Corn snakes are the one of the most popular pet snakes because they are easy to care for and come in a variety of colors and patterns. There are thousands of different colors and markings called morphs. They do well in captivity living on average 15-20 years or more, that's longer than they would in the wild! Corn snakes are about 3-5 feet when fully grown and have a long, slender body. Male corn snakes can be slightly bigger than females but not all of the time. Corn snakes breed from March to May. They are oviparous, meaning that they lay eggs, laying about 10-30 eggs. The eggs need heat and humidity so they are laid in warm locations and left to hatch on their own. Their natural habitat is on the east coast from lower New Jersey to Florida and over to Arkansas and Louisiana. Corn snakes are awake during the day or diurnal. They like to go underground, enter buildings and climb in search of prey. They feed only a few times a week and eat everything from lizards to mice to bats. They bite then coil around their prey until it suffocates because they don't have venom to kill it and they can swallow it whole. .
Sexing Corn Snakes.
There are 2 methods to determine the sex of a corn snake. Both of these methods can harm the snake if not done correctly so seek an experienced person to help you. Popping is most commonly used with younger snakes. It is the safest way for baby snakes but should not be done after a snake reaches adulthood. Using this method too much or doing in correctly can injure the snake. This is performed by pulling the anal or cloacal scale forward with one finger to gently and slightly open the vent of the snake. Then the other thumb goes under the base of the tail. Then rock the thumb while squeezing to put pressure on the vent. If it is a male 2 red rods will pop out called hemipenes, they should have blood vessels that can be seen. If it is a female there will be smaller scent glands that can pop out that will be smaller and have no blood vessels.
