Corn Snake
Elaphe guttata guttata
by Clay Davenport
by Clay Davenport
Corn snakes are extremely popular in the pet trade, and are highly recommended for beginners, but they are also favorites of experienced keepers. They are available in a great many color and pattern phases, including albino, anerythristic, snow, blizzard, motley, blood red, striped, zigzag, sunglow, and many others. They are not very expensive, and are considered by many to be the perfect pet snake. Their calmness, and willingness to feed add to their popularity. They are not large snakes, adults rarely exceed five feet, with most averaging three to four feet.
Corn snakes are native to the eastern US, and can be found from New Jersey south to Florida and Louisiana. They occur in a variety of habitats, from pine barrens to woodlands. They are also commonly found near humans, especially on farms. Early settlers of the US sometimes found these snakes in corn cribs, where they were hunting mice, and this is how they got their common name.
Corn snakes do not have elaborate cage requirements. If you are planning to keep a collection of these snakes they can be kept comfortably in a sweater box rack system. If you wish to display your pet, an adult can be housed in a twenty gallon aquarium, or you can build your own custom cage. The most important thing is that the cage be escape proof, as these snakes will definitely liberate themselves, if given the opportunity.
An ambient temperature of 75-80F with a basking spot reaching 85F should be provided, especially with young snakes. The temperature can safely drop to 70F at night as long as proper temps are available during the day.
If you house your corns in a rack system, the best method of heating is to place strips of flexwatt heat tape along the back of the shelves, with 1/3 of the cage resting on it. Some type of thermostat, or rheostat will be necessary. The adhesive type under tank heat pads work well for aquariums. The "hot rock" type heaters are not recommended, as they commonly develop hot spots which can potentially burn the snake.
One of the best things about corns is that they will almost always feed on pre-killed or frozen/thawed mice. This makes it much more convienent to keep a ready supply of food for your snake without the hassle of caring for a group of mice. Adults can be maintained on one to two adult mice per week, and younger snakes which are still growing will need two prey items of appropriate size per week.
Fresh water should always be available, and should be changed at least weekly. Corns sometimes soak, especially when nearing a shed, so the water bowl should be large enough to allow them to submerge themselves if they want.
A great many corn snakes are bred in this country each year, but the demand seems to remain high. There are new color phases being produced nearly every year, and many more possibilities remain.
In order to succesfully breed your corn snakes, you will need to cool them dowm over the winter months. This is often referred to as "brumation".
Two or three weeks prior to cooling, you should stop feeding the snakes to allow all food to be cleared from the gut, as they cannot digest anything at the low temperatures and any undigested food will rot in their gut, potentially poisoning them.
Over the course of a week, lower the cage temperature to 55-60F. They should be kept at this temp for 2.5 to 3 months. Check on the snakes weekly during this time. No food should be offered, but make sure they always have fresh water available.
After bringing the snakes back to mormal temperatures, feed the females heavily. The males may refuse food during the breeding season. About one month after raising the temp, the female will shed. After this shed, introduce the female into the males cage at three or four day intervals. Allow the snakes to mate at least three times to ensure fertility.
Eggs will be laid four to six weeks after successful mating. Seven to ten days before laying, the female will have a pre-lay shed. After this shed, it is a good idea to remove the water bowl to avoid the her laying the eggs in it. Offer water under supervision.
Place a laying box in the cage containing moistened sphagnum moss, soil, or vermiculite.
After the eggs are laid, remove them to an incubation container. Vermiculite, or perlite is the most commonly used media for incubation. It should be damp, but not wet.
Kept at 82F the eggs should hatch in 55-60 days.