Corn snakes thrive with an average humidity of 65-75%. Correct humidity levels help prevent dehydration, maintain respiratory health, and facilitate proper shedding.

Most corn snake care sources assert that corn snakes will do fine somewhere between 40-60%, but after checking the annual average relative humidity for several different locations throughout confirmed corn snake territory, it became clear that they actually prefer areas of higher humidity than conventional “wisdom” suggests.

This means that you will likely not be able to maintain correct humidity levels with just a thick layer of humidity-friendly substrate and a large water bowl. Here are some tips to help you maintain healthy humidity levels in your corn snake’s enclosure:

• Use moisture-retentive substrate. That means dry substrates like aspen and lignocel are out. 
• Provide a layer of clean, chemical-free leaf litter on top of the substrate. Leaf litter is great at helping retain humidity, and also gives your snake something to explore.
• Mist the enclosure daily. Wet things down first thing in the morning, then again at night if needed. Using a traditional spray bottle can give you hand cramps, so use a pressure sprayer like the Exo Terra Pressure Sprayer to make life a lot easier. 
• Install a cool mist humidifier/fogger. For best results, only run it at night, scheduling it to run in short bursts rather than constantly. Make sure to only use distilled water, and clean the entire unit at least 1x/week with F10SC or Rescue veterinary disinfectant to prevent bacterial growth.



It’s also a good idea to provide a humid hide for your snake to use as needed. Simply line a hide box/cave with moistened sphagnum moss and replace the moss regularly to prevent mold accumulation.



Don’t leave your humidity to chance — keep track of your corn snake humidity levels with a hygrometer! My personal favorite is the Zoo Med Digital Thermometer and Humidity Gauge. Place the probe in the middle of the enclosure to get an ideal of the enclosure’s average humidity.

It’s normal for humidity to rise at night and drop during the day. Humidity will also be higher further away from the heat lamp than closer to it. Occasional fluctuations higher or lower than the given range are acceptable.