Corn Snake: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Reptiles of America · day 4 of 7

Five facts

1. Corn snakes can climb trees and cliffs. In tests, they crept along perches just 1.6 cm wide using a grip-and-stop concertina style.
2. A baby corn snake hatches about 13 cm long, with an egg-tooth to cut its way out.
3. Corn snakes become ready to breed when they reach a certain size, about 75 cm long or 250 g, not a certain age.
4. In the wild, corn snakes usually live 10 to 15 years. The oldest one on record, in captivity, lived 32 years and 3 months.
5. Over half of a corn snake's meals are rodents, such as hispid cotton rats and white-footed mice.

The quiz

1. How thin were the narrowest perches corn snakes moved along in tests?

• 16 cm
• 0.1 cm
• 1.6 cm (correct)
• 60 cm

In tests, they moved along perches just 1.6 cm wide.

2. What does a hatchling use to cut its way out of the egg?

• An egg-tooth (correct)
• Its claws
• Its tail
• Its fangs

Each hatchling has an egg-tooth to cut its way out.

3. What decides when a corn snake is ready to breed?

• Its age
• Its colour
• The number of its teeth
• Its size (correct)

Corn snakes become ready to breed by size (about 75 cm or 250 g), not by age.

4. How long did the oldest corn snake on record live?

• 3 years and 2 months
• 32 years and 3 months (correct)
• 12 years
• 50 years

The record, in captivity, is 32 years and 3 months.

5. What do over half of a corn snake's meals consist of?

• Fish
• Insects
• Rodents (correct)
• Birds

Over half of its meals are rodents.

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