If you decide to get a Corn snake, you can join
http://www.cornsnakes.com and they will gladly try to answer all your questions! When I first got my corn snakes, I had lots of questions and just the desire to show them off to other corn lovers... CS.com is a very helpful corn forum, and a very friendly place also!
Well, some basics about corn snakes you will need to know:
You will need an enclosure for it. A 10 gallon will do fine for a hatchling corn, but you will need to get a larger enclosure as your corn grows. A 20 long will last your corn its whole life. You may also consider using plastic sterilte tubs that you can find in walmart etc just make sure that the lid is very secure, because they are escape artists and I have read one too many posts about escaped baby corns.... You will also need a UTH (under tank heater) that you place on the underside of one side of the tank. You will not need any overhead lights or heating, corn snakes rely on belly heat to properly digest their meals. You'll need a probe thermometer to keep track of the UTH and maybe a dimmer for the UTH also as they can short and cause heat spikes and possibly burn the corn snake.
Next you will need a substrate. You can use paper towels, newspaper or shredded aspen (used for small mammals, its what I use and my snakes love to burrow in it). PINE and CEDAR chips are harmful to corn snakes. You will need a water bowl and hiding places, one on each side of the tank. These can be store bought, or homemade. Personally, two of my corns LOVE their cardboard egg carton hides I've given them. I also have placed cardboard tubes in their tanks for them which they love too. A climbing branch or vine could also help keep your baby active and you may have better luck observing the snake if it has something to do in the tank (from personal experience). If you are going to take branches or rocks from outdoors, please make sure to properly clean them as they may carry parasites.
You will need to feed the snake mice once a week, if you go to cornsnakes.com and search for the MUNSON PLAN, you will find a chart that is easy to follow on how much and how often you should be feeding your snake according to how much your snake weighs. Remember not to handle the snake until 48 hours after it has eaten has passed, or until you no longer can see a food bump.
I'm pretty sure I am missing a ton, but off the top of my head in such short time, this is what I have come up with :roll: From my experience, corns are very interesting critters once they realize you're not going to eat them, only love and feed them lol! You may have better results with a new corn if you buy from a breeder instead of buying from a petstore. You are most likely guarateed better health with a snake bought from a breeder. Also ask to handle the snake before you buy it, when I bought one of my snakes as a hatchling, I held him for the first time at the show and he was the most relaxed baby corn I've seen... To this day he is a very relaxed snake and has never spazzed at anything and he is also an awesome eater, never missed a meal and it's been a year already!
Anyway, just take a look around CS.com and you will slowly start to fall in love with them...that's what happened to me and now I have four lol!! They come in so many different colours and patterns, it will be hard to choose which to take home! And just for some visual, here are my babies at feeding time :mrgreen:
This is August my first corn, she is a normal corn snake, but she has lovely colours regardless and she is my only 'gravity feeder'!
Next there is Ninja, he is my anery corn snake
Vanha, she is my reverse okeetee
And last there is Liam, my snow corn, he is the smallest of my group and the fussiest eater of my group also....sometimes he will not swallow his mouse if I'm watching him. I have to cover his feeding bin so he'll eat...babies...so stubborn lol :roll
They're great creatures, maybe one will be a part of your family soon
I hope I have helped in your decision, and in converting you to a corn lover too haha Good luck!!!!