Corn snakes are among the most popular snakes to have as pets. In nature, you can find them in pine forests, rocky hills, outcrops, and farms.
Living in forests and farms brings up the following question: are corn snakes arboreal? In fact, most corn snakes are ground dwellers, however, some corn snakes are semi-arboreal.
Interested to know more about these wonderful creatures and how to raise them at home? Keep on reading.
Are Corn Snakes Arboreal?
You may find your pet corn snake climbing piles and branches in their tank which brings up the idea that they’re arboreal.
However, the majority of corn snakes live on the ground, and only a few of them are semi-arboreal. That means that they don’t live entirely on the trees.
You may find your pet corn snake or even corn snakes in nature living on the ground as much as they live on trees.
What Are Arboreal Snakes and Semi-Arboreal Snakes?
Arboreal snakes are snakes that spend most of their lives on trees. Examples of arboreal snakes are boas, vipers, and pythons.
Arboreal snakes hunt, mate, rest, move, and sleep, on the trees. They barely touch the ground.
On the other hand, semi-arboreal snakes such as corn snakes, live both on the ground and on the trees.
What Are The Basic Traits That Make a Snake Arboreal?
Arboreal snakes have prehensile tails that make them able to grasp the branches and trunks. These tails can support their entire weight when clinging to a branch.
Arboreal snakes also have scales and muscles that can lift up their body while gripping a tree. These muscles ease their slithering up the tree trunks.
Larger arboreal snakes can wrap themselves completely around the tree firmly gripping it while ascending it.
Are Corn Snakes Easy to Have As Pets?
Corn snakes won’t respond to you the way that cats and dogs respond. However, if you’re interested in raising snakes, corn snakes are a popular type to start with.
Corn snakes are good beginner snakes because they’re easy to handle and care for. Most importantly, they’re not venomous, so there’s no risk to you while handling them.
Usually, corn snakes spend most of their time hiding and coiling in their captivity. Moreover, they’re more active during the night and dusk/dawn hours.
What Do Corn Snakes Feed On?
Corn snakes’ diets may differ according to where they’re being raised.
In Nature
Adults in nature feed on birds and small rodents, while hatchlings feed on small lizards and tree frogs.
In Captivity
In captivity, you can get them started as hatchlings on pinkie mice, and increase their food scale as they grow up.
You can feed them small adult mice, hoppers, and fuzzies.
When you feed your corn snakes, make sure that the rodents you give them are frozen. If you give them a live rodent, make sure to stay near so that you can remove the rodent if any action happens.
How Often to Feed a Corn Snake?
The younglings could be fed every 5-7 days while older snakes could be fed every 7-10 days.
When feeding your corn snakes, you have to put them in a separate container. Usually, the best time to feed them is at night, especially, after defecating.
Where to Put a Pet Corn Snake?
Corn snakes are usually 3-6 feet in length. You’ll need at least a 20-gallon tank to put them in.
The length of the tank should be ⅔ of the snake’s length. And as they grow up, you should provide larger tanks so they’d be more suitable for the snake.
Additionally, don’t put more than a single corn snake in the tank. They are solitary animals and sharing a tank wouldn’t be practical for them.
What Are the Recommended Temperature and Humidity for a Corn Snake?
Corn snakes thrive best at specific temperatures and humidity conditions.
Temperature
Corn snakes live in the temperature range of 70-85 ℉. While the basking temperature for a corn snake is at 88-90 ℉.
If you’re raising a pet corn snake, you should divide the tank ends, so there’s a regular end and a basking end. Additionally, you should lower the temperature at night to simulate natural environmental conditions.
Humidity
Corn snakes live in warm environments where The humidity is 30-50%.
However, if you’re raising a corn snake and they’re having trouble shedding, you may need to increase the humidity level above that range.
Final Thoughts
Are corn snakes arboreal?
Most of the time they’re not, but a few types of them are semi-arboreal. Semi-arboreal means that they live both on the ground and on trees.
Corn snakes are a good type of snakes to have as pets because they’re non-venomous and easy to care for.
I have a bachelor’s degree in Film/Video/Media Studies, as well as an associates degree in Communications. I began producing videos and musical recordings nearly 15 years ago. I am a guitarist and bassist in Southwest MI and have been in a few different bands since 2009, and in 2012 I began building custom guitars and basses in my home workshop as well. When I’m home, I love spending time with my three pets (a dog, cat, and snake) and gardening in my backyard. I also like photographing wild birds, especially birds of prey.