Corn Snake
Corn Snakes
What is a corn snake
The corn snake is a North American species of rat snake that subdue their small prey with constriction. It is a non-venomous snake. In colder regions, these snakes hibernate while in areas with moderate temperature they are less active during the cold weather.
Names
It is also called the red rat snake. The more famous name i.e. the corn snake comes from the fact that these snakes were found in the corn fields and they have a maize-like pattern on their bellies. The term corn snake is being used for these snakes at least since 1676 as it is cited in the Oxford English Dictionary.
Taxonomy
These snakes belong to the order Squamata. Their family is Colubridae. Their scientific name is Elaphe guttata.
Distribution of Corn Snake
Corn snakes are found throughout the south-eastern and central United States.
Diet of Corn Snake
They don't feed every day, instead they feed every few days. Corn Snakes have a diet primarily consisting of rodents, mostly mice and rats, which they kill via constriction. They are proficient climbers and may scale trees in search of birds and bats. It hunts its prey by squeezing it tightly and thus suffocating it to death. Their young feed on lizards and tree frogs. In captivity they are normally fed on rats, mice and chicks.
Life Span
Corn Snakes normally live for 15-20 years in the wild, while they are known to live as long as 23 years in captivity.
Size
I didn't mention their size when I originally wrote this hub, then as per reminder of my friend rb11, here it is. The adult corn snakes normally attain a length of 3 to 5 feet but can sometimes become as long as 6 feet. Adult corn snakes seldom exceed 1 kg in weight.
Interesting Facts
The incubation temperature for their eggs determine the sex of their young hatchlings.
They can be differentiated from the King snakes by their belly. They have a flat belly as compared to the rounded belly of the King snake.
