Caring Tips for Your Corn Snake

• Put your snakes alone in its terrarium or with appropriate buddies. 
• Feed your snakes alone to avoid food aggression.
• Be sure to stay away from your snake until the lump from the prey disappears. Don’t carry your snake up until it has digested the prey enough that the lump in its middle has disappeared, because it might still feel aggressive before its food is digested
• Provide fresh water. Use a relatively deep bowl, check the water bowl every day and always keep it clean. If the Corn Snake starts to feel very moist, take the water bowl out and return it for a few days every week.
• Handle your snake gently. Keep in mind that this is a wild animal, so it may be afraid of you for quite some time. Gently hold your snake and stay away from its face, especially at first.
• Watch for shedding. Never handle your snake when you think it’s getting ready to shed. It will be obvious that this is happening when their skin starts to turn milky or bluish. In just a few days, they’ll crawl completely out of their old skin, and by then, it will be safe to hold them again.
• Don’t restrain your snake. Corn Snakes almost never bite, but if you restrain them, they may. Never pinch or squeeze them. Let them flow gently through your hands and fingers.

Common Maintenance Problems

• Find a vet who is expert about snakes.  You may have to travel to find a competent vet since most vets don’t come in contact with snakes that often that is why it is a great idea to get connected with one before anything goes wrong.
• Watch for mites. Mites love to live on Corn Snakes. Keep an eye out especially around their mouth, eyes, and under their scales. If ever your snake becomes lethargic or not eating, this might be caused by mites so always give them an inspection.
• Keep an eye out for respiratory infections. If your Corn Snakes sounds wheezy or experience excessive saliva, it may have a respiratory infection that may be caused by a dirty cage, low temperatures, or contact with another infected snake. In some cases, Corn Snakes will need an antibiotic so it’s better to consult your vets.
• Pay attention to regurgitation. It’s not unusual for Corn Snakes to regurgitate after eating but since this may be a sign of serious illness, you should keep an eye on your Corn Snake for other symptoms if you see them do this. If it happens most of the times, and your snake starts to lose weight, do not hesitate to take it to the vet.

Ways to Keep your Corn Snake Happy

• Make sure your snake’s vivarium is of a suitable size
• Correct vivarium temperature
• Maintain scrupulous hygiene
• Provide environmental enrichment
• Handle your Corn Snake regularly & carefully
• Avoid stressing them out

Maintaining Humidity

A Corn Snake enclosure should be kept at 40 – 50 percent humidity. If the humidity is extremely low, a daily misting will provide the higher humidity that aids in proper shedding. Corn Snake should not be kept in a damp environment since this can lead to skin infections and other problems in your pet.

Useful Tools and Devices

As long as the basic requirement for a proper habitat is met, taking care of your Corn Snake will get relatively easier.  The trickiest part would be keeping the temperature and humidity at their proper levels, but once that’s done, you won’t have to think too much about other details.  Fortunately enough, there are a number of devices and gadgets that can help you monitor these pertinent environmental factors. Using these, you can make sure that your Corn Snake’s habitat is the closest it can be to its natural requirements.  A mistake in any of these – light, heat, or humidity – can cause various problems in your pet such as illnesses or diseases, behavioral changes, and sometimes even death – such as if temperature rises too high and causes them to dry out.

Some of the tools or gadgets you should perhaps invest in and familiarize yourself with include:

• A simple light timer to automate the on/off cycles of your light sources
• A thermometer to help you measure the heat and temperature
• A thermostat to help you in regulating the temperature by turning heating sources on and off as needed
• A rheostat can act as a dimmer, reducing or increasing the amount of power that goes to a certain device such as a light or heat source
• A hygrometer to help you monitor the humidity levels