I am about to get my first snake, a real childhood dream come true. I have been watching so many videos and doing tons of research before my baby corn snake arrives and I need some advice on the enclosure.
So I picked up this 55 gallon tank 48Lx12.75Wx21H I know that it’s large but my thought is that she’d have plenty of space to grow into the enclosure. I have the entire background built up of cork wood and coconut fiber and moss with some mounted limbs and a rock cliff. There is also a nice wide basking stone area on the ground along with two hides, tons of live plants, large rocks, sticks and leaf litter to make it look as natural as possible. Which has taken up A TON of room in the enclosure. So now it feels pretty cramped and doesn’t have a lot of floor space left.
I’m sure it is a lot to a 15-18” snake.
My question is…will this be okay for a juvenile corn snake to go straight into or should I keep it in a tub for a couple days first or what?
How long before people would normally move up to a bigger tank? I’m all my research it looks like people go either a 20 gallon route and then move up to a 40 gallon a year later. That just seems like a waste of money for only a year. I couldn’t find many though for juveniles, and saw mostly 1-2yr old snake set ups. Many people chose to go big and bigger than mine too.
sometimes for smaller snakes its better to have a smaller enclosure. This is because they can feel more secure and don’t have to travel as far to get water or to get to their hot spots
You can go straight to a large enclosure with a baby corn, but there are a few things you’ll want to consider. First is that you’ll need plenty of small, tight hides and ground cover to help the baby feel secure. Second is that you’ll likely have a hard time finding the baby for handling or feeding, which means you may end up needing to dig everything up to find them. Not great for a planted tank. The size of the enclosure and level of clutter required also makes finding the poop or possible regurges much more challenging. Missing a regurge and then feeding as normal can kill a baby corn, so you’ll need to pay extra attention to any waste. If you’re using a dark substrate like dirt or eco earth, it will be even harder to find tiny baby poops or regurges. The last point to consider is that some larger enclosures are simply not secure enough for the size of a baby corn. You’ll want to thoroughly inspect any possible escape routes and seal them.
You definitely don’t have to start with a 10 or 20 gallon tank, then move to a 40, then move to your 55. You could do a simple bin setup for the first year (or simply start with a slightly older snake).
Totally agree with @solarserpents! The most important and best thing you can do for your new baby/juvenile corn is make sure it eats, keeps the food down, and poops regularly. And also make sure it’s mite proofed! The easiest way to monitor this is to house it in a smaller sized enclosure. Since you already have its kingdom set up for later, the best and cheapest way you can do it is to invest in a sterile tub, add a couple of cozy hides, one on the hot end and one on the cool end, a water bowl and a heat mat. Voila! You can grow that little guy up until you can at least find him and release him into his jungle kingdom!
Okay this has all been so helpful. I wanted to also mention that I picked up zebra isopods and springtails to be the clean up crew.
So I’m thinking I will let the 55 gallon grow and keep its ecosystem going I have a rain system and fan for airflow on the 55 so I will let that just level out until she’s ready and feed the bugs with leaf litter.
I will put its heat lamp (since I already glued the heat pad onto the tank) over to a bin and keep her nice and cozy until she’s big enough to transfer over. I’m getting her from RD Exotics LLC here on Morph so I’m pretty positive I won’t have to deal with mites. Let’s hope!
I appreciate all this help and will take any more suggestions, tips and tricks.
I have a bag of Reptisoil that I am not using. Could I put that in a clear tub with a small hide, some water, and a heat stone to lay on? Would that be enough for her until she’s big enough to move over?
Or I can grab some aspen substrate that I see people use. I just know they like to burrow and the Reptisoil looks softer for sure
I would not use a heat stone for fear of burning her. Since she is going to be in the tub for awhile, I would use shredded aspen or paper towels, 2 hides. a water bowl and an under tank heat pad.
