Question:Okay, I've had my corn snake for one year now, and he's doing perfectly fine, but i would just like to know at what size do i begin to give him larger food then pinkies, and what size tank will i need for when he gets a lot bigger.
thank you guys/gals!
Answers:
give him food that's as wide as the widest part of his body, about once a week, 20 gallon tanks work for adults, but a 40 is better.
most times snakes can eat pray twice as big as there head is with out a problem.
a would say a corn snake would do fine in a 20gal long as an adult.
my roommate has the same snake. from what i've heard her say pretty much feed it as much as you want for as big as you want it to get and as fast as you want it to get big. remembering form when the bought it i think if you've had it for a year you should easily be able to jump up a size on the food,. just make sure he easly eats the pinkies. if he scarves em down within seconds, clearly time to move on to bigger things, if he stills takes FOREVER to get them down.,..maybe hold off for awhile. as far as tank size my roommate has a HUUUGE tank for it and my other friend has a corn snake and keeps it in a smaller one, both seems content with life.
# Care of your snake:
Temperature should be 80-85F(27-30C) during the day at the hot end of the vivarium, with a 5-10F drop at night. It is best to have two thermoneters, one at each end of the viv so you know the temperature at the hot and cold ends.
Your viv can be heated by many methods but the key thing to is that your heat source should be well guarded so that the snake can't get too close and burn itself. All sources of heat should be thermostatically controlled which can cost £15 to £50. This will be your most expesive piece of equipment but the most important! There are two main sources of heating commonly used for reptiles. The first is heat mats which are placed idealy in the vivarium. This provides a local source of heat for the animal. The second is bulbs or ceramic heaters these work by warming the air a more natural way. We keep our corn snakes using both mehods and the snakes do as well using either method. Snakes shed theirbwhole skin as they grow, this happen at intervals during its life usually after five or six feeds. You will notice that the skin become duller in colour and the eyes wil go grey. Do not feed your snake if you see this happen. This colour change indicates that the old skin has started to seperate from the new skin. When you see the snakes eyes go clear again he is about to shed his skin. Give him a bath in tepid water. About 80f should be hot enough, this will help to soften the old skin before he sheds it. Do not use any soap or detegent in the water but a few drops of cooking oil in the water may help. He will usually shed his skin within 48 hours of the eyes becoming clear. Wait 48 hours after he has shed his skin before feeding
# Furnishing your vivarium:
As a substrate you can use anything from paper to wood chippings, but do not use anything with cedar chippings or saw dust in it as this is dangerous for reptiles. Do not use silica sand or sawdust as the animals that ingests these will not live very long.Your snake will need something to hide under. This can be anything from a box made of wood or a flower pot , cork bark or a hollow log. It will also need a water bowl big enough to curl up in without over flowing onto the substrate. This water bowl should be cleaned out every day and the water changed.
# Feeding: PLEASE DO NOT FEED SNAKES ON LIVE FOOD!
Small animals can do great damage to snakes if they are grabbed by an inexperienced snake and it causes untold suffering to the small animal.
Feed only defrosted frozen food!
Food should be defrosted at room tempertaure and warmed in a plastic bag and in a bowl of warm water up to 100F before being presented to your snake.
Cornsnakes should be eating mice or rats. If they are eating defrosted chicks please be carful as they might not be as healthy as the ones fed on rodents. Young corn snakes should be fed every four ore five days, decreasing to every week as the snake grows eventually once every two weeks will suffice for adult specimens. The food it eats should be as thick as the snakes thickest part of its body. If you keep more than one snake in the same vivarium seperate them for feeding as the may fight over the same piece of food. Some snakes may slow down their feeding as winter comes on even though the vivarium is still as warm this may be due to shorter days and so full spectrum lighting is recommended as for some lizards may be an advatage to these snakes to keep them feeding normally.
Please remember this is only basic advice and veterinary advice should be sort if your animals have any problems.
your snake will need a bigger cage when he is is longer than the cage you have. You will have to feed him bigger mice when he can eat 2 or more pinkies. I have my snake in a 40 gallon cage and i am feeding him adult mice!
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