will it stunt my corn snakes growth if it stays in a 20 gal to long?

[sea-community]

actually it might be a 25g, but i have a pic showing how big she is now. this was taken about a week ago. shes just a little bit thicker right now. and she seems to be fine i take her out often to run around(slither). this is my first snake and she is very relaxed and i am very much enjoying her company as well as i think she is enjoying mine. but i can get money hopefully soon to upgrade her tank iv heard that 40-50 gal would be good for them...is this true? also it would be a big help if someone could explain when she is going to be her full size?thank you

 

[Trigger1985]

The 5 care sheets I just looked up said 20 was ok corns stay pretty small. Though I'd think it has more to do with foot print, there is a big difference betwe,en a 20 Long and a 20 tall as far as foot print goes, and no differnce between a 20 tall and a 25, both are 12"x24" You could always check craigs list for a used tank, you may even get lucky enough to find one that was used for reptiles and comes with a hood already. Just make sure to clean it really well. Beutiful snake by the way.

 

[thesixis]

IMO a 20L will be OK. Make sure you have a place for the snake to hide in, fresh water, and a warm pad under the tank. Remember many people feed their snake items that are to small for the snake and the snakes head does not develop. It is better to feed (for example) a med. mouse rather then 2 pinkies. I only feed frozen mice as I feel they are safer for the snake. If you have questions about food for your snake, seek out a knowledgeable reptile store not a big box store. My son's 1.5 yr old albino corn is about 4 ft and as thick as a heavy duty broom stick. She eats 1 mouse every six days.

 

[Juice]

They don't get very big so you should be ok

 

[sea-community]

IMO a 20L will be OK. Make sure you have a place for the snake to hide in, fresh water, and a warm pad under the tank. Remember many people feed their snake items that are to small for the snake and the snakes head does not develop. It is better to feed (for example) a med. mouse rather then 2 pinkies. I only feed frozen mice as I feel they are safer for the snake. If you have questions about food for your snake, seek out a knowledgeable reptile store not a big box store. My son's 1.5 yr old albino corn is about 4 ft and as thick as a heavy duty broom stick. She eats 1 mouse every six days.

that actually helps a lot , and yes i have all the things she needs in her cage. but what is this about feeding them too tiny of mice? i feed her pinkies. and only one a week is that too little?

 

[thesixis]

The snake needs to stretch her mouth to grow in proper ratio to the rest of her body. She can eat the same number of calories in different sizes. Find a good local reptile shop, bring her in and they will be able to size the food for her. IMO frozen is the way to go.

 

[sea-community]

ya totally i mean i thhink its life and everything to feed them live food. but i honestly couldnt stand watching a baby mouse die like that. anyways i have a good fish/ reptile feed store up the street like 2 mins away from my house. but im not sure if they would exactly understand they are mostly stoners and are more into selling other things rather than their fish and reptiles. but there is a great shop up in fortuna that would really help me out. but that is about an hour away. you dont think she could go for that long right? i mean with all the constant heat changes?

 

[dundadundun]

did you read through what i left you here?... http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=215277

it is REAL HARD to find a proper care sheet on corn snakes because they're the most common snake kept and everyone and their mother who owns one thinks they're experts.

corn snakes may be slender but the thinking that they are small snakes is way off. these guys can get over 6' long.

for tank size you should be looking for a minimum of 2/3 body length by 1/3 body length. if he ever reaches his potential that means a 2' x 4' footprint tank MINIMUM.

a 20 gallon tank is obviously too small for an adult... i'd say a 30 also. a 30 or 40 gallon snake breeder should do for quite some time (18" x 36" footprint) and if you luck out it won't get any longer than 4.5 feet and it can stay in there.

i'd say the head portions are not the only reason to feed the right size feeders. it is a serious one because if their head is too small as an adult they will not be able to take in proper nutrients and health will fade to death by malnourishment. that being said head growth is usually stunted by something other than feeders with exception to power feeding. with power feeding it's possible for the body to grow too fast for the head to feed it properly.

i have kept snakes all my life from w/c and released back to w/c and rehabbed back to health to c/b and part of the family (my redtail). that's going on 27 years now... please take my advice serious. i would like to help you provide a happy long lived home for your little guy.

it will be long lived too. up to 30 years. 30 is VERY rare but over 20 should be expected and they never stop growing. it just slows down after adolescence.

EDIT: maybe kyryah, vicious_fish or chris anderson will chime in here. imo you'll get nothing but impeccable advice from one of those three. i don't know what v/f and chris keep as far as snakes or if they do but i trust if they were to post that you could take their advice. i do know kyryah has a couple corns and she's very knowledgeable.

no... stunting will not happen because of the cage as far as i know.