthy, one of themost important issues when having a pet reptile is the cage heating issue.Basically you need to have a heating device and a thermometer in order tofollow the cage conditions. Reptile environment should be between 20 C - 32 C. You can read more here: http://www.reptiles-info.co.uk/reptile-heating.html