Corn Snake Enclosure.

Question
QUESTION: My main question is, what size tank do you recommend as minimum for a full-grown corn snake? Mine, Butters, is 2 years old, and I think 38" long. I have moved him up into a 40 gallon tank from his 20L, which he has been looking too big for for a while... I have heard many different "rules" on how to decide on tank size, including the following:
- the snake should be no larger than the tank's diagonal span
- the snake should be no larger than half the tank's entire border

I was also told specific tank sizes for corn snakes by different folks. Including:
- "a 20L will be big enough, and you can give him a 40 if you WAAANT to"
- "a 40 should be big enough."
- "in another couple years you should move him to a 75."

I understand that bigger is always better for tank sizes, but I just find myself confused now, what is the minimum recommendation? Your thoughts?

Also: what would you recommend for substrate? I first had him on carefresh, but it was too light of a material and he burrowed down toward the heating pad so I got nervous and changed him to millet seed. He seems to enjoy the feeling of it (I'm just anthropomorhisizing I'm sure...) but I am vaguely concerned about humidity. I notice pet stores all seem to use aspen, but it seems very splintery and unpleasant, especially considering the soft materials he has had his whole life so far. I was thinking maybe reptile carpet?
Should I bathe him often to make up for his dry millet? I sometimes hold his body in a moist, warm wash cloth after sheds, but I wonder if this is good enough. He does always have a full dish of water available, but I never see him get inside, except when he is in the process of shedding.

ANSWER: Hi Teneisha,

basically the rule i use for tank size is that the length of the snakes body should be no longer than 1 foot larger than the length of the tank. so if you have a 4 foot corn snake a 3 foot long tank would do - and for most corn snakes whose adult size is generally around 4 - 4 1/2 foot long a 3 foot long tank is fine. i dont usually work in gallons so i dont know the equivalent of a 3ft X 1ft X 1ft tank in gallons :S but that sort of size is fine.

you can as people have said go larger but i wouldnt recommend going larger than around 4ft, theres no point. not only is it a waste of money it can actually be bad for your snake. any larger and you can start to stress the snake out. it will begin to feel unsafe in such a large space and to combat this you have to fill the tank up with more hiding spots, plants etc.

i generally use either aspen bedding or orchid bark as a substrate. humidity isnt very important to corn snakes and aspen bedding is normally not too dry. if you use it your snake will be fine so long as there is a water bowl present large enough for him to bathe in when shedding. it may look rough and uncomfortable but it is actually surprisingly soft when there is a good layer of it and your snake will unlikely notice any difference. orchid bark is another option. it is more moist than aspen and will increase humidity if youre worried.

as for regular bathing - its not necessary unless your snake starts to have trouble shedding. most snakes are quite capable of shedding on their own and dont need any bathing or moist cloths to help them.

i hope this helps,

Andy

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you! :)

The tank size you recommended is slightly larger than a 20L, as most people were recommending. The cage I currently have is about 3 ft x 1.5 ft x 2 ft. I will not upgrade again if Butters stays alone.

But here's another question... I bought a new baby corn over the weekend, who is female. I have just determined my older corn (Butters) to be female as well. I was told that when the new baby is old enough (near to the same size) she can live with Butters. Is this true? And is this cage big enough for the both of them? I realize this cohabitation won't happen for another year or two, if it happens at all. But I was told that corn snakes, when "fighting", don't hurt each other, that it's just a dominance-y shoving match; and that if the cage was large enough with multiple hides (even though they will probably spend most of their time coiled in the same hide), there should be no problems between the two ladies. Do you agree with this?

Answer
Hello again Teneisha,

As long as the two snakes are of similar sizes you shouldnt experience any problems. corn snakes are generally docile animals and are accepting of new roomies =) however ther is no guarantee that the snakes will get along. some snakes, like some people, will never be mates.

you have to be prepared then to separate them. if they start fighting you cant keep them together.

its unlikely like people have said that they will do any serious physical damage to each other but, the one who loses the fights may end up becoming stressed which can cause all sorts of promlems such as not feeding. and on that note, when feeding be sure to feed the snakes separately. in some rare cases it can happen that both snakes bite the same mouse and one snake eats not only the mouse but starts swallowing the other snake!

as for the tank size, it should be fine as far as size, so long as there are two separate hiding spots for the two snakes.

i hope this helps,

Andy