Info. Corn Snakes
Care Sheet - Corn Snake Pantherophis guttatus guttatus
• Tanks are designed for baby reptiles, escape proof providing the lid has been secured correctly.
• The tank will last until the snake is between twelve, and eighteen months old. It will then need to be moved into a 36” vivarium.
• Place the heat mat under the tank, with a thin layer of chippings across the base of the tank.
• Set thermostat to 32â—¦c, this is higher than the temperature that we require but there will be some heat loss through the base of the tank.
• The snake needs to have two hides, one in the warm end over the heat mat, and the other at the cool end. When the snake is young, one hide stretching from the warm end to the cool end helps them to settle as they can move from warm to cool without exposing themselves.
• Keep the water dish at the cool end, this keeps it fresher for longer.
• The snake needs access to fresh water daily.
• The tank needs to be fully cleaned out every four – six weeks, put the animal somewhere safe!
• Don’t use household detergents, and disinfectants as they can be toxic to reptiles.
• Baby snakes will shed their skin once every four – six weeks. When the snake is in shed its colours will become muted, and the snake’s eyes will take on a blue grey sheen. When the snake is like this they can feel vunerable so it is best to leave them alone. They may not feed so leave them until next week.
• When you get your snake home, set up the tank as detailed above. Put the snake in the tank. The animal now needs time to settle in. Leave them alone for one week, then feed them. Leave them another week then feed them again. Once the snake has fed twice they have settled in and may be handled following the usual rules for handling.
• The only time the snake can be handled in the first two weeks is if it sheds, when it will need to be checked over.
For a fuller set of instructions on caring for your dragon - CLICK HERE.