Corn Snake
Pantherophis guttatus • Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Colubridae, Subfamily: Colubrinae, Genus: Pantherophis, Species: P. guttatus
Native to the southeastern and central regions of the United States, ranging from New Jersey south to Florida and west to Louisiana and parts of Kentucky.
Look up Corn Snake in the Snake Encyclopedia →Family
Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Colubridae, Subfamily: Colubrinae, Genus: Pantherophis, Species: P. guttatus
Conservation
IUCN Red List status is Least Concern. Populations are generally stable, though local threats include habitat fragmentation and road mortality.
Physical Description
Slender body with an orange to brownish-red background coloration featuring darker reddish-brown blotches edged in black along the back and sides. The head shows a characteristic spear-point or dart-shaped marking, and the belly displays a checkerboard pattern of black and white squares. Scales are weakly keeled.
Size & Dimensions
The pictured specimen appears to be a subadult or young adult approximately 2 to 3 feet in length. Typical adult size ranges from 61 to 182 cm (24 to 72 inches).
Habitat
Found in forested regions, overgrown fields, meadows, agricultural land, and around human habitations, typically utilizing ground cover like logs, bark, and rocks from sea level up to regional elevations.
Diet & Feeding
Predominantly consumes small rodents, birds, and bats. Utilizes an active foraging strategy and dispatches prey through constriction.
Reproduction
Oviparous species. Females typically lay clutches of 10 to 30 eggs in decaying vegetation, rotting logs, or underground burrows during the early summer months, with incubation lasting around two months.
Look-alikes
Frequently confused with various rat snakes and copperheads. Unlike copperheads, corn snakes lack vertical pupils, facial heat-sensing pits, and hourglass-shaped markings, displaying instead a checkered belly and distinct blotched patterns.
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List status is Least Concern. Populations are generally stable, though local threats include habitat fragmentation and road mortality.
Cultural Significance
Extremely popular in the captive reptile pet trade with numerous morphs bred selectively. Ecologically beneficial as a natural controller of rodent populations in agricultural and residential areas.
Notable Features
Known for docility, climbing ability, and complex color and pattern mutations that have made it a model organism in reptile husbandry and genetics.