Sometime last month I bought a corn. About a week later it died. while I had it it ate once and threw it up the next day then refused to eat after that. It seemed healthy but im beginning to wonder if my bedroom was too cold for it it is the farthest room from the fernus and it gets chilly at night so I was it had a 60 watt bulb and the guy at the petstore said it would be fine with that (i no longer trust that store because when I got my first ball, it died after about a month, turns out the whole "batch" died from respritory infections) so im wondering if I need to make a basking spot or a stronger bulb or both

What were the temperatures in the cage?

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"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines." - John Benfield

not entirely sure,again the petstore guy said 60 watt would be enough but when I put my hand in there it felt about 70 75 degrees which I thought would be fine for a corn cause theyre north american natives

Corns are pretty hardy snakes, one of the easiest to look after. I probably would guess something was wrong with it when you got it, temps should be around 85 on the hot and 75 on the cool, and can drop into the 70s at night, enclosure should of had 2 hides, one on the warm and one on the cool end, with a nice bowl of water big enough for him to soak if he had wanted, and some fake plants for decor and extra hiding, read up some care sheets.

I wouldn't go there for your snakes in future if you plan on getting another one, make sure you thouroughly clean the enclosure if your going to use the same one, use a bleach solution, 1 parts bleach to 10 parts water, and rinse real well after, I would go to the pet store and demand your money back if you have had two snakes die, there is definately something going on there.

What size was his enclosure? you would probably be better with a Under Tank Heater, undertank heater, and a lower wattage bulb, and leave the heat mat on during the night.

ok how do I get a cool end and a warm end ive never read about that in any caresheets it is a 10Gal the snake was only about 12-16" i did have a water bowl that was plenty big enough and a small box for it to hide in and no I dont plan on getting anything from that store again I found a better place

i just found a great caresheet with info about heating and hiding spots which answered most of my questions but I would still like to know more so thnx to all my replyers

You can get a good thermal gradient by placing the heat pad or lamp on one end or the other, not in the middle. This lets the snake regualte his own temps by moving to the warmer or cooler areas.

If you don't already have one I highly suggest that you get a good thermometer/hygrometer, they are a must for any herp keeper.

Good luck with your future herps.

OK, 60 watt to me is way to hot for a 10 gallon, in all my corns enclosures and they are all different sizes from 10 gallon up, some of the really bigger ones have higher wattage bulbs but most of them have 25 watt bulbs with under tank heat mats, the heat mats burn day and night and my bulbs are on timers 12/12.

If you get a small heat mat say about 7 watt, and say a 25 watt bulb, place them both on one end of the enclosure, heat mat outside tank not in, that should give you hot temps and cool, if the hot temps dont reach to 85 get a higher wattage bulb, and if temps drop below 70 at night put a 25 watt red bulb in for day and night, temps drop at night anyway so the red bulb shouldnt maintain the same temps throughout the day and night, hope this has helped a bit, you just have to mess with different wattage bulbs, heat mats ECT, till you get it right, but most of mine manage on them wattages.

thanks for all your help
im never going to that store again I swear

Ryan,,. sorry to hear about the loss of your snakes. It is hard losing an animal, esp. when you don't have a proper explanation for it's death.

With your corn, it sounds like it was simply too young. We have had babies sold to us in the past that have not had their first feeds and were simply too weak and did not survive. Babies, as a general rule, should not be sold until they are 4-6 weeks old, or until they have had 4-6 consecutive feeds - so many of a clutch will not survive. Regurgitation is common in such a young snake that is weak, and can also be indicative of other things such as improper temps and illness. Even though your temps were not perhaps accurate, I doubt it was anything that you did - this sounds like an unfortunate event that was going to happen whether or not it was in your care. Corn snakes are particularly hardy species and can live in variable conditions, since they are from different areas around America.

However, regarding your temps and enclosure - you must buy a thermometer. It is an absolute must! How can you know the temps without a thermometer? Never trust that a product "should" be ok - other factors can influence the conditions and you need to be sure. Something like this is too crucial to guess on. Check out our care sheet here - Corn snake caresheet
You need to do your research thoroughly before buying an animal to make sure that you are completely ready to take care of it properly. Read around on the internet, read books, ask any questions here,. there is so much information out there about many species of snake, including corns and BPs. Never leave anything to chance, an animals life is too important.

Regarding the pet shop, I think you should go back and explain the situation and perhaps offer them some advice on how to care for reptiles. I wouldn't rely on getting a refund - most pet shops do not offer a guarantee on live animals once they have left the pet store, but if it is a reputable place they should offer you some condolences and perhaps offer a refund. You may have genuinly been unlucky here - both snakes may not have been fit, and not to the pet shop's knowledge,. or the pet store may be at fault. Good luck with what you decide in the future, and learn everything you can before you next buy a snake. If you would like further advice about what to look for in a healthy snake, or just advice in general, don't hesitate to ask, we are here to help! So sorry again for your losses.

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Ryan, the corn was obviously sick when you got it. Temps that are a bit cool will not kill one in a week unless its just ridiculously cold. May make it regurg and sluggish and leave it open to developing an illness but it isn't going to die in one week. I would never spend another penny in that store!

Again the pet store guy is full of it. First there is no way that some one can tell you that a particular wattage light will be enough! There are too many variables such as the ambient temperature of the room. The only way is to put a bulb in and check the temp, preferable before the snake is inhabiting the enclosure. Its always best to have the tank and heating equipment set up and ready before introducing the snake. That way you avoid the up and down fluctuation of temps while you get everything figured out. 70-75 is fine as an ambient tem in the cage but you need a warm spot in one end that hits 80-85 degrees. The way to acheive a thermal gradient is to place your heating equipment in one end of the tank. I use human type heating pads under 1/3 of the bottom of the tank so that the snake can get off of it and cool down as needed.
There is also no way that you can judge the temp of the cage by putting your hand in it. You need a good thermometer. With a temperature dependant animal like reptiles this is a must have! You can get a good digital for about 10 bucks. These have a remote sensor that you can place anywhere in the tank or even move it around to see what is going on in any area of the tank. It also has a minuimum/maximum feature to tell you how high or how low the temp got in the tank.
The little tape thermometers that stick on the glass are worthless.

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