The Corn Snake, Also Known as the Red Rat Snake

Corn Snake Hatchling - Photo by John Stone

Cold-Blooded Reptiles, Corn Snakes Can Make Good Pets

The Corn Snake is docile and cooperative. Corn Snakes grow to be 3 to 5 feet long and they're readily available for those wanting to own a pet snake.

Corn Snakes (elaphe guttata guttata) breed in April through June, and anywhere from three to forty eggs are laid and hatch in July to September. Hatchlings are from 8 to 14 inches long. Certain wild Corn Snakes have evolved over time so that their genes no longer give them the ability to produce previously-known Corn Snake colors. The new colors are so different that new names have been given to these special Corn Snakes to match their new looks.

New Names for Wild Corn Snakes

Rosy Ratsnake: Found in the lower Florida Keys, this Corn Snake is smaller than most and has less black coloring.

Miami Phase: This Corn Snake is a bright red on a silver background.

Chocolate Corn Snake: Found mainly in Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, this snake offers a light to dark background with rusty, reddish-brown to dark brown splotches.

Okeetee Corn Snake: This little Corn Snake is usually found in South Carolina and is bright orange with bold black-bordered red splotches. Said to be the “typical” Corn Snake, other Corn Snakes with these color values are not necessarily related to the South Carolina Corn Snakes.

Corn Snake Having Lunch

Colors of Captive-Bred Corn Snakes

Many Corn Snakes are bred to be pets. So many in fact, certain colors are obtained from breeding that are not found in wild Corn Snakes.

Amelanistic: These Corn Snakes are red with no black.

Anerythristic: This Corn Snake comes in two types. Type A has a bit of yellow but no red and Type B has no yellow and no red.

Motley: As the name implies, these snakes have irregular blotches.

Snow: The Snow Corn Snake is a combination of Amelanistic and Anerythristic, meaning it has no red, no black, but maybe some yellow.

Shy Climbing Snakes

The Corn Snake is also known as the Red Rat Snake. Their skins are glossy and smooth. Shy guys, they like to be active at night and they're good climbers, so snake owners must be very careful to have the lids tightly closed on their pets' cages.

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Constrictors with Teeth but No Venom

Corn Snakes have teeth but are non-venomous constrictors. Unlike other larger constrictors, pet Corn Snakes do not wrap themselves around their owners' arms, and most seem to enjoy being handled. To kill prey, Corn Snakes use their teeth to get a firm grip on the prey and then coil their bodies around it, suffocating it. They then eat the prey head-first.

Corn Snakes are Active Feeders

Corn Snakes are known to be active feeders, which means they are not picky about what they eat. They do prefer mice, however, and pet owners will probably find the easiest and safest food available is frozen, dead mice. Pre-killed food is best as it doesn't give the Corn Snake a chance to be injured by the prey, which can sometimes happen if the Corn Snake doesn't kill the prey right away. Young Corn Snakes start out eating lizards and baby mice and as they grow they graduate to larger mice.

Learn more about the fascinating Corn Snake by reading A Corn Snake May be the Perfect Pet Snake.