--- title: "Corn Snake (Pantherophis guttatus) | AnimalTracks.wiki" description: "The most commonly bred pet snake, and a lab model for how reptiles get their colours." image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/corn-snake-1.webp" published: "2026-10-10" updated: "2026-10-10" --- # Corn Snake (*Pantherophis guttatus*) > **Status**: Checked against 7 sources, listed under Sources below. > **Tagline**: The most commonly bred pet snake, and a lab model for how reptiles get their colours. > **Soundtrack Vibe**: Classic Hard Rock & Southern Blues // Queen, "Under Pressure" > **Soundtrack Links**: [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/2nrG5UtAcqXbYttu7MXP1p) > **Vibe Match**: A corn snake coils around its prey and squeezes tightly until the prey is subdued. Under Pressure is built on one tight, looping bass line that never lets go. ## Biological Superpowers & Stats - **Taxonomy**: *Pantherophis guttatus* - **Danger Level**: Low - **Conservation Status**: Least Concern ([IUCN Red List](https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2016-3.rlts.t63863a71740603.en)) - **Superpower**: Squeezes its prey until it is subdued, then swallows it whole - **Habitat**: Woodlands, rocky hillsides, meadows and barns in the eastern United States - **Diet**: Mice, rats, birds and bats; hatchlings eat lizards and tree frogs - **Tags**: reptile, woodland, carnivore, domestic-pet ## Natural History & Behavior ## A Snake That Squeezes, Then Swallows The corn snake is a constrictor, a snake that wraps around its prey and squeezes. It bites its prey to get a firm grip, then quickly coils around its meal and squeezes tightly until the prey is subdued. Then it swallows the food whole, usually headfirst. Corn snakes have also been seen swallowing small prey alive. Hatchlings eat lizards and tree frogs. Adults go for larger prey such as mice, rats, birds and bats. > **Tooth factory** > Corn snakes are polyphyodonts, animals that can regenerate their teeth constantly. ## Nose First, Eyes Second Corn snakes have rather poor eyesight and depend mainly on smell. Their tongue works with the Jacobson's organ in the roof of the mouth to pick up scent molecules, and they can tell which direction the scent came from. They can also feel ground vibrations through their bodies, which helps them find small or hidden prey. ## How Big, How Old Corn snakes are about 61 to 182 centimeters (24 to 72 inches) long. Hatchlings measure 25 to 38 centimeters. An average adult weighs about 900 grams. In captivity, corn snakes have been reported to live up to 32.3 years, and their lifespan is shorter in the wild. ## Where It Lives Corn snakes live in the eastern United States, from southern New Jersey to Florida, into Louisiana and parts of Kentucky, and are most abundant in Florida and the southeast. They inhabit wooded groves, rocky hillsides, meadowlands, barns and abandoned buildings. They are secretive and spend most of their time underground in rodent burrows, though they also climb trees. Corn snakes are sometimes mistaken for the venomous copperhead and killed. The Red List rates the species Least Concern. ## A Colour Lab with Scales Corn snakes are the most commonly bred snake species in the pet industry. One team calls the corn snake a new model species for investigating how reptiles get their colours, because numerous colour and pattern mutants have been isolated in the last five decades. The lavender morph has gray blotches on a pink background, instead of red blotches on orange. Researchers traced it to a single change in the LYST gene that cuts the protein short, and used it as evidence that the colour-making compartments in red and yellow skin cells and in light-reflecting skin cells are lysosome-related organelles. The amelanistic morph, which lacks the dark pigment melanin, shows white borders instead of black ones around an otherwise normal pattern of orange saddles. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How long do corn snakes live? AnAge, a database of animal lifespans, lists corn snakes as reported to live up to 32.3 years in captivity. The Smithsonian's National Zoo adds that they live for a shorter time in the wild. *(Source: [AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Build 15, Human Ageing Genomic Resources]())* ### Is a corn snake venomous? No. Animal Diversity Web describes corn snakes as mild-tempered and non-venomous. They are constrictors, coiling around prey and squeezing until it is subdued. *(Source: [Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan]())* ### How big do corn snakes get? The National Zoo gives a range of about 61 to 182 centimeters (24 to 72 inches) long. Hatchlings start out at 25 to 38 centimeters. *(Source: [Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute]())* ### Are corn snakes endangered? The IUCN Red List rated the corn snake Least Concern in its 2016 assessment. The National Zoo notes that, locally, habitat destruction can affect them. *(Source: [Echternacht & Hammerson 2016]())* ## Sources 1. [Echternacht & Hammerson (2016). Pantherophis guttatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T63863A71740603.]() 2. [Eastern corn snake. Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.]() 3. [Pantherophis guttatus (red corn snake). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.]() 4. [AnAge entry for Elaphe guttata. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Build 15, Human Ageing Genomic Resources.]() 5. [Gaete & Tucker (2013). Organized Emergence of Multiple-Generations of Teeth in Snakes Is Dysregulated by Activation of Wnt/Beta-Catenin Signalling. PLoS ONE.]() 6. [Ullate-Agote et al. (2020). Genome mapping of a LYST mutation in corn snakes indicates that vertebrate chromatophore vesicles are lysosome-related organelles. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.]() 7. [Saenko et al. (2015). Amelanism in the corn snake is associated with the insertion of an LTR-retrotransposon in the OCA2 gene. Scientific Reports.]() *Published October 10, 2026. 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