Corn Snake

Corn Snake

By David Wheeler
dwheeler@cox-internet.com

(Elaphe guttata guttata)

Normal Corn Snakes
Corn snakes are marked with distinct dorsal blotches down their backs with smaller alternating blotches appearing down both sides. An arrow head is formed with a black stripe running from the nose through both eyes connecting at the neck. A spear head shaped mark appears on the head. These are slender constrictors range between two and one half feet to just over five feet as adults. They are indigenous to Louisiana to the west through Florida and up to New Jersey. Their coloration is extremely variable with ground color including: gray to brown, and varying shades of orange. The blotches are usually red to orange outlined in black; occasionally with small amounts of white. A black checkered pattern appears on a white belly. Scales are only slightly keeled -- almost smooth to the touch. Corn snakes feed primarily on small vertebrates. They can be expected to live up to twenty years in captivity.

Miami Corn Snakes originated around Miami, Florida. These are usually a smallish corn snake with better specimens having high contrasting light silver to gray ground color with orange blotches surrounded in black. Selective breeding has lightened the ground color and darkened the blotches. The "Miami" name, coined by Rich Zuchowski, now is considered an appearance trait. Many Miami corn snakes are difficult to start feeding as hatchlings, as they prefer lizards.


Okeetee Corns (aka: classic corns) originated around the Okeetee Hunt Club property in South Carolina. These snakes are characterized by deep red dorsal blotches surrounded by very black borders. The ground color varies with bright orange being the most desirable. As with the Miami phase, selective breeding has changed the term "Okeetee" to an appearance trait rather than a local designation.

Amelanistic (albino - red albino) corn snakes, produced from a single recessive genetic mutation, show wide variations in colors. They can be almost solid orange, to a dark orange on a light orange background, or red/orange on a very light background. These varying color schemes are due to reflective cells in the skin and iridophores which may contribute to subtle shades of color.
These red eyed snakes lack the melanin pigment. This genetic trait began with an amelanistic male caught in 1953 which bred to three females in 1959 by Benard Bechtel. These three females produced 46 heterozygous hatchlings.

Candy Cane corn snakes are created with the goal of bright red blotches on a white background. Some on the market originate solely from selectively breeding Miami corns. Others are produced using light creamsicle (emory/albino corn hybrids x corn) bred with Miami phase corns. Most candy canes develop orange coloration around the neck region as they mature. Their bright red markings as hatchlings often fade with maturity.

Albino Okeetee (reverse okeetee) an amelanistic okeetee corn snake which has the normal black rings around blotches replaced with wide white rings. Most are high contrast snakes with light orange to yellow background and dark orangish/red saddles.

Sunglow corn snakes are another designer albino corn that lacks the usual white speckling that often appears in most albinos. The orange background surrounds dark orange blotches.

Anerytheristic (black albino) are the compliment to amelanism. The inherited recessive mutation of lacking erythrin (red, yellow, and orange) pigments produce a snake that is mostly black and gray.
When mature, many type A anerythristic corn snakes develop yellow on their neck regions. In 1984 a wild caught Type B anerythristic corn snake was caught which is the ancestor of anerythristics missing the yellow neck regions. Similar snakes include: stonewashed -- copper or light brown blotches; charcoal (aka muted anerythristic, Pine Island anerythristic)-- type B anerythristic, very low contrast with shaded of gray on white and black background.

Snow (white albino) are a blending of the amelanistic and anerythristic recessive traits. These predominately white snakes tend to have yellow neck and throat regions when mature. Light blotches and background colors have subtle shades of beige, ivory, pink, green, or yellow.

Blizzard corns resulted from a type B anerythristic corn caught in 1984. Blizzards are a totally white snake with very little to no visible pattern.

Hypomelanistic or rosy corn snakes carry a recessive trait that reduces the dark pigments causing the reds, whites, and oranges to become more vivid. Their eyes remain dark. These snakes range in appearance between amelanistic corns snakes to normals with greatly reduced melanin.

Ghost corn snakes are a hypomelanistic anerythristic(type A) snakes. They exhibit varying shades of grays, browns, and blacks on a lighter background. These often create pastel colors in: lavenders, pinks, oranges, and browns.

Bloodred corn snakes carry a recessive trait that eliminates ventral checkered patterns. These originated from a somewhat unicolor Jacksonville and Gainesville, Florida strain of corn snake. Through selective breeding, an almost solid ground color has been produced. Hatchlings have a slight pattern that fade as they mature into a solid orange red to ash red colored snake. The earlier bloodreds tend to have large clutches of smaller than average eggs that produce hard to feed offspring. Through out crossing with amelanistic and anerythristic corns hatchlings tend to be larger with fewer feeding problems.

Butter corns (snow caramel) cultured by Rich Zuchowski from a female purchased in Florida marked with blotches on an unusual straw colored background. Selective breeding has produced intense yellow colored corns snakes with yellow markings.

Caramel ( type B anerythristic) corns are another Rich Zuchowski engineered corn snake. The background is varying shades of yellow to yellow brown. Dorsal blotches vary from caramel yellow, brown, and rich chocolate brown.

Amber corns are a hypomelanistic caramel snake with amber markings on a brownish background.

Lavender corn snakes contain a light pink background with darker purple gray markings and burgundy eyes or lavender gray blotches on an orangish background. Variation with this same genetic strain are arguably called: mocha, cocoa, and chocolate.

Albino lavender look like blizzard corns once mature with pink to purple highlights.

Crimson (hypomelanistic Miami) are very light high contrast snakes with a light background and dark redish/orange blotches.

Fluorescent orange develop white borders around bright red blotches as adults on an orange background.

Pewter or Pepper corn (Type BAnerytheristic blood red) are silvery lavender with very slight blotches as adults.

Creamsicle are hybrids between an albino corn snake and a great plains/corn cross. These snakes bring out the yellow and down play the reds of the corn snake. Most are varying shades of yellow with darker yellow to orangish blotches. Clutches are generally smaller in number but produce larger more vigorous hatchlings. Creamsicle with less emory background and increased amelanistic corn generally have lighter backgrounds and red to orange saddles(red creamsicle).

Jungle corns are hybrids using the corn snake and california king snakes (lampropeltis g. californiae). These show extreme pattern variations taking markings from both parents -- sometimes looking very similar to one parent or the other.

Pattern Variations

Aztec -- blotches and spots are exhibited in various sizes

Milksnake phase -- banded blotches resembling coastal plains milk snake

Motley -- a catch all name for irregularities -- ranging from exhibiting an aberrant line of light colored spots, fused blotches, to stripes down the back

Striped phase -- a single stripe running longitudinally from head to tail

Zigzag (zipper) -- dorsal blotches connected forming a "zigzag" type pattern