General corn snake information
General corn snake information
Corn snakes have the scientific name pantherophis guttatus. They were formally known as elaphe guttata guttata but they were reclassified in 2005. Although no longer being in the typical rat snake genus “elaphe” they should still be considered rat snakes. Guttatus comes from guttata which means spot or speckle.
Corn snakes have that name because they are often found in American corn fields where they would feed on the mice within the field. They are found more or less throughout america (Alabama, Arkansas, West central/Southeast Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Southern Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Eastern Utah, Virginia). They have also been reported in Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, North Durango, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas – taken from anapsid ) and parts of the cayman islands.
Corn snakes are nocturnal and you will generally see them around dawn and dusk. They usually hide and sleep during the day.
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