The corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus guttatus), or red rat snake, is a North American species of rat snake that subdues its small prey by constriction. The name "corn snake" is a holdover from the days when southern farmers stored harvested ears of corn in a wood frame or log building called a crib. Rats and mice came to the corn crib to feed on the corn, and corn snakes came to feed on the rodents. The Oxford English Dictionary cites this usage as far back as 1675.
Corn snakes are found throughout the southeastern and central United States. Their docile nature, reluctance to bite, moderate adult size 3.9–6.0 feet (1.2–1.8 m), attractive pattern, and comparatively simple care make them popular pet snakes. In the wild, they usually live around 6–8 years, but in captivity can live to be up to 23 years old.
Read more about Corn Snake: Taxonomy, Natural Habitat, Reproduction, Variations
Famous quotes containing the words corn and/or snake:
“The corn is as high as an elephant’s eye,
And it looks like it’s climbin’ clear up to the sky.”
—Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960)
“The great snake lies ever half awake, at the bottom of the pit of the world, curled
In folds of himself until he awakens in hunger and moving his head to right and to left prepares for his hour to devour.”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)