Corn Snake - Elaphe guttata
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Corn
Snake - Elaphe guttata
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Care Sheets]
General Information
Distribution — From southern New Jersey to Mississippi and southeastern Louisiana through to central Tennessee and Kentucky. Introduced to the Grand Cayman Islands south of Cuba.
Habitat — Corn Snakes occur in a wide variety of habitats including: Pine barrens, wood lots, prairies, fields, oak scrub lands, and rocky hillsides. This species is frequently found around farms and outbuildings as well as abandoned buildings.
Adult Size — The Corn Snake is a medium sized snake with a very slender build. Hatchlings are typically between 23 and 36 cm, while adults range in length from 76 cm - 137 cm (2.5-4.5 feet). However, the record for a wild caught specimen is 183 cm (6 feet).
Temperament — Young Corn Snakes - like most small snakes - are highly sensitive to potential threats. They will typically rattle their tails and strike defensively when they feel threatened; however, with very little effort they quickly become accustomed to being handled. Adults rarely bite and are easy to handle.
Longevity — Corn snakes typically live to be between 15 and 20 years old in captivity.
Captive Care
Rating: 1 — Due to this animals good nature, feeding habits, adult size, and availability as domestically bred stock it is an excellent starter snake.
Diet: Hatchlings and juveniles - pink/ fuzzy mice, hopper mice, and pink/fuzzy rats every 4-7 days; Adults - large rodents such as rats every 9-14 days.
Temperature: 25o to 30 o C (75o-85oF)
Space Requirements: An adult Corn Snake can be housed a 35 gallon terrarium; however, young snakes are better off housed in smaller 10 to 15 gallon terraria until they reach a 60 - 70 cm in length.
Breeding: Corn Snakes typically reach sexual maturity at 2 years of age and can produce two clutches per year in a captive environment. Mating season is between the months of March and June with oviposition (egg laying) occurring 27-28 days after fertilization. Typically the eggs take between 47-84 days to incubate with the average being 59 days at a temperature of 28oC (82oF). Note: A winter cooling period is a must if you intend to breed these animals.
Special Requirements: This species is docile, eats readily, and is long lived which makes it a hardy animal ideally suited for beginners.; however, hatchlings should be left for one to two months without any handling to make sure they get on a good feeding schedule. Most people make the mistake of handling their animal too soon and they end up with a very stressed snake that refuses to eat. For the first few months, the contact you should have with your snake should be for feeding, cleaning, and changing water only.
Sources (Suggested Reading):
Conant, Roger and Joseph T. Collins. 1991. Reptiles and Amphibians: Eastern/Central North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. Pp. 450.
Mattison, Chris. 1995. Keeping and Breeding Snakes. Cassell Publishing, London, UK. Pp. 184.
McEachern, Michael J. 1991. Keeping and Breeding Corn Snakes. Advanced Terrarium Systems, Lakeside, California. Pp. 60.
Rossi, John V. 1992. Snakes of the United Sates and Canada, Vol. 1: Eastern Area. Krieger Publishing Company, Malabar, Florida. Pp. 209.
Wright, Albert Hazen and Anna Allen Wright, 1957. Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada, Vol. I. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca, New York. Pp. 564.