My corn snake is soon going to move out of her 3’ X 18" X 18" glass enclosure and into a New Age Pet Ecoflex Mojave enclosure (5’ X 2’ X 2’). Because I am adding 13.25 sq. feet to her living space, I need to come up with a new heat and light scheme.
Currently I have:
one Reptitherm 5.0 UVB bulb on the right side
one Ultratherm heat strip mostly under the left side
one (some kind of) spot lamp, suspended about a foot above the right side
Both lamps are on timers for day on/night off. The heat strip underneath stays on all the time.
I keep it about 80* during the day, and let it drop to 70* at night. I did discover (the hard way) that she won’t eat if it gets below 70* for any length of time.
I would love everyone’s suggestions on what to do for the much larger enclosure, to keep things in the temperature range she likes. THANKS!
Hi! The most important thing to keep in mind is that you don’t need to condition every cubic centimeter of the enclosure for corns. They need a ground area at digestive temps, and that’s about it.
I know some snakes do okay when temps drop at night, but I had one corn who had all sorts of digestive issues as a result of the lights going off in my bigger tank. Now that I use belly heat hooked up to a thermometer to make sure they don’t overheat, I keep it on all day and all night. Back then, when using primarily overhead heat sources, I bought a ceramic heat emitting bulb for night (no light, just heat) and it was MUCH better for her. I would suggest you do the same. You risk all sorts of digestive issues when temps get below 80.
Looks like you’re using both overhead and belly heat sources. Like Dean says, not every sq inch has to be perfect. Just make sure it stays somewhere between 75ish on the cool areas and 85ish on the warm side. If you have hides scattered throughout, they will find the spot they like best.
I would adjust the heat to 85 degrees 24/7 on the warm side, no temp drop at all. 85 degrees is great for a corn to insure proper digestion. That’s all you need to do….
Good for you for checking out options while you’re changing your snake’s living arrangements. You are adding quite a bit of space, but as others have pointed out, you don’t need to worry about temps in most of it. The really crucial point is that the snake has a warm spot for digesting, ideally at least 1/4 to about 1/3 of the floor space. Ideal temperatures for digestion are above 80°F at the very minimum. I keep my thermostat set at 85°F for youngsters all the time. Adults snakes may have their thermostat at 82.5°F, especially during breeding season. Some snakes do process meals at slightly cooler temps but they can all digest more efficiently and completely at temps in the 80s.
There are species which require a nighttime temperature drop. Corns don’t need this. If you set their warm spot in the low 80s to 85, you can just forget about it. Ambient home tennis are fine as far as a cool spot goes, unless you’re home is well below 70°F. Give them a choice of hides scattered around and they’ll go where they need to be, when they need to be there.
As far as lighting, as long as the snake has adequate heat, the lighting is totally dependent on what you like to see. In nature, corns are mostly active in lower light conditions, dawn and dusk. Some are very active at night, some are more active than others in the daytime. They are good at moving around in low light. Use whatever lighting makes you happy.
