I frequently get questions regarding various issues and I always welcome these questions.  Since I get a lot of the same questions, I decided to make a frequently asked questions page to help all of the readers of our site.  I will continue to add new questions and answers to this page. If you have a question you would like to see added, please email me.

Housing
Q. Should I use a heat lamp with a corn snake?
A. Heat lamps are mainly used for lizards, and the pet stores usually don't know many specifics about corn snakes. An under tank heater is much better.  Then the snake can just move around the vivarium to regulate his temperature.  You should have a hide for him on the cool side and the warm side. 

Q. What kind of container should I put my new hatchling in?
A. Most people keep their new hatchlings in an aquarium type container of the size in the range of 20-30 gallons with a good locking lid. With this type of container there is plenty of room for hides and silk or plastic plants or climbing sticks. While your snake is still young, we can also recommend using a fairly small container to save on the cost of larger, more expensive vivariums. Various pet stores and some department stores sell reptile containers that work great for about $7. As the snake gets bigger(around 30 in.) then you can move it in to larger vivarium.

Q. Can I put more than one corn snake in the same cage?
A. Regarding having more than one corn snake in the same cage, there are mixed opinions on this subject.  Some owners are against it, and other have not had any problems. We recommend keeping every snake you have in individual containers. This will keep your snakes from spreading diseases and it makes it easier to keep track of feeding and other issues. If you choose to keep more than one in the same container then here are some precautions that might help you. First, don't mix snakes of different varieties together. Some snakes, such as king snakes have other snakes as a natural food item, so you might just find out that one snake will decide to eat his companion. Next, make sure that corn snakes kept together are about the same size. Again, the risk of one snake eating the other is greater when they are different sizes. Third, you should feed them in separate containers and preferrably on different days. For example, you could feed one on mondays and the other on thursdays. That way if one of them regurgitates a meal you can tell which one it is. If you find that you have problems with getting one or the other to eat, then you should separate them to reduce the stress associated with keeping snakes together.

Q. What is the best thing to use for sanitizing the cage or water dishes?
A. The best things to use for sanitizing the equipent are: (1) ammmonia cleaner - the smell is so bad that I only use it when I am expecially concerned to get something clean.  Ammonia kills pretty much everything that could possibly harm a snake. So I recommend it for cleaning out a cage or container if you have had a sick snake or a snake that may have been sick. You can also use it as a precaution any time you clean out a cage to put a new snake in it. (2) Bleach and water - I soak my water dishes in bleach and hot water every time.  This kills most organisms that could be in a cage or water dish. That way any possible contamination or exposure of harmful organisms to the snakes is prevented. (3) Dish soap and water. This is a good cleaner but it will not kill micro-organisms.Rinsing is very important.  Hatchlings are very sensitive, and any trace of soap, bleach, or ammonia must be completely removed by multiple rinsing.

Q. Will the chemicals in tap water hurt a hatchling?
A. I recommend using bottled water for drinking water for hatchlings.  NEVER USE DISTILLED WATER.  It will kill the snake.  Regular bottled drinking water or spring water is best because it is free from any chlorine or chemicals that might be present in tap water.  Once the snakes are a little older and more hardy, you can switch to tap water if you like, but if there is a lot of chlorine or other strong chemicals in your particular locale, you might want to stick with bottled water.

Feeding
Q. Where can I find frozen mice?
A. There are places on the internet where you can buy frozen mice, but the shipping is expensive since they ship in dry ice.  Your best bet is to find a local pet store that sells feeder mice for a good price.  If you decide to go the internet route, I can recommend cajun mice at http://www.cajunmice.com

or big cheese rodents http://www.bigcheeserodents.com

Q. Where can I find Grapefruit Seed Extract?
A. GSE is recommended for use in the water for corn snakes. It is sometimes difficult to find.  I had to search all over town to find a health food store that sold it.  The good thing is that a $10 bottle of GSE will last you for a very long time, since you only need about 6-7 drops to the gallon of water.

Q. My snake just stopped eating.  What is wrong?
A. There are a lot of possible reasons that a snake will stop eating for a couple of weeks.  Sometimes this is just a temporary thing, other times there is a specific reason.  One of the first things to check is to make sure the environment is right. Temperatures should be about 82-88 F on the warm side, and around 10 degrees cooler on the cool side of the vivarium.  The snake should also have a place to hide.  If the shed was not right (for example if some of the skin was left on, then this can cause problems with eating.  Some snakes will also just stop eating at certain times in the year (ex. during breeding season. These are just some of the possible reasons; there may be many more.

Q. How can I get a picky hatchling corn snake to eat?
A. First of all, we will never sell you a snake that is a picky eater, but if you have to come across one, there are lots of techniques to get them to eat. Picky eaters will often have periods of time when they eat fairly well, and then suddenly stop eating again.  Here are some of the best methods:

1. Feed the snake in the original deli cup container that it was shipped in. 
2. Put the mouse in the snake's cage overnight
3. Feed a live pinky
4. Wash the pinky with soap and water and rinse very well to get the smell of the mouse away
5. Rub the pinky against an anole
6. Tease feed the snake to get him to strike at the food

Good luck, and I hope that some of these ideas will work. If you need any advice on how to do any of these methods, please feel free to e-mail me.
 
Q. Should I feed live mice to my corn snake?
A. When the snake is older, if you have given it live mice, then it will be at risk from the adult mice.  Adult mice can bite the snakes, and can blind or seriously injure corn snakes.  So it is best to stick with frozen thawed mice for food. If your snake only will eat live, then you can wean it to eat frozen thawed.  A safe live alternative for the snake is to feed rat pups that are large enough for the snake but still too young to bite, but I still strongly recommend f/t mice.

Behavior
Q. My baby corn snake strikes at me.  What is wrong?
A.  You are not alone in having some problems with baby corn snakes; it is very common for baby corn snakes to be a little defensive.  So let me tell you how to approach the snake so this will not happen in the future.  First of all, if the snake is coiled up in a defensive striking position, then don't reach your hand toward his head.  This will only aggravate the situation.  I'm sure you have noticed that once you have the snake in your hands, he never tries to bite or anything.  So what you need to do is learn to pick up the snake without threatening it.  Start by getting something to pull the snake out of it's coiled position. Then, slowly pick up your snake near the center of it's body.  Try this, and you should have no problem. The good news is that this is a juvenile thing, and corn snakes grow out of this behavior quickly.  Some can be a little testy as adults, but the majority of corn snakes are gentle and will never strike at you.  Even with the most testy ones, if you are confident and direct in handling them, and avoid moving your hand toward the head when they are in a defensive posture, you will never have a problem. One more thing. If you feed the snake in it's cage, then it is possible that they will associate putting your hand in the cage with food, and some snakes have been known to develop a striking tendency due to this.  So if you are concerned with this, then removing the snake from the vivarium and feeding him in a separate container will avoid this possibility.