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An orange and red corn snake with dark-edged blotches coiled on grass.
Photo: Everglades National Park (NPS), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Corn Snake

Pantherophis guttatus

A harmless orange-and-red constrictor of the eastern United States, also called the red rat snake, with a belly like Flint corn.

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About the Corn Snake

Corn snakes live in the eastern U.S., from New Jersey to Florida and west to Louisiana, in woods, meadows, rocky hillsides and even barns and buildings. They are usually 3 to 6 feet long, orange or red with big black-edged blotches. Corn snakes are constrictors that eat rodents, lizards, birds, frogs, eggs and bats. They are good climbers but spend lots of time in rodent burrows and under debris.[1]

Quick facts

Scientific name
Pantherophis guttatus[1]
Size
Usually 3 to 6 feet long.[1]
Lifespan
About 10 years in the wild; into their 20s in human care.[1]
Diet
Carnivore. Rodents, lizards, birds, frogs, eggs and bats.[1]
Habitat
Woods, rocky hillsides, meadows, barns and even towns.[1]
Where it lives
The eastern U.S., from New Jersey to Florida and west to Louisiana and part of Kentucky.[1]
Babies
About 30 eggs, which hatch in two to three months. Hatchlings are 10 to 15 inches long.[1]
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN Red List, assessed 2015).[2]

Fun facts

  • A corn snake's checkered belly looks like Flint corn.[1]
  • It may rattle its tail in dry leaves to sound like a rattlesnake.[1]
  • People sometimes mistake harmless corn snakes for venomous copperheads.[1]

Vocabulary

constrictor
A snake that kills prey by wrapping around it and squeezing.
venomous
Able to inject poison by biting or stinging.
blotch
A large, uneven spot or mark.
diurnal
Active during the day and resting at night.
hatchling
A baby animal that has just come out of its egg.

See it in person

Sources

  1. [1] Zoo Atlanta. “Corn Snake.” https://zooatlanta.org/animal/corn-snake/ (accessed 2026-10-02)
  2. [2] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Pantherophis guttatus (Red Cornsnake).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/63863/71740603 (accessed 2026-10-02)

Facts last checked 2026-10-02.

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