Young Okeetee Phase corn snake Baby corn snakes hatching from their eggsĬorn snakes are relatively easy to breed. It has been found that corn snakes (along with other colubrids) reach sexual maturity by means of size, as opposed to age. There are active extermination campaigns and advice for the public in Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland. guttatus is a proscribed pest in much of Australia. Often called the "American corn snake", P. During cold weather, the corn snake is less active so it hunts less. It also can find shelter in small, closed spaces, such as under a house, and come out on warm days to soak up the heat of the sun. However, in the more temperate climate along the coast, it shelters in rock crevices and logs during cold weather. In colder regions, the corn snake brumates during winter. It can be found in the Southeastern United States ranging from New Jersey to the Florida Keys. Typically, the corn snake remains on the ground until the age of four months but can ascend trees, cliffs, and other elevated surfaces. In the wild, the corn snake prefers habitats such as overgrown fields, forest openings, trees, palmetto flatwoods, and abandoned or seldom-used buildings and farms, from sea level to as high as 6,000 ft (1,800 m). The corn snake has even been bred in captivity with the California kingsnake ( Lampropeltis californiae) to produce fertile hybrids known as "jungle corn snakes". Molecular data have shown that the corn snake is actually more closely related to kingsnakes (genus Lampropeltis) than it is to the Old World rat snakes (genus Elaphe) with which it was formerly classified. Many reference materials still use the synonym Elaphe guttata. guttatus and several related species in Pantherophis rather than in Elaphe has been confirmed by further phylogenetic studies. guttatus was previously placed in the genus Elaphe, but Elaphe was found to be paraphyletic by Utiger et al., leading to placement of this species in the genus Pantherophis. slowinskii, occurring in western Louisiana and adjacent Texas). emoryi, corresponding with the subspecies P. guttatus), the Great Plains rat snake ( P. guttatus has been suggested to be split into three species: the corn snake ( P. emoryi), but is still occasionally treated as a subspecies of the corn snake by hobbyists. The latter has since been split off as its own species ( P. guttatus) described here and the Great Plains rat snake ( P. Until 2002, the corn snake was considered to have two subspecies: the nominate subspecies ( P. The corn snake can be distinguished from a copperhead by the corn snake's brighter colors, slender build, slim head, round pupils, and lack of heat-sensing pits. This black and white checker pattern is similar to Indian corn which is where the name corn snake may have come from. The belly has distinctive rows of alternating black and white marks. The natural corn snake is usually orange or brown bodied with large red blotches outlined in black down their backs. The record for the oldest corn snake in captivity was 32 years and 3 months. In the wild, it usually lives around ten to fifteen years, but in captivity can live to an age of 23 years or more. Description Īs an adult the corn snake may have a total length (including tail) of 61–182 cm (2.00–5.97 ft). The corn snake is also referred to as a red rat snake. The Oxford English Dictionary cites this usage as far back as 1675, whilst other sources maintain that the corn snake is so-named because the distinctive, nearly-checkered pattern of the snake's belly scales resembles the kernels of variegated corn. The corn snake is named for the species' regular presence near grain stores, where it preys on mice and rats that eat harvested corn ( maize). The corn snake is beneficial to humans because it helps to control populations of wild rodent pests that damage crops and spread disease. Though superficially resembling the venomous copperhead ( Agkistrodon contortrix) and often killed as a result of this mistaken identity, the corn snake lacks functional venom and is harmless. It is found throughout the southeastern and central United States. The species subdues its small prey by constriction. The corn snake ( Pantherophis guttatus), sometimes called red rat snake, is a species of North American rat snake in the family Colubridae. A close-up portrait Gravid female Young corn snake
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