Corns & Colubrids
GENERAL CARE GUIDE
The information below is a general care guide you can apply for Corn, King and Milk Snakes.
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Introduction
Corn snakes have been and most likely will always be tops when it comes to first time starter snakes. Most of the big breeders and keepers I know all started off with corn snakes, including me. At Tyron’s corns and colubrids we specialize in the breeding and keeping of corn snakes (pantherophis guttatus), creating beautiful colour variations of this stunning species, from reds, to purples, to oranges and yellows and many many more. We also work with a variety of different pattern mutations which create spots, stripes and many more.
Corn snakes are easy to care for and are very hardy snakes that do not succumb to illness easily. They can withstand various temperature extremes for a small period of time without it affecting the health of the snake. They are quite low maintenance on small scales and very rarely to almost never bite.
Hatchlings, as in most snakes and animals in general, are scared of almost everything and anything. They will strike when feeling threatened, but you need not worry. Their teeth are so small that they cannot penetrate your skin. Babies will easily become accustomed to handling over a short period of time.
Husbandry & General Care
Keeping corn snakes is relatively easy. As mentioned above they are not prone to illness and live long happy lives with minimum requirements. Corn snakes do not need any special lighting like with lizards. Their growth and calcium intake is not dependant on special UV lighting. Although having UVB in their enclosure is beneficial according to a recent study, it is not needed.
Corn snakes are not too fussy where housing requirements are concerned. They are quite active snakes and having a decent size enclosure is recommended for your pet corn snake. They will use every inch of their enclosure, be it terrestrial areas or arboreal areas. Corn snakes are diurnal and move around a lot during the daytime period.
Your cage requirements will comprise of the following:
Decent size terrarium or tank that is escape proof. Corn snakes are master escape artists.
A heating pad on the one side of the enclosure.
Average temps your corn snake loves is between 25 to 30 degrees Celsius. It is always recommended to have a temperature controller connected to the heat pad to regulate the temps on the hot spot of the cage.
A water dish large enough for the snake to swim in is ideal. Corn snakes sometimes love a soak now and again and will also occasionally defecate in their bowls. This will then need to be removed and cleaned. Fresh water should be given once per week.
A hide is needed for your snake to hide away in and feel safe. You can use artificial caves, rock setups or cork bark hollows or half moon pieces as some examples of a hide. If these items cannot be obtained for various reasons, a simple plastic container with a hole in is also sufficient.
Substrate is an important topic for keeping snakes. There are various substrates that can be used in your terrarium for your pet corn snake. Newspaper always remains the easiest, cheapest solution for a substrate but it is a little bit of an eye sore for most people who want the best for their snake. There are pros and cons to various substrates. Below I will list my personal opinions on various substrates.
Newspaper
PROS
- Cheap to obtain and renew.
- Easy to clean.
- Can cover a large surface area of the enclosure.
CONS
- Gets messy once it gets wet, must be changed immediately.
- Sometimes the ink comes off and adheres to the snakes body. It does not have any negative impact on your snake, just makes it look dirty
- Absorbs any substance quickly which means cleaning occurs often.
Sawdust / Wood Shavings
PROS
- Looks relatively attractive in a tank.
- Easy and cheap to obtain.
- Spot cleaning is possible. Just need to remove the clump of defecate. The sawdust absorbs the fluids.
- Keeps the cage smelling relatively nice.
- Provides enrichment for the snake by giving it digging areas.
- Holds humidity quite well.
CONS
- Sawdust can be very dusty and needs to be sifted before use.
- Sometimes the snake defecates underneath the sawdust and then one does not see the need for a clean.
- Sawdust easily gets into the water and contaminates it. Cleaning of the water becomes more frequent.
- Feeding in the shavings is not a good idea as ingestion of this substance can cause impaction. The wood chips sometimes cannot be digested. Depends on the type.
Coconut husk blocks
PROS
- Looks natural.
- Smells great and keeps the tank smelling good
- Provides enrichment and allows the snake to burrow.
- One block is enough to service a large enclosure or multiple enclosures.
- Spot cleaning is possible. You can remove the poo clump and cover the area with surrounding husk.
- Hold humidity well and aids with shedding.
- Feeding in this substrate is relatively safe. The husk is 100% natural and most cases the snake is able to digest ingested substrate
CONS
- Extremely dusty when first broken up. Care needs to be taken so the dust is not inhaled. This substrate needs to be sifted very well before used.
- Can be an expensive exercise to kit out multiple large enclosures.
- Sometimes the husk will mold in extremely high humid cages.
There are also some substrates that one should stay away from. These can include certain types of wood shavings which can cause allergic reactions or respiratory issues with your snake. These include natural woods which contain bad oils in them or shavings that have been made from treated wood. Corn cob is also a medium I would stay away from. Although it has its benefits in terms of being easy to clean, this substrate is hard and uncomfortable for your snake. If ingested, corn cob will cause an impaction in the gut of your snake and an operation will need to be performed to remove this.
Overall there are hundreds of options for substrate for your snake. Do your research on what you would want to use and measure up the pros against the cons of each to base your decision on.
Choosing your snake / Where should I buy?
Once you have your cage setup, you are now one step closer to obtaining your corn snake. Choosing a snake can be quite tough as there are many different colour mutations available. First you have to think of your budget. Get a snake that appeals to you and that your budget allows. I would always recommend buying a cheaper snake as your first for the main reason of affordability. You need to practice and hone your keeping skills before moving into the next price bracket for more expensive snakes.
This DOES NOT mean that you have to care less for the cheaper option. Do a lot of research as to where you can obtain a snake from. As your first snake, it’s always recommended to obtain a hatchling first which you can raise and bond with. Buying a hatchling allows you to understand young snake behaviour and also gives you the practice needed to fault find if any issues arise. Issues such as not shedding properly, lack of feeding response, etc are to name a few. Hatchlings have different dispositions in comparison to adults. There are pros and cons to buying both hatchlings or older snakes as your first. Let’s check out some of my personal pros and cons to this:
Buying a Hatchling corn snake
PROS
- You are able to raise your snake as your own, watch it grow and record its growth, feeds and sheds as it ages.
- You bond with the snake better and learn how to read their behaviours as they age.
- You can watch certain morphs go through their colour changes as they age.
- Using a hatchling to get over your fear of snakes can be more beneficial than an adult as hatchlings are not as intimidating as their adult counterparts.
CONS
- I always recommend buying your first snake as a hatchling so there are basically no cons to buying your first snake as a hatchling. Always do your research before obtaining your first snake
Buying an Aged to Adult corn snake
PROS
- For a breeder this is always the better option as it limits the amount of time you need to wait to breed your snake.
- An aged snake is already established and feeding regularly without any issues.
- In most cases older snakes are already accustomed to handling practices and therefore need no extra work in order to get them acclimated to handling.
CONS
- If an adult is purchased from a breeder, mostly in the case of a female, the snake could have been bred yearly without fail and reason for selling could be that the adult female snake is reducing egg production dramatically or even stopped producing eggs completely. In this case these snakes should go to their new owners as pets and not be placed back into a breeding program.
- If the snake was purchased multiple times from various people, usually the actual true age of the snake has been forgotten and therefore you might end up buying a snake that is near its maximum life span. There is nothing worse than buying your first corn snake and it ends up dying a few years or even months later.
- You don’t know the history of the snake. Some snakes will stop eating at certain times of the year, especially during the breeding season. This normally does not affect corn snakes but it is not impossible. If your snake usually skips meals during the spring time breeding season and the previous owner never told you about it, you will start panicking and stressing about your snakes health. This is something that every first time owner would want to avoid. Usually when snakes skip meals, it’s an issue from the keepers side. Not enough heat in the cage or the snake is unhappy in its cage. As a first time keeper you will not know how to react to this. Its best to avoid it completely.
What should I look for when choosing my first corn snake?
Choosing your first snake can be quite difficult, due to there being so many varieties. You will have to decide what colours you are attracted too as well as if you want a male or a female?
Do research on the net to see what is out there and what is available on the market to help you decide what colour or pattern mutation you like and then find a private breeder or a reputal pet store.
At Tyron’s corns and colubrids we normally always have a nice variety of corn snakes available. We have a large amount of knowledge on the keeping of snakes and are always willing to lend a helping hand.
Once I found my snake, what should I look for before purchasing it?
Once you have found your corn snake, you need to have a look at it to ensure it is a healthy little snake. Check the overhaul look of the snake and make sure there are no irregularities in its body like kinks (Bumps in the spine) or scars and scratches.
Have a chat with the breeder about the history of the snake. Is the snake shedding properly? Does the snake eat regularly? These are important questions to ask so that you ensure you are buying a healthy snake.
Does the snake come with a transport permit? Here in the western cape we require to issue transport permits for all snakes moving in and around the province. This is a requirement by law and it’s the breeder or sellers responsibility to organise this permit for the buyer.
Also ask the seller what is the sex of the snake. There are generally no differences in behaviours between a male and a female corn snake. The females do grow slightly larger than the males but the same can ring true the other way around. I have some males of the same age that are much bigger than their female counter parts.
Is a female more aggressive than a male?
In most cases no. The only time females become aggressive is during the egg laying season. Snakes also become relatively aggressive during their shedding cycles. They become opaque and their vision deteriorates due to the fluid between the old and new skin. Because of their lacking vision, they don’t necessarily become aggressive, but more defensive. Once the shed cycle is over, the snakes temperament will become normalised.
Health practices
Snakes do not generally become sick but there are cases where they do. Most of the ailments can be treated as home remedies and others require vet visits and operations. Lets focus on common ailments I have experienced with corn snakes. Shedding issues can be classed as a medical issue. I say this because stuck sheds and incomplete sheds can cause scale rot and in certain instances, on the tail, amputation.
Always insure you inspect your snakes skin once it shed to make sure it shed properly. There are 3 main things to look for on a shedding, eye caps, tail tip and cloacal (Vent) scales. It is very important that these areas of the snake have shed off properly as this is mostly where the issues of rot begin. Its also important to ensure the body of the snake is shed skin free. The snake will usually scratch off its own body skin over a period of time against an item in the enclosure. It is always good to have something like a piece of wood or a rock in the cage to aid with shedding.
If there is skin left on the snakes tail, you will have to manually remove it yourself. Skin left on the tail dries out and adheres to the scales on the snakes tail tip. This will prevent the next shed cycle to occur properly too. The tail tip will once again break off. After some time, this will cause a cut in the blood circulation in the snakes tail and the tail tip will begin to rot and eventually fall off. If the snake is experiencing whole body shedding issues, place the snake in a tub of luke warm water for about 30 minutes. The water will soften the old skin and it should just drop off while the snake swims around.
Another problem corn snakes face is gut bacterial infection. Usually first time snake owners tend to feed their corn snakes meals that are too large for them. This causes the snake to regurgitate because it is not able to digest the entire meal in time before the prey begins to rot in the snakes stomach. The snake will then regurgitate (vomit) the mouse or rat. During this regurgitation, a lot of the good bacteria the snake needs for digestion and system structure is lost. This bacteria is then replaced with bad bacteria that gets swallowed back down into the snakes stomach from the rotting prey item.
Normally if the snake regurgitates once, it will be fine for the next meal, just so long as the meal is of an acceptable size. If your snake regurgitates, wait about two weeks before offering it a smaller meal. If the regurgitation continues, more bad bacteria will be swallowed and eventually the bad bacteria will out way the good bacteria. This will then cause a condition called “chronic regurgitation”. The only way to combat this is to provide an antibiotic to your snake.
As a beginning keeper, you will have to take your snake to the vet in order for them to administer an antibiotic that kills off the bad bacteria and replaces a lot of the lost good bacteria. This is done by intubation – inserting a thin sturdy but flexible tube through the mouth and down the throat, in order for the medicine to be deposited directly into the stomach. Water can also be added to the tube if the snake is dehydrated for example.
Basically the main medical and health issues for your corn snake have now been discussed. Don’t be shy to research other ailments snakes encounter. It is important for you to know how to deal with any issues as opposed to becoming surprised when they occur.
Breeding
This is a hot topic for the experienced snake keeper. I believe every keeper should experience this at least once. Snake breeding is the ultimate achievement for most keepers, especially those who want to become breeders. Below I will illustrate briefly how it works. Let’s have a look.
Preparing snakes for brumation
Certain species of snakes are highly dependent on a 100% accurate brumation period. Corn snakes however are not that fussy at all. Brumation is a period in which the snakes go dormant. Brumation affects males and females differently.
The females brumate in order to bring on follicle development. These are basically unfertilised eggs that are stored in the females oviducts.
The males brumate to increase their fertility rate where their sperm is concerned. This process is called “ spermothagenisis”. Spermothagenisis is the process where a males sperm count and fertility rate increases. This is brought upon by the cold during the brumation period. Brumation starts around June through to August. Some breeders start brumating as early as May. Brumation usually lasts for a 3 month period during winter.
Snakes do not eat during this time as their body temperatures are too low to allow digestion of food. Snakes are ectothermic, they cannot generate their own body heat, so their body temperatures match their surrounding temperatures. All the snakes can consume and digest is basically water. It is especially important to make sure your snakes are ready before you put them into brumation. Feeding needs to be stopped at least 2 weeks prior to brumation. This is to ensure that there is no remaining food in your snakes digestive tract that could potentially rot during the cool down period. Should they not have the right body fat and weight, they may die during the brumation or even shortly after you bring them out.
Snakes are brought out of brumation simply by gradually raising the ambient temperatures. This must be done slowly so the snake can identify spring is here. If you increase the temps too the maximum straight away, the snake may go into shock and die. It’s basically like a soft jump start to bring the snake back to life, so to speak.
Bringing snakes out of brumation usually starts mid-August. There are many different periods that different breeders use. There is no "cast in stone" timing for these processes. Pairing snakes occurs from September right through to the end of November.
Pairing snakes and expecting eggs
Once your snakes are out of brumation and feeding again, it is time to start putting males in with females. Usually the male is moved into the females enclosure as in nature, the males would go on the hunt for the females. Once you pair the snakes, leave them together for a few days at a time. Usually copulation (mating) occurs immediately, but in some cases you may never see it.
Once there is a successful copulation, the female will become gravid (pregnant). Follicles will grow over a short period of time until they are large enough for the snake to ovulate. Ovulation is basically the time where the follicles are moved through the ovi-ducts to become fertilized by the sperm. After this occurs, the snake will go into a shed cycle about 6 weeks after. This will be the pre-lay shed. About 12-14 days after the pre-lay shed occurs, the snake will lay her eggs. Once the snake has her pre-lay shed, you must provide a nest box in for her where she will lay her eggs. It needs to be a humid tub. I usually use vermiculite in the tub but perlite, hatchrite or sphagnum moss can be used.
Once she has laid her eggs, you need to inspect your snake to make sure she has laid all her eggs and that there are no eggs stuck in her body. If there is one or two eggs still left, remove the clutch and leave the female in her tub for the next 2 to 3 days. Usually she will pass the eggs on her own. If she does not, she will have to be taken to the vet to have the eggs removed. If the eggs are not removed, she will die.
Incubating your eggs
An incubator is required to incubate the eggs. The incubator is basically a temperature controlled box/ capsule which regulates the air temperature. Corn snake eggs incubate usually at 28 to 29.5 degrees Celsius. The warmer the incubator, the quicker the eggs will hatch. The downside here is that the quick incubation period will cause babies to hatch out weak and exceedingly small. Its better to incubate at a lower, not too low, temperature to ensure your babies hatch out strong and healthy. Incubation at 28 degrees usually lasts for around 70 days before the first babies hatch. Incubating at 29.5 usually results in babies hatching at 60 days.
Getting your babies started
It is best to house your baby snakes individually in separate containers. This makes it easier to get them feeding and is less stressful on the babies. If you have 10 babies in one cage, how will you know who shed or who ate?
Baby corn snakes will shed for the first time usually about 7 to 10 days after hatching. Once they have had their first sheds, they are ready to eat. In most cases baby corn snakes can consume a day old baby mouse straight away. If you have trouble feeders feel free to get in touch and I will share some tips and tricks with you.
Here at Tyron’s corns and colubrids we always ensure that our snakes being sold are eating frozen thawed mice. They eat a minimum of 5 times before they are sold to ensure that the purchaser gets the healthiest and best started snakes.
