As you might’ve guessed, your snake’s enclosure is pretty important. There’s quite a few options you have to pick from. We’ll focus on glass enclosures, but will also dabble in the other options available, including plastic tubs and custom-made wooden enclosures so you can decide which works best for you.

 

Firstly, some pros and cons to each option.

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Glass

This is my preference. It arguably looks the best, and it holds less humidity than the other options. This may or may not be a good thing, depending on the climate you live in. Heating sources are primarily made for glass enclosures, especially UTH (under tank heaters) or heat mats. In fact, the packaging of UTH include warnings as to not use them on anything other than glass.

 

Plastic

This holds much more humidity and heat inside, which may be ideal for you. It’s also the most lightweight and cheapest, as you can find these for just a few bucks. However, let’s be honest... they’re pretty ugly and plastic is never very easy to see into. You probably won’t want to use this option if you’re interested in easily observing your snake without taking them out, or if you were thinking of building a fancy vivarium.

 

Wood

These are the most difficult to get your hands on, and you can almost always expect to build this yourself. That may be a great option if you want something truly custom and to your liking. It won’t be as cheap as a tub, but in some cases, may be cheaper than a glass enclosure. Heating wooden enclosures are possible, but more difficult than the other choices, since heat mats do not work through wood, unless you choose to build the enclosure out of PVC, or have a PVC/plastic base. Wooden enclosures usually give the corn snake more coverage than any other animal, because the siding is solid, compared to a clear enclosure.

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Size

Juvenile corn snakes really don't need very much space. A 10 gallon enclosure is sufficient, however, he or she will outgrow this after a number of months. I would say to start with a 20 gallon in that case, however, trying to find a tiny snake in something that large may put up to be a challenge. So, it's really up to you!

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Some people say a 20 gallon (or equivalent-size) enclosure is enough for a corn snake's entire life, but this is quite tight to me, and I would only feel comfortable with an adult corn snake in a 40 gallon or larger because they do tend to be active at times.

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Can snake enclosures be too large? Many people will say yes, but if you ask me, there is no limit as to just how large your animal's home can be. I did a video on this!