Purchased, built, or customized, the following Corn snake enclosure ideas are all about creativity. This constrictor may look imposing to some, but many snake enthusiasts only consider the species for its native US origin, docile nature, and relatively small size. But where to house them? Here are your options.
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1. Custom Wooden Terrarium
With a long history of snakes and small reptiles, custom wooden terrariums stand out as ideal solutions for durability and personalization. Create your own using plywood and solid glass for an enclosure that lasts decades. Build the one-size ideal for your space to maximize the viewing angles of your beloved Corn snake.
2. Bioactive Setup
Plants, water, humidity, and plenty of life characterized a bioactive setup. While you can practically incorporate a bioactive setup in a terrarium or a wooden cabinet, your goal here is to infuse life into what can seem a completely lifeless and boring enclosure for your snake.
The best part? You can swap out the living plants inside to recreate the enclosure for more visual diversity.
3. Wooden Cabinet
The main advantage of a wooden cabinet is that it offers plenty of vertical space and a rather small footprint and vertical space requirements as a result. Unmatched viewing angles are the second main advantage of turning a wooden cabinet into an actual snake enclosure. You get to see more of your snake and see it in different locations. Adding lights to the wooden cabinet only makes the experience even better.
4. Plastic Tub
Out of space and options? Why not try a plastic tub as a simple solution for your Corn snake? This solution is already a reality for those who like handling their snake more than others. Efficient and cost-effective, a plastic tub may act as an ideal temporary shelter for your conversation starter Corn Snake.
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5. Large Terrarium
More of a solution at zoos, large terrariums are the ultimate solution, if you have the space for it. Wider than a typical wooden cabinet, a large terrarium is the solution for a more complex setup with plenty of plants and enclosure decor.
It can be a solution if you also like to add a bit more space for your snake to explore and if you’re after decore such as living plants, fake plants, or all types of background options.
6. Double Floor Enclosure
Creating double floors is one of the easy ideas that completely change your Corn snake’s enclosure. An extra shelf is all that your snake needs to essentially double the resting and exploration space. For an efficient double floor, it’s essential to have a narrower top shelf so there’s plenty of light coming down to the bottom of the enclosure as well.
7. Reused Fish Tank
You don’t need to look further than at an old fish tank to find an ideal snake enclosure. Most of those who don’t have the skills or time to consider a DIY enclosure typically go for a fish tank. This doesn’t mean the enclosure can’t benefit from extras such as a second floor, the right decor options can turn it into something more complex than a simple glass box.
8. Use Paper Towels
Don’t have the substrate you want just yet? No problem, use simple paper towels laid on the bottom of your enclosure. The main problem with paper towels is they move around and they need to be replaced after a few days. But they can be a great temporary solution until you figure out the exact substrate or bottom layer of the enclosure.
9. Use Aspen
Looking for something that may come from the same natural habitat as your snake? Why not use Aspen, a simple and durable solution that adds character to an enclosure? Place it in the center as a statement piece or to the sides as part of a natural decor enclosure.
10. Rocky Enclosure
One of the most attractive enclosures uses rocks either as decor or as an actual floor. Consider the different types of flat rocks you can add to the enclosure as they provide the support needed for your snake to thrive. Consider rocks of various colors for visual diversity.
Even more, you may be able to simply get flat painting rocks used in crafts to paint them yourself and to have a day activity setting up the entire enclosure.
11. Climbing Challenge
Talking about extra floors, why not consider a climbing challenge? Consider adding small ladders, floors, shelves, and other objects for your snake to climb on. These don’t have to be snake-specific, they can be any type of miniature climbing object just as the ones you have in your house to add a bit of character to the enclosure.
12. Lost Temple
Your corn snake may not be the next Indiana Jones but a lost temple is the missing piece to a mystery-themed enclosure. Make sure to add a bit of vegetation for the temple to be lost in to get a more jungle-like experience for your Corn snake to blend in with.
13. Add Cool Wallpaper
Ever considered various prints for a Corn snake enclosure? This option often doesn’t get the credit it deserves outside of the community. Apart from its affordable nature, cool wallpapers come with the extra benefit of easy swapping and a completely different look every now and then.
14. DIY Background
Rocks, logs, substrate, and plants are just a few of the items you can use to create a unique DIY background. Look no further than the image below to understand what you create is almost always more satisfactory than what you can buy ready-made. At the same time, you get to have an enclosure completely unique to your Corn snake.
15. Fake Plants
Some of the ideal adding to an enclosure are fake plants. Unlike real plants which sometimes don’t make it from one year to another, fake plants last forever. Swap out large and small or tall and short fake plants to get the nature-inspired enclosure your snake deserves.
16. Live Plants
Snake plants or ivy are just a couple of options you can use for your next Corn snake enclosure. Invest in the type of plants that thrive in difficult lighting or in the type of plants that don’t need deep roots to survive. Keep an eye on moisture and excessive moisture to avoid mold inside the enclosure.
17. Cork Barks
Adding character to an enclosure, cork barks are among the top options for a nature-inspired enclosure. Combine small and large cork bark pieces to create a complex enclosure or use a single statement piece together with living or fake plants for your enclosure.
18. Logs
Logs are among the traditional choices and one the pet snake community admires. The benefit of logs is they come in all shapes, sizes, and colors so that you can combine them in a way that feels purposeful but still retains that nature-like appeal.
19. Hammock
Buy or create your own small hammocks to add a little statement piece inside the enclosure. Some of the traditional options include hammocks for rodents but you may create your own with the materials you have lying around the house. Ideal in corners or between taller elements, hammocks may be connected directly to enclosure walls to save space on the ground and to create new spaces for the snake to bask in.
20. Coral Driftwood
With a rare character, coral driftwood may bridge the gap between snake enclosures and fish tanks. Snake may not tell the difference, but it may work if you’re after something that’s a bit more original than simply placing a log inside the enclosure.
21. Ladder
Ladders can be used as they come or as support for plants and flowers. These additions also come in all sizes and they can be added in corners, leaned against walls, vertically or even horizontally to create a structure ideal for just about any Corn snake setup. Alternatively, consider ladders of various materials such as plastic to combine both natural and manmade materials into a complex enclosure.
22. Hol-ee Roller Dog Ball
Unique decor options may not always include roller dog balls. You may combine them with fake plants such as fake ivy for a unique look and an element that looks great even if its primary purpose is not inside of a snake enclosure.
23. Moss Cave
A hideaway area that blends in? It seems corn snakes prefer this option more than others. Most days, they will simply look for a place to retreat and a moss cave provides a natural solution that’s away from light and curious eyes.
Most snake lovers consider one moss cave but you may as well go all the way and create a system of moss caves that adds a bit more diversity than expected from the average enclosure to create a hobbit-liked habitat for your Corn snake.
24. Skeleton
A real skeleton is more than decor for your Corn snake’s enclosure. It’s a reminder of the polarizing, mysterious, and dangerous nature of snakes or how people think of them. The right type of skeleton also gets the ball rolling when it comes to winning the prize for the most original Corn snake enclosure.
25. Bridge
In literature and popular culture, a bridge represents a connection or a path. In the case of an enclosure, a bridge represents an attractive element added for aesthetic apparel or for a practical reason. Combine long and short bridges of different materials to get the most out of the idea. Bamboo bridges or DIY wooden bridges are among the most common options.
26. Bungalow Birdhouse
While it may not make immediate sense, a birdhouse does add plenty of character to your enclosure. Take the idea further and consider a moss bungalow birdhouse to add both a solid structure and a decor element that blends in with other natural materials. Consider combining it with other options such as a bamboo slide to create a miniature world inside of the enclosure.
27. Woven Hanging Bird House
Unlike moss birdhouses, woven hanging birdhouses can be combined with other wooden elements easily. Its natural fiber look will resemble logs and cork bark elements and may be part of a more thought-through enclosure. Even more, it’s worth considering you can hang it off a bridge, ledge, or shelf to create a moving element to spark the curiosity of your pet snake.
28. DIY Plastic Hide
Whatever plastic elements you have around the home from toys can work for the enclosure. Consider combining them in a way that’s easy to assemble. Adding flat elements together is the easiest. The lego of leftovers, a DIY plastic hide is an ideal solution for building your first budget Corn snake enclosure.
29. Climbing Branch
Adding a climbing element is a must for a good enclosure. In this case, the idea is to use a brand that’s as long as the enclosure itself to add a bit more climbing space. Combining multiple branches and multiple climbing opportunities is worth it as well.
30. Slate Cave
Slate may be used in various ways. Using slate to build caves is, without doubt, the most interesting way of integrating them into an enclosure. Consider building a chain of caves or multiple cave levels to add diversity to the enclosure. A combination of dark or bright slates with substrate is all that you need to create extra spaces in any corner.