Corn Snake

Looks how to spot one

Smooth scales, slender constrictor

A slim, graceful snake. Wild-type animals are orange to brownish with a row of large red or orange saddle markings edged in black running down the back. The belly carries a striking black-and-white checkerboard pattern.13

Personality what they are like

Calm and easygoing but more inquisitive and on-the-move than many pet snakes. Corn snakes generally accept gentle handling well and like to explore, including climbing. They are mostly active around dawn, dusk and at night.431

Daily activity how busy a day looks

An active explorer that climbs as well as moving along the ground. Branches, ledges and plenty of tight hiding places give exercise and enrichment. Wild corn snakes rest through the cold months, roughly October to April.512

Grooming and care the hands-on bits

Keep a large, heavy water bowl filled at all times, cleaning it and replacing the water daily with ordinary tap water rather than distilled or filtered water. Monitor temperatures and humidity so shedding goes smoothly.67

Home where they are happiest

Adult enclosure of at least 120 x 60 x 60 cm with climbing branches and several snug hides. Basking spot around 32 °C, cool zone 24-27 °C, night-time at room temperature or about 24 °C. Average humidity of 65-75%. Low-level UVB lighting (maximum UVI around 2-3 at the basking spot) is recommended.57

Food basics what goes in the bowl

Eats whole prey, mainly rodents. In captivity, frozen-thawed mice or rats are the standard, with each item about 1 to 1.5 times the width of the snake's thickest point. Hatchlings eat every 5-7 days, juveniles every 7-10 days, and adults every 2-3 weeks. Prey is thawed in the fridge and warmed to around 38 °C before offering.61

Company who they like around

A solitary snake that is happiest living alone. Keeping several together is not recommended for pet owners.5

The story where it all began

Carl Linnaeus described the corn snake in 1766 as Coluber guttatus, from specimens said to come from Carolina, a locality later narrowed to the area around Charleston, South Carolina. The species name means spotted. For much of the 20th century it sat in the genus Elaphe, but in 2002 genetic work by Utiger and colleagues moved the North American rat snakes into Pantherophis, meaning panther snake. The closely related Great Plains rat snake, once treated as a subspecies, is now recognised as its own species. The English name has been in use since at least the late 1600s, linked either to the snakes hunting rodents around corn stores or to the belly pattern resembling multicoloured maize. Thanks to its manageable size and gentle nature it became one of the most kept pet snakes, and breeders have developed a long list of colour morphs from red-and-white amelanistic snakes to pale snow and blizzard forms.321

Recognised by the official bits

IUCN Red List (as reported by Animal Diversity Web)

Least Concern; no special US federal or CITES status.1

The Reptile Database

Accepted species Pantherophis guttatus (Linnaeus, 1766).2