With corn snakes being one of the easier snakes to keep, they are extremley common pets amongst reptile enthusiasts in both North America and Europe with more and more people adding a corn snake to their family with each year that goes by.
With corn snakes often being one of the first snakes that people end up owning, we often see people reaching out with various questions about their behaviour every month.
We have already published an article going over why corn snakes rattle their tail after seeing so many people asking about it but we have noticed a spike in the number of people reaching out to ask if corn snakes burrow recently too.
With so many people reaching out with some being worried that there is something wrong with their corn snake due to it burrowing so much, we wanted to publish our own article going over corn snakes and their burrowing habbits.
As usual, the advice that we have seen on social media about corn snakes burrowing is incorrect too so we hope that our article will be able to help as many of our readers as possible.
We have also added our table of contents below to make it as easy as possible for our readers to skip to specific sections of the article as required too.
Do Corn Snakes Burrow?
Corn snakes do burrow and they do it for a number of reasons but the majority of the time, there is no need to worry about your pet corn snake burrowing or digging.
Unlike some other snake species who may dig due to being stressed or anxious due to being in a small tank, a corn snake will dig or burrow normally, especially when it is young or shedding.
Corn snakes can be somewhat different to most other snake species in the sense that they tend to be more active when they are stressed out or anxious and it can be normal for a corn snake to burrow into some loose substrate and just relax there.
If the substrate is cool or slightly damp then some young corn snakes make spend the majority of their day burrowed down into their substrate.
Corn snakes are crepuscular snakes meaning that they are usually most active around dusk and dawn too.
This means that they may burrow during the day and night to sleep or rest as they would do in the wild and unless there are any obvious signs of distress in the snake, this is generally nothing to worry about in the majority of cases.
Why Do Corn Snakes Bury Themselves?
Some people believe that younger corn snakes bury themselves in their substrate so much as it feels like a safe space that is similar to their egg.
Most corn snakes will bury themselves less as they grow older and the need of a safe space fades but it can still be relatively common for a corn snake to bury itself on a regular basis.
A number of corn snakes can form a habit of burying themselves in certain types of substrate while shedding too as it eases the irritation of the shedding process while also helping to pull the shed off their bodies.
As corn snakes tend to bury themselves more often when young while also shedding more frequently when young, it is common for some corn snakes to form this habit.
We have seen some corn snake owners report that their pet corn snake seemed to bury itself more frequently when suffering from a parasitic infection seemingly to help deal with the irritation of the parasites on its skin.
Parasites can accidentally be added to your corn snakes environment when adding new substrate or decorations so if you have recently changed something, check your corn snake for mites or other parasites as a potential cause of burying if your corn snake does not normally dig or burrow.
Whats The Best Way To Let Your Corn Snake Bury Itself?
Some people have started to add their own version of a dig box to their corn snakes enclosures but instead of being to lay eggs as dig boxes are used for with some other reptiles, it is simply to let the corn snake bury itself with ease when it wants.
Simply adding a container with some lose substrate that is deep enough for your corn snake to burrow and dig as it pleases is enough to do this.
Many of the people who keep a corn snake will have spare substrate left over and you can often use a random container from the kitchen or order one online.
Fill it with enough substrate so your corn snake will easily be able to bury itself with ease and hide and then add the new feature to your corn snakes tank.
Depending on the substrate you used in the dig box, it may be ideal to spray it down with water each day to make it easier for your corn snake to burrow in.
Just keep in mind that with some types of substrate this will often result in the substrate toughening up and it becoming more difficult for your corn snake to dig in as it pleases.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over if corn snakes burrow or dig to an end. We hope that we have been able to help you better understand that it is totally normal for your pet corn snake to dig, especially when it is younger but that some corn snakes will build up various habits that will make it dig on a regular basis as an adult too. There are a number of substrate options available that make it as easy as possible for your corn snake to dig in too so you really dont have to do anything special to make it as easy as possible for your corn snake to burrow and dig when it wants.
