Corn Snake
Pantherophis guttatus
Beastly Facts · Updated
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Overview
Corn snakes are slender, medium-sized rat snakes native to the eastern United States. They are excellent climbers and highly active, often found in cornfields and farm buildings where rodent prey is abundant - hence the name. Docile, hardy, and available in a staggering array of captive-bred color morphs, they are widely considered the ideal beginner snake for new reptile keepers.
Quick Facts
Native Range
Eastern and central United States
Natural Habitat
Pine forest, woodland, rocky hillside, and agricultural land
Adult Size
3.5-5 feet (107-152 cm)
Wild Diet
Mice, rats, birds, and lizards
Wild Lifespan
Not documented in the wild, where predation and disease are assumed to shorten it; the longest recorded in captivity is just over 32 years
Conservation Status
Least Concern (IUCN)
History
The corn snake hobby has a documented starting point. The first amelanistic corn snake was caught in North Carolina in 1953, and in 1959 Dr. Bernard Bechtel bred that animal to three normal females, then crossed the offspring back to each other to produce the first captive-bred corn snake morph in 1961. That single line opened the door to selective breeding in snakes at a time when reptile genetics were barely understood, and breeders through the 1970s and 1980s built on it. Every corn snake color sold today descends from that method, which is a large part of why the species became the standard beginner snake.
Compare
Corn Snake
Human
Adult Size
3.5-5 feet (107-152 cm)
5-6 feet (150-185 cm); ~135-200 lbs
Wild Lifespan
Not documented in the wild, where predation and disease are assumed to shorten it; the longest recorded in captivity is just over 32 years
~73 years (global average)
Wild Diet
Mice, rats, birds, and lizards
Omnivorous - eats just about anything
Native Range
Eastern and central United States
Global - originated in Africa roughly 300,000 years ago
Natural Habitat
Pine forest, woodland, rocky hillside, and agricultural land
Everywhere from arctic tundra to tropical megacities
Conservation Status
Least Concern (IUCN)
Least Concern (8+ billion and counting)
Test Yourself
What's the Corn Snake's native range?
Fun Facts
🐍 Tongue Sniffers
Snakes smell with help from their tongues! Each flick of that forked tongue grabs chemicals from the air or ground. The tongue can't smell a thing itself, though: it drops its haul onto pads on the floor of the mouth, which most likely pass it up to the Jacobson's organ in the roof of the mouth.
Where it is legal
12 US jurisdictions restrict this species, from outright bans to permits. Every one quotes the rule it comes from.
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Deep Dive
Health and More
Did You Know?
Corn snakes are named for their distinctive belly pattern that resembles Indian corn kernels, not because they're found in corn fields (though they are)!
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