Corn snakes are known for being very hardy. That´s why they are great beginner snakes. However that does not mean that they do not have any standards at all. Like all reptiles corn snakes need an enclosure with the right temperature, the right equipment, the right humidity and so on and so forth.
The majority of first time corn snake keepers have problems with getting the right humidity. That´s why I want to explain you, what the right corn snake humidity is, how you can get it and very important stuff you should know when it comes to humidity.
How High The Humidity Should Be
Corn Snakes come from the East Coast of North America. They live in a pretty big area, which means that they live in various temperature zones with various humidity levels and different environments. That explains why corn snakes are so hardy. When it comes to humidity, corn snakes tolerate a wide range of humidity. Still, it shouldn´t be too high nor too low.
A humidity between 50% and 70% is perfect, however it is very hard to keep a humidity of 70% all the time. The good thing about it is that you do not have to keep 70% in your entire tank. It is okay if certain spots have higher humidity, but the average humidity in your tank is 45% to 50%.
Not Too High, Not Too Low - This Is Important
Too low humidity can result in shedding problems. This can be dangerous to your corn snake and it will be very annoying to you, as you have to help your corn snake with shedding then.
Too high humidity might be even worse. Too high humidity can result in lung inflammation or respiratory infections and a couple of other diseases. A moist environment is the perfect environment for bacteria, so make sure you do not have moldy spots in your corn snake tank and that the humidity is not too high all the times.
Ways To Increase Humidity
If you have problems to get the right humidity in your corn snake tank, here are a couple of things you can do to increase the humidity easily.
Create A Moist Hide
This is very easy to do and my favorite way to create the right humidity for a snake. A moist hide is great because the snake can choose if it wants to go into the hide or if it doesn´t need a higher humidity right now. A moist hide does not affect your whole corn snake enclosure, it is just a small spot with a microclimate which is very easy to control.
Simply get a hide likes this and put some sphagnum moss inside it. Before that you have to mist the sphagnum moss a little bit. Do not make it dripping wet, just a little bit. Do not place the moist hide directly below or above the heat source as it will dry out quickly then.
Reptile Hide Box
This hide box is perfect for creating a humid hide. Simply choose the needed size and get it at an affordable price.
Put Your Water Bowl Above The Heat Mat
If you are using a heat mat you can just put your corn snake´s water bowl above the heat mat. The water with the warm spot will work like a humidifier then and the humidity in your corn snake tank will rise automatically. This is a perfect way to permanently have higher humidity in your corn snake habitat.
Cover Your Screencover
If you are using a glass tank with a screencover as corn snake enclosure, maybe even with a heat lamp, you will lose a lot of humidity through the screencover. Most people cover a third or the half of the screencover with tin foil to keep the humidity inside the tank. However in my opinion a moist hide is way better than this method.
If you still want to go with this method, just make sure that you do not burn down your house and put the tin foil, or whatever you want to use as cover, far away from the heat lamp.
Get Some Good Substrate
I know that most people use newspaper or kitchen roll as substrate for corn snakes. While this is a good substrate for quarantaine tanks or tanks for baby corn snakes, I don´t think it is an appropriate substrate for corn snakes in general. Corn snakes like to burrow itself and hide which isn´t possible with newspaper.
Further a good substrate will increase the humidity in your tank. I recommend to get Forrest Floor in order to increase humidity. Simply mist it a little bit, the substrate will stay moist for a time without getting moldy. In my opinion the perfect substrate for a corn snake tank.
Corn Snake On A Natural Bedding!
Get A Bigger Water Bowl
If your corn snake feels that it needs some water in order to shed properly it will take a bath. A bigger water bowl can help here. Just make sure that you change the water on a daily base. Corn snakes sometimes defecate in the water, you have to disinfect the bowl then. Get this to disinfect your water bowl.
Further, if your corn snake lies in the water bowl all day it might be a sign that the humidity in your tank is way too low or that your corn snake might be sick. Often corn snakes lie in the water bowl all day when suffering from parasites that itch badly, like mites. You should check your corn snake if that´s the case.
How To Decrease Humidity
An obvious way to decrease humidity is to do the opposite of what I have described above, obviously. However there is one method I want to show you if you use a plastic box as corn snake enclosure. As you know now, too high humidity is even worse than too low humidity.
If you have very high humidity in your tub all the time you should drill a couple of holes in the sides of the tub. If you already have some holes there I recommend to create a couple of holes more. The humidity will decrease with every hole. This makes it really easy to reach the right humidity in the box.
Conclusion
I recommend to not worry about humidity that much. It always depends on your snake. Is your snake shedding well with any problems? If yes, the humidity is absolutely perfect and you don´t have to change a thing. If your corn snake has problems with shedding, you need to increase humidity a little bit.
Further make sure that your snake is always well hydrated, because that´s the actual reason for perfect shedding. So a water bowl is necessary at all times.
If you have any questions, leave a message in the comment section below and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
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