The Corn Snake was one of the first snakes to be kept in captivity. Many people keep corn snakes worldwide for various reasons. The snake comes in many different colors. Many people consider the snake to be attractive. Corn snakes have generally good temperament, ranging from fair to excellent. Wild snakes might bite when they are captured, but once they are in captivity they stop biting with time. Corn snakes are easy to keep as pets, because the mice they eat are easy to obtain, they reproduce easily, there is lots of information about corn snakes, and they are large enough to suit many people's tastes but not so large that their size is overwhelming or dangerous. There are many corn snakes available because of the great numbers of snakes bred in captivity. Corn snakes are good for people for many different reasons.
Coloring: Blotches on the snake are often outlined in black on the back of the animal. There are smaller blotches on the sides of the snake. The first blotch on the back splits to form a spear point on top of the animal's head. There are other strips on the side of the head that run through the snake's eyes and then meet at the top of the head in front of the eyes. The ground color varies among orange, gray, and brown.
Length: A hatchling is 9 to 14 inches long and adults are usually 2 1/2 to 5 feet long with the record being six feet. Males are generally longer than females.
Name Meaning: Early Americans found the snakes in the corn fields or corncribs while the snakes were hunting for mice or other small rodents, which ate crops. Another common name for the snake is red rat snake because of the red-orange color that many corn snakes have and the genus Elaphe (which the corn snake belongs to) is often called rat snakes because of their food preferences.
