CORN SNAKE
Elaphe guttata guttata

 

 

 

 

DESCRIPTION:
The name corn snake possibly comes from their presence in corn fields. In fact they are the farmer's friend as they help to keep the rodent population down.

They can grow as long as 2 metres (6 feet) and have a life span of 10 to 15 years in the wild, up to 20 years in captivity.

All snakes are carnivorous and so only eat other animals. In the wild they will eat lizards, rodents and amphibians, which they kill by constriction (squeezing the prey until it suffocates). Snakes make the most of their food so they do not have to eat very often and can go several weeks without eating.

Corn snakes are oviparous which means they lay eggs. Between 5 and 30 eggs are laid in June and July, hidden away under leaf litter or in old burrows. The mother leaves the eggs and the hatchlings have to look after themselves.