Caring for Your Pet Cornsnake

Choosing a corn snake

Corn and rat snakes are common first snakes and are relatively easy to look after. Selecting a corn snake is easy – check the snake over from the head downwards, check for watery eyes, soft or swollen gums or runny nostrils.

Hatchling corn snakes are made available for sale as soon as they have taken their first pinkie mouse, which is a one to two day old mouse. Corn snakes do not feed immediately after hatching, they can feed on yolk and food from the egg that it hatched from for up to a week.

Take care when choosing a hatchling, as they often have problems that do not appear for several weeks after hatching. Make sure that they feed well on commercial mice – otherwise you will be looking for frogs and baby lizards for food.

Your snakes personality may not develop for the first few months, nor will colour. Babies often have brighter aspects of colour in certain patterns, but some breeds such as blood reds do not develop full colourisation until mature.

If looked after properly, your snake could live for 15 – 20 years, and can grow up to 5 feet. Snakes have unique care and handling requirements and should only be kept by those with the commitment to understand and meet their needs. Some snakes can grow very large and can be dangerous so any potential owner needs to research into their care before having one.

Sexing snakes

Young and hatchling snakes are difficult to sex, but by the time they are 18 to 24 months old, this should become easier. Male snakes generally have a longer more slender tail which is wider just behind the cloaca and their tails taper gradually from a wider base. Females have shorter tails which taper more abruptly.

The only definite way of sexing a snake is to have it probed by an expert. This involves inserting a steel rod into the snakes vent (opening). In males a probe will pass 9 – 12 scales and in females it will only pass 4 – 6 scales.

Vivarium

Snakes will need a secure glass vivarium with a source of heat. They are cold blooded reptiles and cannot control their body temperature. The best method for ensuring a heated vivarium is an under-tank head pat, specifically designed for reptile vivariums. This needs to cover 1/3 of the bottom of the vivarium so that there is a gradient of heat throughout. Corn snakes do well at air temperatures, between twenty four and twenty seven degrees C. This should drop by five to ten degrees at night. Corn snakes are nocturnal and do not really need special lighting. You can use a full spectrum fluorescent bulb over the tank to provide ultraviolet light, you can also use a basking light, position this so that it shines onto a flat rock to provide a warm basking spot for at least four of five hours a day and can be turned off at night when the snake becomes active.

A good substrate is wood shavings, never cedar which is reported to be toxic, peat moss can also be used, and even something really simple like kitchen towelling can be used. As long as it can be kept clean and dry the snake will be happy. One part of the vivaruim can be kept slightly damper than the rest, this should be under a hide of some kind so that the snake can satisfy its moisture requirements. A water bowl should also be provided with fresh water every day. Snakes will need a hide, preferably one over the heat pad and one in a cooler area of the vivarium, so that the snake can move according to its temperature requirements. A small hide will be sufficient, as snakes like to rest with their sides and back touching a surface as this makes them feel safe.

A climbing branch is also necessary, not bark though which could harbour mites, one which can be cleaned easily, and manipulated into different shapes can be bought from most pet shops. Make sure that it is not positioned too close to the top of the tank as the snake may be able to climb up and push the lid off the tank.

Snakes are not fussy about their vivarium, if the vivarium furnishing is kept simple the easier it will be to keep clean.

When cleaning the vivarium, you need to clean up after each time the snake passes waste. You should clean the vivarium thoroughly every couple of months, depending on condition. Washing up liquid or a cage cleaning spray can be used. Never use milton or dettol as this can be harmful to snakes. Trigene is good for cleaning vivariums as it is a good all round antibacterial and is used in veterinary practice.

Feeding

Hatchlings will usually be fed on pinkies which are day old mice, you should start feeding every two days, increasing the size of mouse and the length between feeds according to the snakes growth. Adult snakes will usually feed on rats.

Snakes will often fast if they are not happy. This can be due to inadequate heat, light or terrain. You need to make sure that the vivarium meets all of the snakes needs, as the snake will only feed if it feels safe and secure. Warmth is a big factor in snake health, they will not feed if they are too cold, so a digital thermometor is best to monitor the temperature constantly. When feeding your snake, make sure that the mouse is thoroughly thawed, you can even warm the mouse in warm water so that it reaches blood temperature, as the scent will become stronger the warmer the mouse gets.

Another trick to try when tempting a snake to feed, is to puncture the brain of the mouse as this will increase the smell and may tempt the snake to eat. Snakes can go for weeks without eating, and as long as they are well nourished and are taking water then this is normal. You should continue to tempt them, and keep a close eye on condition, and if symptoms persist consult a veterinary surgeon.

Shedding

Before a snake starts shedding, its skin colour will dull down, it will become quiet and hide away and may refuse food. A layer of fluid will be produced under the skin so as the skin appears dull, you are looking through a layer of fluid. The snakes eyes will look milky before a shed as they have a clear scale over the eyes called the brille. This scale prevents anything from touching or damaging the eye.

Some snakes are quite irritable at this stage and do not like to be handled, this is because they cannot see and feel threatened when anything comes near them.
The eyes will go clear again after a few days but the actual skin will not shed for another couple of days, you should provide a stone or branch which the snake can rub its nose against to break the skin and start the actual shedding process.

 Hygiene

You should always wash your hands before and after handling your snake, as some can carry harmful bacteria, though this is very unlikely in captive bred corn snakes. Any one with a poor immune system should refrain from handling any reptiles.