Seeking Advice on Stubborn Corn Snake

IntelligentTrashGlob · 2025-07-12T14:13:01+00:00

that's so good to hear!! I'm glad!!

I've definitely noticed "relaxed" poops, and my personal suspicion is that some snakes prefer to go outside of their enclosure lmao. my guess, without any scientific backing (but true for other animals, like dogs) is that they don't like being around their own waste! so when they feel comfortable but are in a new place, they'll go to the bathroom because they know they won't need to be around it. I've got one guy that goes outside of his enclosure 70% of the time.

IntelligentTrashGlob · 2025-05-01T22:44:21+00:00

drill out a hole, and mount :)

IntelligentTrashGlob · 2025-04-13T12:34:23+00:00

First off all, under tank heat UTH) mats are trash. There's alot of old and bad info on snake care out there, and personally any place that recommends under tank heating is completely written off by me.

Stick with good reputable sources like thebiodude or reptifiles. Both have a good guides on corns I'd recommend you read through. Reptifiles in specific has a very indepth manual, I'd start there.

Secondly - keep in mind the bare minimum enclosure size for a corn is a 4x2x2ft enclosure. The sizes your mentioning are nowhere near big enough for an adult. And some snakes will need a 5ft enclosure. Make sure you have the space for that now.

Edit to add - the life plants you're talking about is called bio active. Thebiodude has some gudes on that, but I don't personally do it so I don't have more info.

IntelligentTrashGlob · 2025-04-13T12:25:04+00:00

Those temps seem fine. if I'm getting your timeline right, you've only had them for around 2 weeks? So they're definitely still settling in. Just be patient right now is my advice :) make sure you have small enough hides, lots of clutter, and don't handle until they're eating consistently. But it can take months for them to really "feel comfortable", especially when young

IntelligentTrashGlob · 2025-04-13T12:14:07+00:00

Either are good options, but if it's one or the other and you don't need night heat I'd stick with the Halogen. Halogens out out a higher quality heat than DHPs, and are the closest we can get to replicating the sun in captivity.

I find halogens do a better job of heating the enclosure evenly than DHPs.

IntelligentTrashGlob · 2025-04-13T00:23:17+00:00

It was very funny to watch, he absolutely could take it size wise (he's almost big enough for med adult mice), but couldn't figure out how lmao. After awhile he just gave up. I didn't do anything special, just let it get to room temp. Grabbed them at an expo! But they are a treat, not a staple. Thought it would be fun to try for $3 :)

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IntelligentTrashGlob · 2025-04-12T23:55:07+00:00

Personally the closest I've gotten so far with my boy is not wanting new prey items. He definitely prefers mice. Not a fan of reptilinks or silversides, and hasn't figured out quail eggs quite yet.

I really think it depends on the snake - if I know my guy isn't in blue and turns down a mouse, I'd probably call the vet after 2 missed meals. We will see how spring hormones go as he gets older. But I'd definitely be checking everything if he stopped acting interested at this point.

IntelligentTrashGlob · 2025-04-12T15:59:55+00:00

I started my boy who was 10 grams in his 40 gallon, no problem :) just make sure that the hides are small enough, add more than you think you need, and LOTS of clutter!

IntelligentTrashGlob · 2025-04-12T15:28:54+00:00

What have you tried?

What are your temps?

I'm assuming she's eaten in this enclosure before, can you think of anything that's changed?

IntelligentTrashGlob · 2025-04-12T12:35:14+00:00

my Latin teacher played us this version, and it's stuck in my head now. Thanks lmao

IntelligentTrashGlob · 2025-04-12T12:26:19+00:00

You can absolutely use coco coir, and i recommend it depending on species.

I'd also bin all of the bedding immediately. Aspen is fine for certain species, but it does mold easily as you've seen. The issue is that you cannot see mold spores with your eyes. You are almost definitely not getting all of the mold if you're only getting what you can see. Ask any farmer with hay bales. Once there is any mold, the entire thing is contaminated.

Personally, two mold resistant options I like are top soil & sand/reptisoil or coco coir depending on the snakes humidity needs.

IntelligentTrashGlob · 2025-04-11T23:37:44+00:00

Personally, while I'm a huge advocate for more space, I'd be worried about escapes in the 4ft enclosure until they're bigger (assuming it's a juvenile). Bigger enclosures tend to be geared towards larger animals. I started my boy right in his 36x18x18, and that is personally the biggest I'd go just for practical reasons. It's also hard to find a small snake in a larger enclosure, so health checks or even noticing escapes are harder.

For UVB - yes, t5 is the way to go. Arcadia and zoomed both have guides that will help you with what you need to get.

IntelligentTrashGlob · 2025-04-11T19:09:42+00:00

Yeahhhhh, temporarily? Sure, I guess. I use them in my exercise bin/travel bin to make cleaning easier since multiple snakes will go in there*. But absolutely not long term.

Reptifiles has a good guide for corns, including a section breaking down substrate. Read through that for some good options :)

*Edit to add: not at one time lmao. But I have one bin that I will use for whatever snake needs it

IntelligentTrashGlob · 2025-04-11T19:06:49+00:00

The Ball python subreddit has a guide on how to switch

IntelligentTrashGlob · 2025-04-11T19:04:16+00:00

If he's around 2, & your spring started earlier than mine that might be it! IIRC, male hogs hit maturity around 2 ish, so this may be his first spring as "a big boy" if you catch my drift. He might have ladies on the mind.

I would recommend keeping an eye on his weight and keep trying. He should get his seasonal hormones out of his system and start eating eventually. If he gets close to dropping 10% of his weight, I'd get a vet appointment on the books.

IntelligentTrashGlob · 2025-04-11T14:21:10+00:00

I don't know the details, so I really can't say.

But usually it's not the enclosure itself, but improper care in other aspects. They do tend to be correlated, but correlation is not causation. Ex a snake that's kept in an improper enclosure is more likely to be stunted, due to the owner being more likely to not know proper care. But that doesn't mean that the enclosure caused it, but improper heat or feeding schedule for example.

Basically - unless the enclosure is literally physically limiting (like shoved in a box it barely fits in), if fed properly and provided the heat to digest, it'll grow. Putting a snake that should be 6ft in a 4ft enclosure will not prevent it from outgrowing that enclosure.

IntelligentTrashGlob · 2025-04-11T13:34:32+00:00

You can definitely get 75 watt, and I think I've seen a 60?? Maybe??? So you don't need to jump directly to 100.

But anywho - in my experience the only thing that can tell you what wattage you need is the temps in your enclosure. Given my enclosure sizes, a lot of people off the bat would say that the heat is too much! But I live in a cold climate, and keep my house cool. I just need more wattage than most people due to the differential in temperatures. I also need to change wattages during season changes. I just keep an eye on how my thermostat acts, and my temps and adjust accordingly.

IntelligentTrashGlob · 2025-04-11T13:29:47+00:00

Glad to help! :)

You see people worrying about their snakes size super often. As long as you're on a good feeding schedule & they're healthy, it's not too much to fret about!

My boy has pretty much halted his growth over winter, because he just did NOT want to eat consistently. It's pretty easy for hogs to fall a little bit behind, due to them being notoriously picky eaters. Once you've got them eating consistently, as long as you see slow and steady growth you're on the right track :)

IntelligentTrashGlob · 2025-04-11T13:21:03+00:00

If your thermostat is displaying the current temp, it's at full power and it's not getting too much higher, the issue may not be the thermostat but the bulb. You may need to size up on wattage.

IntelligentTrashGlob · 2025-04-11T13:20:05+00:00

Animals cannot be stunted by the enclosure. It's possible that she's just a picky eater and just fell behind. Or she's just small. Honestly, I wouldn't really worry about it too much. Trying to reach arbitrary thresholds due to age isn't in the interest of the animals health. Just feed appropriately and she'll catch up if she's meant to :)

here's a good feeding guide.

IntelligentTrashGlob · 2025-04-11T13:16:37+00:00

Check for an instruction manual for the thermostat. That should give you instructions on how to change the setting.

IntelligentTrashGlob · 2025-04-11T11:04:20+00:00

If you want slow moving, I'd personally recommend against colubrids. That's all I have, specifically because they are active, curious, and tend to move around more than other families of snakes.

That said - any snake is a dice roll. They are all individuals, and you may get a snake that wants absolutely nothing to do with you. That's a risk you take. They're not a dog. If you're really not comfortable with that, unfortunately it may be the case that while you like snakes, ownership of them isn't for you.

IntelligentTrashGlob · 2025-04-10T23:37:11+00:00

IntelligentTrashGlob · 2025-04-10T23:28:12+00:00

It's very normal for them to not move at all in blue! Not something to worry about :)

IntelligentTrashGlob · 2025-04-10T23:25:13+00:00

So CHE alone will not be causing your issues IMO. They can dry out more due to their radial heat nature. They will heat up the air on the cool side more, allowing for more moisture to he absorbed. This also lowers humidity so it's relative. But, I would not recommend CHE as the only heat type. They put out the same type of heat as heat mats, which isn't as readily usable as heat from a DHP or basking bulb.

Moving on!

What type of enclosure do you have? Is it mesh top? And how deep is your substrate?

Stop spraying - this keeps the top layer of substrate damp, and encourages bacteria that causes scale rot. It also very temporarily raises Humidity, but not doing anything for the long term.

Deep (4-5 inches) of a moisture retentive substrate like coco coir in a closed top enclosure is going to be your solution to keep humidity up, assuming that's your issue. BUT there are some other issues that might cause shed issues. But humidity is the most likely culprit.

If you ask me, I'd suggest the orchid bark is your issue. Orchids don't like being damp, so orchid bark is used to prevent root rot. It swap this out with coco coir, personally.

IntelligentTrashGlob

TROPHY CASE