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Baby Corn Snake Care Sheet
Caring for your baby corn snake is pretty simple; they only need a few things to be happy and healthy. Please take the time to read over these before you purchase to ensure the health of your new pet.
Acclimation
Don’t be surprised if your snake is a little shy and nervous at first. It just made a long, bumpy (and maybe hot or cold) journey. Everything in it's new home looks, smells, and vibrates completely differently than anything it's ever experienced. Try not to handle your snake for the first three days so it can settle in. After this you can handle and attempt to feed your snake. Feed at least once a week for the first three. After the first three weeks, start frequent, short periods of gentle handling will help your new snake become really tame and friendly with it's new “parents”.
Habitat
You should read up on the internet about setting up a habitat for your snake if you don’t already know how to do so. There are many different ways to do it, but for the most part all they need is warmth, a place to hide, and water in their enclosure. The temperature should be between 70-80 degrees F to promote good digestion. Your tank should have a warm side and a cool side so the snakes can be in the temperature they desire since they're body heat is dependant on their outside environment. Corn snakes are not tropical and do not need high temperatures to be healthy. If you keep your house between these temps then you won’t require an external heat source. If you do decide to add one, be careful not to get the enclosure too hot, as this can lead to health problems or death. The plastic container your snake comes in will be sufficient for now while you decide what type of setup you want. The following instructions are written for while you are keeping your snake in the small container.
Food
Your baby corn snake is used to eating frozen/thawed newborn pinky mice. You can get these from most pet stores or you can order them online from sites such as rodentpro.com or www.americanrodent.com. You'll need to feed your baby one pinky about every 7-10 days, but (as was mentioned above) please wait a few days before feeding because the snake will be stressed from its travels to its new home. Thaw one out in a cup of warm water and place it in the container with the baby and close the lid. If the snake does not eat the mouse within 15 minutes you can just remove it and put it in the refrigerator and try again the next day. Another option that works well for me is brain piercing. Something about the scent from the mouse’s brain excites the snake’s feeding response. After you warm the mouse take a pin and pierce the skull so that liquid flows out. This scent usually causes the snake to take the food immediately and usually right out of your hand. Do not leave the mouse in the container for longer than 30 minutes because it will start to smell and go bad rather quickly without refrigeration. Once you move your snake to its permanent home you should feed it in a separate container, because you do not want it to associate your hand coming into the tank with food, else you’ll have food aggression issues and you’ll end up with a snake you can never pick up.
Water
The smaller side of the container should be filled with about ½ inch of water. Change this water each time you feed your snake. Continue this practice even when you move it to it’s permanent home because a constant source of clean water is a must for snake health. Anytime you notice your snake has defecated in the water change it immediately. Dirty water can make your snake sick.
Substrate
Keep a lightly folded paper towel on the larger side of the container for your snake to be able to hide under. Change this out anytime you notice it had defecated on it and also when you feed. I use newspaper in my larger snake tanks because it’s much cheaper than buying reptile substrate and much easier to clean up. Lay large pieces flat on the bottom and use shredded for them to hide in. The other advantage of newspaper is that it doesn’t have dust in it like aspen shavings do that can cause respiratory infections.
Handling
Always wash your hands before and after handling your snake. Before keeps you from introducing things into the tank that could make your snake sick and it also keeps you from getting bit if you’ve been handling mice for feeding because they can smell it on you, and can sometimes mistake your finger for food. After keeps you from getting sick as all reptiles have the potential to carry salmonella. You should try to handle your snake on a daily basis (except a day or two after feeding) until it become used to being handled. Most of these babies will still strike at you when you are picking them up. Their teeth are small and it does not hurt but they can still draw a little pinprick of blood from time to time. The more you handle them the less they will strike. It’s best to take care of that issue now while they are small because as they grow their teeth will too. Don’t ever jerk your hand away if you do get bit. The snake will let go on it’s on because it does not want to eat you. It’s just warning you that it’s frightened. If you jerk your hand away you could pull teeth out which could cause infection in the snakes mouth and in your skin if it breaks off. Just be gentle with them and the striking behavior will disappear in no time at all. As with the feeding, please wait a few days before handling your new pet to let it have time to acclimate and get over the stress of it’s travels.
Disclaimer
Your baby snake will be in good health and eating when it leaves my possession. I do not offer any type of health warranty as I have no control over what happens once the snake is out of my possession. I strongly urge you to read up on the internet about the care of corn snakes so that you can give your new pet the best home possible. I hope you enjoy your new baby! :o)
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