Post by John Pilling on Jun 15, 2005 18:15:14 GMT
Main Category: Snakes
Sub Category: Corn & Rat Snakes
Species: Elaphe guttata (guttata & emoryi)
Sexing and Characteristics:
Knowing the sex of corns is an essential first step in effort to breed them. It can be determined with varying degrees of accuracy in many different ways, the most basic of which is simply putting them together and observing which ones actually mate. This will demonstrate with 100% certainty, but doesn’t allow any future planning of pairings. Besides, most corns are acquired as juveniles one or more years ahead of time they will hopefully be used in reproduction, so judging the sex of them is advance is necessity. A successful breeder must personally master one or more methods of sexing snakes.
It’s not hard to judge the sex of adult corns by the relative proportions of the base of their tails. Male’s tails run thicker for the first couple of inches just past the vent. Whereas females’ tail bases taper quickly, starting right past that point.
Mostly Active During: Night
Substrate and Water Needs:
There are many different kinds of material that you can put on the bottom of your vivarium including sheets of paper, shredded paper, Astroturf and bark. Your local pet shop should have a wide range of these and it is important that you don’t go sticking anything in there. Always seek advice first. Personally I use wood chips that I get from the pet shop. This I put about an inch deep and I change it weekly. If you buy a natural product it is important to sterilize it first to kill and mites that may harm your snake. I do this by putting the bag in the freezer for a few days before getting it back to room temperature then adding to the vivarium. Under no circumstances should you use sand in your vivarium, this is bad for your snake. Also, snakes react badly to certain kinds of woods such as Cedar (and a lot of people discourage the use of Pine also), so be careful! The most popular substrate seems to be Aspen, a very fine wood shaving that you can buy from pet shops.
Corn snakes need water, so your vivarium will need a water bowl. This should be cleaned every day or so as corn snakes often crap in it. This should be placed on the cool end of the tank and not over the heater.
Lighting and UVB:
Corn snakes DO NOT require lighting. However, people do use them, myself included to highlight the vivarium and show off the colour of my snakes.
Please note, IF you do decide to use a light, make sure it is a low wattage bulb like a 25-watt (ideally) or a maximum of a 40-watt bulb. I DO NOT recommend a light as a heat source, in any circumstance. Also please remember a light guard if you do chose to use a light.
Temperatures and Humidity:
Snakes are cold-blooded (ectothermic) meaning that they cannot regulate their own body temperatures themselves. This means that if they are cold, they’ll need to move into a warmer place and visa-versa. It is therefore important that your vivarium is the correct temperature for the snake. The way that this is usually achieved is by heating only one end of the tank.
With small and cheap vivariums a heat mat will suffice. This is placed underneath one end of the tank making it warm. The other end will be room temperature.
For larger vivariums you can get a heater (with thermostat) installed at one end of the vivarium. This will achieve a similar effect. The cool end should be between 21 & 25 deg C and the warm end between 29 & 33 deg C.
Unless instructed to do so by an experienced herpetologist, under no circumstances should you place a heater inside the tank. Otherwise your snake may burn himself.
Heating and Equipment:
A heat mat. This is placed underneath one end of the tank making it warm. The other end will be room temperature
Caging Provided: The vivarium doesn’t need to be too large, so long as the snake is comfortable it’ll be fine. As a rule of thumb, corn snakes less that 2foot long need a 10-gallon (18-24 inches long & 12inches both high and wide) vivarium and larger corns need a 20 gallon one (3 foot long for a single corn, or 4 foot long for a pair, by 15-18 inches wide, and an minimum of 18 inches high). This vivarium must be well ventilated, be escape-proof (no holes in which the snake can escape) and the lid must be securely fastened. Corn snakes are good escapologists and can easily push open a lid. Whether the vivarium is glass or plastic, or whether it is top or front opening makes no difference to the snake, it’s just personal preference.
Diet: Carnivorous
Description of Diet:
In captivity corn snakes usually eat mice. These can be bought from pet shops frozen. They should be heated in warm water until they are at about body temperature throughout.
The mouse should then be presented to the snake (I’d recommend using cocktail sticks or something then the snake wont associate your scent with food) and he’ll usually strike at it and then swallow it hole. This is great to watch.
Remember to wash your hands after handling the mice, not only for hygiene, but otherwise your snake may think your hand is food and bite you.
You must also be careful that the snake doesn’t ingest its substrate, this could be very serious. For this reason many herpetologists feed snakes outside of their vivarium (highly recommended).
Snakes usually eat once every 4 to 7 days. As a rule of thumb they shouldn’t eat something one and a half times larger than the largest part of their body. It is important not to overfeed a snake as this will shorten its lifetime and can lead to bad health. When you get a baby snake you start by feeding it one pinkie (very small mouse) every week, then, as he grows you either feed him two, once a week or one, twice a week. When he is big enough you can move onto different sizes of mice. You should ask your pet shop for more advice. My pinkies cost 35 pence each, and larger mice are up to 75 pence each. You shouldn’t ever need to spend more than £1 per week on feeding your snake.
If a snake is too hot, too cold, feeling ill, stressed or about to shed its skin it will not feed. This is normal behaviour and snakes can go weeks without food (although it’s not recommended). To try and make your snake feed you can warm your mice up a little more, and pierce the skin so that the snake can smell the blood and brains. You can also try moving the mouse in front of the snake so that it strikes for it. Never leave a mouse in your vivarium for more than 12 hours as it will go off and could harm your snake. If your snake will not feed seek advice from your local pet store.
Maintenance: Daily:
Water changed every 1-2 days. And spot clean everyday too.
Every 6-8 weeks:
A full clean out is needed. Personally I change mine every 8 weeks, but some people do it more often. You can use bleach to clean out the vivarium as long as it is well ventilated for at least an hour after being towel dried. Or you may use something like a baby bottle steralizer solution, because if it’s safe enough for a baby, it’s safe enough for a snake.
Supplements, Nutrition and Usage:
Nutrabac is a good food supplement and can be used to help rebuild acids and also to aid in digesting food, suitable for hatchlings to kick start the natural acid and other digestive juices.
Electrolize from Exo-Terra
Electrolytes are minerals (magnesium, potassium, sodium, and calcium) that are lost through forms of dehydration, particularly in stress situations. Electrolize speeds up the recovery process after stressful situations (e.g. transport, capture or handling) and maintains a balanced electrolyte flow through muscle cells and nerves to keep them functioning normally. Intake of plain water replaces part of the loss, intake of dissolved electrolytes replaces fluids plus lost mineral salts (electrolytes), all of which work together to keep a reptile’s body functioning properly.
Some Words on this Species:
As corn snakes are tame they can be handled often. Many adults are known to sit on their owner’s laps whilst they watch television, climb all over their head, or just curl up under a pillow on the sofa.
Corn snake have to be my most favourite snake as there cute and come in many different types of colour. And they’re very easy to care for.
Many thanks goes to Lozzer who did most of the hard work for me, i've only added a couple of bits to this care sheet.
Sub Category: Corn & Rat Snakes
Species: Elaphe guttata (guttata & emoryi)
Sexing and Characteristics:
Knowing the sex of corns is an essential first step in effort to breed them. It can be determined with varying degrees of accuracy in many different ways, the most basic of which is simply putting them together and observing which ones actually mate. This will demonstrate with 100% certainty, but doesn’t allow any future planning of pairings. Besides, most corns are acquired as juveniles one or more years ahead of time they will hopefully be used in reproduction, so judging the sex of them is advance is necessity. A successful breeder must personally master one or more methods of sexing snakes.
It’s not hard to judge the sex of adult corns by the relative proportions of the base of their tails. Male’s tails run thicker for the first couple of inches just past the vent. Whereas females’ tail bases taper quickly, starting right past that point.
Mostly Active During: Night
Substrate and Water Needs:
There are many different kinds of material that you can put on the bottom of your vivarium including sheets of paper, shredded paper, Astroturf and bark. Your local pet shop should have a wide range of these and it is important that you don’t go sticking anything in there. Always seek advice first. Personally I use wood chips that I get from the pet shop. This I put about an inch deep and I change it weekly. If you buy a natural product it is important to sterilize it first to kill and mites that may harm your snake. I do this by putting the bag in the freezer for a few days before getting it back to room temperature then adding to the vivarium. Under no circumstances should you use sand in your vivarium, this is bad for your snake. Also, snakes react badly to certain kinds of woods such as Cedar (and a lot of people discourage the use of Pine also), so be careful! The most popular substrate seems to be Aspen, a very fine wood shaving that you can buy from pet shops.
Corn snakes need water, so your vivarium will need a water bowl. This should be cleaned every day or so as corn snakes often crap in it. This should be placed on the cool end of the tank and not over the heater.
Lighting and UVB:
Corn snakes DO NOT require lighting. However, people do use them, myself included to highlight the vivarium and show off the colour of my snakes.
Please note, IF you do decide to use a light, make sure it is a low wattage bulb like a 25-watt (ideally) or a maximum of a 40-watt bulb. I DO NOT recommend a light as a heat source, in any circumstance. Also please remember a light guard if you do chose to use a light.
Temperatures and Humidity:
Snakes are cold-blooded (ectothermic) meaning that they cannot regulate their own body temperatures themselves. This means that if they are cold, they’ll need to move into a warmer place and visa-versa. It is therefore important that your vivarium is the correct temperature for the snake. The way that this is usually achieved is by heating only one end of the tank.
With small and cheap vivariums a heat mat will suffice. This is placed underneath one end of the tank making it warm. The other end will be room temperature.
For larger vivariums you can get a heater (with thermostat) installed at one end of the vivarium. This will achieve a similar effect. The cool end should be between 21 & 25 deg C and the warm end between 29 & 33 deg C.
Unless instructed to do so by an experienced herpetologist, under no circumstances should you place a heater inside the tank. Otherwise your snake may burn himself.
Heating and Equipment:
A heat mat. This is placed underneath one end of the tank making it warm. The other end will be room temperature
Caging Provided: The vivarium doesn’t need to be too large, so long as the snake is comfortable it’ll be fine. As a rule of thumb, corn snakes less that 2foot long need a 10-gallon (18-24 inches long & 12inches both high and wide) vivarium and larger corns need a 20 gallon one (3 foot long for a single corn, or 4 foot long for a pair, by 15-18 inches wide, and an minimum of 18 inches high). This vivarium must be well ventilated, be escape-proof (no holes in which the snake can escape) and the lid must be securely fastened. Corn snakes are good escapologists and can easily push open a lid. Whether the vivarium is glass or plastic, or whether it is top or front opening makes no difference to the snake, it’s just personal preference.
Diet: Carnivorous
Description of Diet:
In captivity corn snakes usually eat mice. These can be bought from pet shops frozen. They should be heated in warm water until they are at about body temperature throughout.
The mouse should then be presented to the snake (I’d recommend using cocktail sticks or something then the snake wont associate your scent with food) and he’ll usually strike at it and then swallow it hole. This is great to watch.
Remember to wash your hands after handling the mice, not only for hygiene, but otherwise your snake may think your hand is food and bite you.
You must also be careful that the snake doesn’t ingest its substrate, this could be very serious. For this reason many herpetologists feed snakes outside of their vivarium (highly recommended).
Snakes usually eat once every 4 to 7 days. As a rule of thumb they shouldn’t eat something one and a half times larger than the largest part of their body. It is important not to overfeed a snake as this will shorten its lifetime and can lead to bad health. When you get a baby snake you start by feeding it one pinkie (very small mouse) every week, then, as he grows you either feed him two, once a week or one, twice a week. When he is big enough you can move onto different sizes of mice. You should ask your pet shop for more advice. My pinkies cost 35 pence each, and larger mice are up to 75 pence each. You shouldn’t ever need to spend more than £1 per week on feeding your snake.
If a snake is too hot, too cold, feeling ill, stressed or about to shed its skin it will not feed. This is normal behaviour and snakes can go weeks without food (although it’s not recommended). To try and make your snake feed you can warm your mice up a little more, and pierce the skin so that the snake can smell the blood and brains. You can also try moving the mouse in front of the snake so that it strikes for it. Never leave a mouse in your vivarium for more than 12 hours as it will go off and could harm your snake. If your snake will not feed seek advice from your local pet store.
Maintenance: Daily:
Water changed every 1-2 days. And spot clean everyday too.
Every 6-8 weeks:
A full clean out is needed. Personally I change mine every 8 weeks, but some people do it more often. You can use bleach to clean out the vivarium as long as it is well ventilated for at least an hour after being towel dried. Or you may use something like a baby bottle steralizer solution, because if it’s safe enough for a baby, it’s safe enough for a snake.
Supplements, Nutrition and Usage:
Nutrabac is a good food supplement and can be used to help rebuild acids and also to aid in digesting food, suitable for hatchlings to kick start the natural acid and other digestive juices.
Electrolize from Exo-Terra
Electrolytes are minerals (magnesium, potassium, sodium, and calcium) that are lost through forms of dehydration, particularly in stress situations. Electrolize speeds up the recovery process after stressful situations (e.g. transport, capture or handling) and maintains a balanced electrolyte flow through muscle cells and nerves to keep them functioning normally. Intake of plain water replaces part of the loss, intake of dissolved electrolytes replaces fluids plus lost mineral salts (electrolytes), all of which work together to keep a reptile’s body functioning properly.
Some Words on this Species:
As corn snakes are tame they can be handled often. Many adults are known to sit on their owner’s laps whilst they watch television, climb all over their head, or just curl up under a pillow on the sofa.
Corn snake have to be my most favourite snake as there cute and come in many different types of colour. And they’re very easy to care for.
Many thanks goes to Lozzer who did most of the hard work for me, i've only added a couple of bits to this care sheet.
