Jess's Pet Fact Files: Corn Snake

Dane
May 19, 2021
2 min read

Updated: Jul 22

Name: Corn snake

Scientific Name: Pantherophis guttatus

Classification: Reptile

Lifespan: Captivity: 23 years. Wild: 12 – 18 years

Man in black shirt smiling, holding a corn snake. Blurred background of people watching, bright setting. Relaxed and engaging mood.

Identification: Corn snakes come in a wide range of colours and patterns depending on age

and geographical area. They are mostly orange or brownish yellow with a pattern of large

red blotches and a black outline down their backs. Their bellies have distinctive rows of

alternating black and white marks, similar to a checkerboard.

Body Length: 61 – 182cm

Weight: 0.9kg

Close-up of a colorful map of Florida, showing cities like Miami and Tampa, connected by red lines. Blue coastlines with clear labels.

Distribution: Found throughout the south-eastern parts of the USA but greatest number

found in Florida

Habitat: Wooded groves, overgrown fields, forest openings, rocky hillside, meadowlands,

woodlots, rocky open areas, barns and abandoned buildings.

Orange corn snake eating a mouse on a log, with green grass background. The snake's scales are vibrant, and its tongue is visible.

Diet: Corn snakes are carnivorous. Adults mainly eat rodents and other small

mammals but their diet can also include birds, bird eggs, lizards and bats. Young corn

snakes eat lizards, other small snakes, tree frogs and rodents.

Feeding Behaviour: Constrictors squeeze their prey before swallowing. They may

need to bite their prey to get a firm grip and then quickly coil themselves around, squeezing tightly until the prey suffocates. They swallow their food whole, usually headfirst. Some corn snakes will swallow small prey live.

Snakes hatching from white eggs on a textured surface. Baby snakes are bright orange and pink, emerging from shells in close-up view.

Breeding Behaviour: Corn snakes are oviparous. Breeding season takes place in March to May. In late May to July the female snakes lay a clutch of 10–30 eggs in rotting stumps, piles of decaying vegetation or other similar locations with sufficient heat and humidity to incubate the eggs. The eggs hatch between July and September and measure 25-38cm long.

Conservation status: Least Concern

Predators: Foxes, opossums, skunks, bobcats, weasels and hawks.

Threats: Corn snakes are harmless but are killed by humans because they are often

mistaken for copperheads, a venomous species of snake.