eatinsects.

SnakesDOinfactuseUVtosynthesizevitaminD3butincaptivitytheydon'tneeditbecausethey
receivevitaminD3fromthemiceTheyeat.Theyalsogetcalciumtoo.VitaminDisintheliverofmiceandcalciumisin
thebones.

HowtoCareforaCornSnake
ThreeParts:

SettinguptheHabitat

TakingCareofYourSnakeDaytoDay

HandlingandShedding

Cornsnakesarehighlyrecommendedforanysnakelover,becausetheymakegreatpetsforpeopleofallages.Nativetothe
USAandMexico,theyaredocile,hardy,attractive,andareeasytocarefor.
Part

SettinguptheHabitat

Gettherightsizedtankforyoursnake.Cornsnakeadultscangettobeasbigas5feet(1.4m)long.Youmay
notneeda20gallon(75.7L)enclosureatstart,buteventuallyyouwill.Theenclosurecanbeeitheratankor
vivarium.Whenthesnakeissmall,itisoktostartyourpetoffinasmallertanksuchasaLivingWorldFaunariumor
similarproduct.Foralargesnake,thevivariumshouldbearound3050inches(76.2127.0cm)longbutthere'snot
reallimitonsize,justmakesureit'sbigenough.

Giveyourcornsnakeenoughheat.Provideaheatmatthatcoversabout1/3ofthetankfloortoprovidea
properheatgradient.Theheatmatmustbethermostaticallycontrolledbecausetheyreachinexcessof250
degreesF(121degreesC)whichwillseverelyburnthesnake.Positiontheheatmatoveronesidetogetthatgradient.
Temperaturesshouldbeabout7585degreesF,2329degreesC,withthehighertemperatureonthewarmareaofthe
tankatoneside.
Cornsnakesarenocturnalandusetheheatfromtheground,notheatfromthesunsoheatlampsarenot
suitable.Hotrocksareneversuitableforanypetastheyprovidealocalizedsourceofheatthatistoohot.A
coldsnakemaycurlaroundit,seriouslyburningitself.

Giveyoursnakesomehidingplaces:Youshouldprovidesomeplacesforyousnaketohideintofeelsecure.
Trytoprovideahidingplaceinthehotsideforsure,othersareoptional.Thehideshouldbeplacedinthewarm
areaofthetankovertheheatmat.HidescanbeanythingfromshopboughtonestoLegopieces.Becreativeherebut
makesureyoumaterialsarenontoxic.

Coveryourtankorvivariumwithsubstrate.Therearemany,manydifferentfloorcoveringscommercially
availableforcornsnakesbutyoubestoptionsareaspenchipsandnewspaper.Newspaperisthebestasitisvery
absorbentandeasytoreplace.Whilepractical,newspaperisnotveryaestheticallypleasing.Ifyouwantadecorative
substrate,useaspen.Othergoodoptionsarebarkorcypressmulch.Donotusecedarshavingsinasnakehabitatas
itistoxictoreptiles.

Nevercatchawildcornsnake.Cornsnakesarebecomingmoreandmoreeasytoobtain,butthatdoesn'tmean
youshouldseekthemout.Wildonesdonotadjustwelltocaptivityandhavealowsurvivalrate.Captivebred
oneshavebeenincaptivityformanygenerationsandhavebecomeverydomesticated.Findagoodbreeder,either
throughaforumorothersource.Petshopsarenotgoodasyoucannotbesureifthesnakecomesfromareputable
source.Onceyouhaveyoursnake,leaveit5daysbeforefeedingorhandlingitsoitcansettlein.

Part

TakingCareofYourSnakeDaytoDay

Giveyoursnakeenoughwater.Youshouldprovideabowlofwaterforyoursnake,bigenoughforittosoakifit
wishes.Changethewatertwiceaweek.Thebowlcanbeoneitherthecoolorwarmside.Beawarethatabowl
onthewarmsidewillincreasethehumidity.

Provideadequatelighting.YoudonotneedUVlightsorcalciumsupplementslikeyoudoinotherreptilesthat
eatinsects.SnakesDOinfactuseUVtosynthesizevitaminD3butincaptivitytheydon'tneeditbecausethey receive
vitaminD3fromthemiceTheyeat.Theyalsogetcalciumtoo.VitaminDisintheliverofmiceandcalciumisin the
bones.

http://www.wikihow.com/CareforaCornSnake

Donotkeepapairofcornsnakestogether.Theyareasolitaryspecies.Keepingtwosnakestogethercan
increasetheirstress.Cornsnakesincaptivity(especiallyhatchlings)havebeenknownonoccasiontoeatone
another,withbothsnakesinvolveddying.Theonlyexceptionisabreedingpair.Ifyouwishtobreed,checkthatyour
femaleis300g,3feet(0.9m)longand3yearsold(333rule)andconsultagoodbook.Donotcohabityourbreeding
pairuntilyouknowthattheyandyouareready.Inbreedingisbestavoided.

Feedyoursnakeonemouseperweek.Babycornsnakesarestartedonpinkiesizemiceandprogressupthe
sizesof:pinkiemice,fuzzymice,smallmice(hoppers),mediummice(weaned),largemice(adult)andextralarge
(jumboadult)astheygrow.
Hereisaroughguideofwhattofeedasnake.[1]Notethatnamesvaryregionally.Theslashesinthesizeguide
worklikethis:AmericanEnglish/BritishEnglish.
Snake:415gMouse:Pinkie
Snake:1630gMouse:Pinkiex2
Snake:3050gFuzzy
Snake:5190gMouse:Hopper/Small
Snake:90170gMouse:weaned/medium
Snake:170400gMouse:Adult/large
Snake:400g+Mouse:jumboadult/large.
Itisbesttofeedyoursnakeonfrozen/thawedmiceastheywillnotinjureyoursnakeandit'smuchmore
humane.Youcanalsokeepfrozenmiceforlongerastheywillnotgrowordie.
Tofeed,holdthepreyiteminthetweezersandwiggleitinfrontofyoursnake.Itwillstrikeandpossibly
constrictthenswallowit'sfoodwhole.Donotfeedonloosesubstrateasthiscancauseafatalgutblockifthe
substrateisdigested.Feedingyoursnakeoutofit'stankisaneasysolutiontothisandalsoitmeansthatthe
snakedoesnotassociatefeedingwithitstankbutbecarefulbecauseifyouhandleyoursnakeafterafeed
thenitcanregurgitateitsmealsowait48hoursbeforeholdingyoursnakeagain!

Keepyoursnakehappyinitshome.Snakedroppingsarentverybigsocagecleaningdoesntneedtohappen
often.Itwillneedtobecleanedaboutevery3orsoweeksbutscoopoutfreshexcrementwherepossible.Feed
yoursnakeweeklyandgiveitachangeofsceneonceinawhileanditwillbehappyinitsnewhome.
Part

HandlingandShedding

Handleyoursnakewithcare.Pickyoursnakeupbythemiddleofthebodyandsupportitwithbothhands.
Whenholdingyoursnake,holditawayfromyourface.Petitinthewaythescalesgotheydon'tlikeittheother
wayaround.Donothandleasnakeafteritseatenfor48hours.Washyourhandsbeforeandafterhandlingyour
snake.Ifitstruggles,donotputitbackbutpersevereoritwillneverlearntobefriendly.

Knowwhensnakesshed.Whenyoursnakeseyesglassoveritstimeforittoshed.Yoursnakeshouldnotbe
handledatthisstageastheymayresorttoselfdefense,waituntilaftertheshed.
Toaidinshedding,allyouhavetodoisprovideamoisthide.Thisisaplasticcontainereitherlinedwithmoist
papertowelorfilledwithdampmoss.Thecontainershouldhavealidandaholecutoutsotheycangoinside.
Althoughthewaterdishshouldbeonthecoldsidemostofthetime,youshouldputitonthehotsidewhen
yoursnakeisinpreshed.Mist23timesdailyinthistimealso.
Afterafewdays,yoursnake'seyeswillreturntonormalandafewdaysafterthattheshedwillhappen.You
maywanttomeasureandlaminatetheshedasarecord.

Warnings
Ifyoursnakeisbreathingthroughitsmouthorhangingupsidedownbythewall,itmayhaverespiratoryproblems!
Keepyoursnakeawayfromotherpetssuchasdogssoitwon'tbecomeaggressive!
Somepeoplewilladvisethatfeedingyourcornsnakemoreormoreoftenwillmakeitgrowfaster.Whiletrue,thiswillmost
likelycauseyoursnaketodie25%75%earlier.
Whenasnakevibratesitstailandpositionsitselfinan'S'shape,itisagitatedandmaystrike.
Ifyoucantfindyourcornsnake,lookunderthesubstrate.Cornsareburrowers.
Becareful!Reptilebarkcanbelethalifingested.
http://www.wikihow.com/CareforaCornSnake

SourcesandCitations
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/corn_snake