Climbing snake or white rat snake. In fact, this is one of the rare species of snakes with white skin, but not red eyes, but blue ones. The snake reaches a length of almost 1.8 m. The eyes are quite large. This "leucistic" variation was bred in captivity and is not found in nature.

Often, when breeding, a leucistic pair can produce offspring of a different color.

This subspecies lives in North America from southern Canada to the southern United States. The snake prefers damp places, for example in dry areas - river valleys, ravines, in humid areas - deciduous forests, shrubs, wastelands. Sometimes it can be found near cities.

Rat snake feeding

rodents, birds and their eggs, lizards, frogs. In captivity, he is fed once a week with mice of the appropriate size.

Reproduction

During the breeding season, the female lays 12 to 20 eggs. Young snakes are born after approximately 65-70 days at an incubation temperature of 27-29°C.

In captivity, white Texas snakes are kept in a horizontal terrarium. The minimum size of a terrarium for one snake is 70x40x60 cm (excluding the height of the lamp). The temperature is maintained using a thermal cord or thermal mat. In a warm corner during the day – up to 30-32°C, at night – 23-25°C. You can keep snakes one at a time or in a group of 1 male and 1-2 females. The terrarium must be sprayed regularly to maintain humidity. There should be a bath with fresh water in the corner of the terrarium. Wood chips or coconut chips or mulch can be used as soil in the terrarium.

Snakes are not poisonous, but are quite aggressive, especially during molting. She shows her aggressiveness to a greater extent at the moment when she foresees danger and is driven into a corner.

Lifespan

The snake's lifespan is up to 17 years.

Children from the cage. V. 184. Ross Allen's rat snake.

The original was taken from Children from the Cage. V. 184. Ross Allen's rat snake.

Ross Allen's Rat Snake lat. Pantherophis obsoletus rossalleni)
It is found only in the very south of Florida, in particular in the Everglades National Park.

The total length ranges from 1.2 to 1.8 m.
Young animals are gray in color, the body is dotted with brown spots. As it grows, the body becomes orange-yellow, some individuals have a reddish tint. The spots practically disappear, but remain slightly noticeable in dark background shades; sometimes they appear as no more than two faint lines on either side of the spine.

These snakes love deciduous forests, bushes, clearings, wastelands, mountain forests with rocky screes. In the south, in arid areas, habitats include river valleys, ravines and canyons.

They are active during the day and, in warmer months, at night. In fact, they simply follow the habits of their prey. They feed on rodents, small birds and their eggs.

This is an oviparous snake. Mating occurs in the spring, between March and May, and laying occurs between May and July. The female lays 12-20 eggs. Young snakes appear after 65-70 days.
This snake is very attractive with its color.

All pictures were taken by me at the Moscow Zoo.

Corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus)

Corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus)

Author of the article: Ilya Drozdov

Corn snake, spotted climbing snake, red rat snake, corn snake - all these are different names for the same type of snake, the most popular among exotic lovers. Elaphe guttata earlier, now, thanks to the efforts of tireless taxonomists - Pantherophis guttatus.
Two subspecies have been identified, and one former subspecies is today a separate species, which has ingrained itself in the minds and established itself like the same corn snake, therefore we will include it in this description of the species.
Nominative subspecies ( Pantherophis guttatus guttatus).
USA: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana. In Central Louisiana, Southern Arkansas and East Texas there are intergrading populations with the subspecies P. emoryi, where hybrids are possible.


Corn snake pink ( Pantherophis guttatus rosacea).
USA: Florida Keys, Florida.


Emory corn snake, gray corn snake ( Pantherophis emoryi).
USA: Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico. Mexico: northeast across 9 states.


Fact: the number of this species in nature is less than the number in terrarium conditions.

Appearance.

It is believed that the corn snake does not have a juvenile color. However, this is not always the case. The pattern does not change dramatically with age, or even remains exactly the same, but the color sometimes changes beyond recognition.
Newborn corn snake:





The color is very variable, moreover, it is the most diverse species in terms of colors (if we take into account not only natural variations, but also lines fixed in captivity).


Of course, every slightest difference can be recorded in a separate form, which is what residents of foreign countries do, thanks to which there are already more than 100 morphs.
But, you can do without such absurdity and dwell on the more remarkable differences.

Let's start with the type of drawing.
It happens:
1. Typical

2.Motley
The spots on the sides of the body merge, forming two longitudinal stripes running on the sides of the spine, connected by transverse bridges. A kind of ladder pattern arises, the features of which (the width of stripes, jumpers) can vary.


3. Stripe
There are no transverse bars, so there is a continuous light strip along the ridge, bordered on the sides by dark stripes.




4.Banded
Transverse spots extend to the sides of the body, so that a transversely striped color is obtained with alternating dark and light stripes.


5. Zig-zag
In various color variations there are individuals with a zigzag pattern on the back. Similar to Aztec.






There are also individuals with such a weak pattern that they are almost one color.

Further on the color differences.

Albino.


Amelanistic.
Without black in color. Basic colors are white or flesh. Larger light red spots alternate with areas of dark yellow or orange. The eyes are always red.


Anerythristic.
But they have the opposite - there are no red and yellow tones. There are two types of the "anerythristic" mutation. With type A, yellow spots in color are preserved, with type B they are absent .


We’ll stop here, because we can continue endlessly, but why, if you can just open the Internet and see everything?

Hybridization

Corn snakes cross with both rat snakes (Pantherophis alleghaniensis rossalleni, P. a. quadrivittata, P. a. deckerti, P. obsoletus lindheimeri, P. o. obsoletus) and with representatives of the genus Lampropeltis (L. getulus californiae, L. pyromelana, L. triangulum sinaloae, L. t. campbelli, L. t. Hondurensis and others). Moreover, there are known cases of crossing with gopher and pine snakes (Pituophis catenifer, Pituophis melanoleucus).

What is characteristic is that the offspring are fertile.


Pituophis c. affinis x Elaphe guttata


E. guttata x Lampropeltis t. sinaloae

Biotope and activity.

In nature, it lives in coniferous and deciduous forests, near rivers, swamps, and is also found in canyons, caves, parks, farms, and wherever they are found... In other words, they are found almost everywhere.
It is not limited to the surface of the earth; it also climbs trees and bushes. Activity is mainly nocturnal. Prefers to hunt on the surface of the earth.
In conditions of captivity in the hands, it behaves quite actively. It is also active in the terrarium. Again, he does not refuse to climb branches.

Dimensions.

Newborns are 20-24 cm long.
Approximate possible growth rates up to 1.5-2 years are about 4-5 cm per month.
Adults are usually 130-150 cm long. Although, there are both individual dwarfs (80 cm or less) and giants (180 cm or more).
A “stretched snake” is a snake that has been constantly underfed and does not grow to its possible size due to lack of nutrients. However, what is interesting is that even after reaching two years of age, the corn snake (as a special case), with proper feeding, can catch up and, moreover, surpass its peers.

Nutrition.

The corn snake prefers small mammals. In captivity, it happily consumes both small rodents and small birds; cases of cannibalism are known (apparently, it was an accident among young animals).
Not all newborns begin to feed themselves immediately. So feeding young animals can present some difficulties. However, after a certain duration of hunger strike or several forced feedings (sometimes single, in some cases multiple), they begin to eat themselves. But, fortunately, this does not happen to all babies.
Metabolism in corn snakes is characteristic of most colubrids; therefore, three days after eating, most of the result of the gastrointestinal tract working on the food object (food object) remains at the bottom of the terrarium or in the drinking bowl. Complete digestion of CO takes from 5 days to approximately one and a half weeks, depending on the age of the snake and the ambient temperature.
The physical growth rate of the snake depends on the frequency of feeding and the size of the KO. Due to its physiological abilities, the corn snake can swallow relatively large KOs. For example, very large specimens can swallow an adult rat.
It is difficult to give any specific advice on the frequency of feeding and the size of the KO, and is it even necessary? In practice, this is a purely individual matter. Whoever is comfortable, who wants to achieve what...
Well, if for approximate, perhaps controversial guidelines, then:
Young, up to 6-9 months. should be fed once every 3-5 days with a small mouse (the head of a rodent is approximately equal to the head of a snake, maybe a little larger (first pebbles, then hairy ones, runners, and finally juveniles));
Adolescents up to 1.5 years old should be fed once every 7-10 days with an appropriately sized rodent (approximately a teenage mouse);
After 1.5 years, once every 10-15 days with adult mice, 2-3 pieces.
But, I repeat, these are all just generalizations. For commercial (saving) purposes, juveniles can be fed once every 1-2 weeks with one naked fish. And especially careful lovers can feed an adult snake once every 5-7 days with large rats, several at a time. Here it is better not to listen to advice, but to understand it yourself.
Young individuals up to 9-12 months can be fed quite a lot. Obesity threatens adults. Therefore, when the snake reaches two years of age and its almost maximum size, it is important to feed the snake measuredly.
In general, feeding corn snakes does not cause any difficulties. They are ready almost always to eat almost anything that is offered to them. Again, exceptions are possible due to seasonal phenomena, the health of the animal, its character or improper conditions of detention.
Live, pre-killed, and thawed KOs are suitable for food. The best option is live ones, since the predator will be able to use its skills, and the KO is also naturally steamy.
In principle, the same mouse contains a set of vitamins and calcium, but with the mutual consent of the parties (you and the snake), you can periodically add specialized vitamins and calcium powders.
The most common and frequent KO is the laboratory mouse. This is justified by its easy accessibility and ease of digestion. It is also a decent and balanced food. Rat skin is a little less digestible. The rat is considered a slightly more dietary CR. Actually, the two above-mentioned types of rodents usually form the basis of the diet. Variety, if desired, can be introduced through periodic feeding, for example: chickens, quails, mastomus, gerbils.
It is worth noting that feeding a snake during molting is undesirable.

Shedding.

“Why does this worm have a dull color and eyes like something out of a horror movie?”
Molting occurs regularly, with a frequency depending on the age of the snake. This is how the snake renews its skin.
The snake grows, but the skin does not. What to do? That's right, form new skin and remove old skin.
It all starts with a weak, barely noticeable change in tones, then the color becomes cloudy, remains in this form for some time, then the color returns and after a little more time the snake begins to actively crawl around the terrarium, trying to catch the corner of its mouth on something that could potentially help pull it off. crawl out. That is, the old skin is first removed from the corner of the mouth, then from the head, and then the “stocking,” turning inside out, peels off from the entire body.
If the snake is healthy, the ambient humidity is normal and there are no injuries on the body, the crawl will be intact and beautiful. This is a good indicator.
In young individuals, the entire molting process can take less than a week; in adults, it can last more than two weeks. Shedding frequency: almost once every two weeks in juveniles and less than once a month in adults.
The frequency of shedding depends on the snake's growth rate. A snake may shed more often due to damage to its scales, mites, and other adverse effects.
During molting, you should avoid tactile contact with snakes. It’s better not to disturb them at all, and even more so during molting.
Sometimes the crawl turns out to be completely torn into small pieces, the snake sheds with difficulty. This may be the result of a lack of vitamins or humidity (the most common causes). Humidity can be increased by daily spraying. If the skin is removed with great difficulty, you can use bathing in a ditch or bath, or other suitable large container at a temperature of approximately 25 degrees. For approximately 10-30 minutes.

Wintering.

The goal of any adequate terrariumist is to create conditions necessary and sufficient for maintaining and breeding the species.
For the corn snake, a very strong and flexible snake, the lack of wintering is not a factor leading to irreversible consequences.
However, it is wintering that allows the body to rest, it is wintering that synchronizes snakes before mating, and it is it that sometimes awakens the appetite.
This process, like winter, is long. We gradually reduce daylight hours, with a parallel decrease to room temperature (within 1.5-2 weeks). Next, we either leave it to winter at room temperature (mild wintering), or transplant it into a different volume (convenient for wintering) and continue lowering the temperature to +14...+19 degrees. Lower, extreme temperatures are also possible, up to +5...+9 degrees. The best of the specified range for the corn snake is considered to be temp. 14-15 gr.
....The conclusion from wintering is a gradual increase in temperatures. Wintering can last from one to two, or even three months.
How to implement the above is the problem of every single person who decides to do this.
Some people find a cool place near the window, some in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator, some in modern incubators.
Usually, snakes are placed in rag bags, supplied with moss or paper towels (for waterproofing, since the snake can defecate during the winter). Water is offered periodically. Although, some keepers leave the snakes alone and do not put water under the nose of a sleeping snake. Others place small drinking bowls throughout the wintering process. Again - purely individually.
Content
Since methods of verbal communication, or other methods of precise rapport with snakes have not been developed, no one can say what they want and how they want it. One thing is clear - they would be better off in wild, untouched nature.
But, if we can’t do anything with the first, and we understand the second, but still keep it in captivity, one way or another, motivating our actions, then we have to solve the question of how to make the snake feel good or at least tolerable .
How many people, so many opinions. Accordingly, there are a huge number of content options. In this regard, we will not consider the minimum required dimensions of a dwelling and other controversial positions. Here are just a few recommended dry figures.

Daytime: 26-28 background, warming up point 30-32.
Night: 23-25 ​​(can be until 20-21).
Humidity: 50-60%.

And some possibly useful advice.
Snakes themselves choose conditions that are convenient for them, if given the opportunity.
So, if there is a temperature difference in the terrarium, then the snake itself will be able to choose when to cool down and when to get closer to the lamp (or other heating device) to get heat and warm up. Likewise, placing a cuvette filled with moist moss in the terrarium will provide moisture, which can be very helpful during molting.
The snake may refrain from bathing excessively due to the inappropriate temperature. You are unlikely to want to get into boiling water, or ice water, again.
If the terrarium has a thermal cord, the drinking bowl can be placed on it, then the humidity will be higher, and if you do not go overboard with the temperature, then the snake may find it more comfortable to bathe.
Given the plasticity of this species, successful maintenance at room humidity is theoretically possible.
UV is not necessary, although it is not disgusting to the snake. Useful for females during pregnancy. As an alternative to UV lamps, you can take the snake out into the natural sun in the summer.
Shelters are not necessary, but provide the snake with the opportunity to habitually hide and feel at peace. Although, individuals who grew up without grottoes/shelters from childhood do not have complexes at all even without them.
As a substrate you can use: bark, leaves, napkins, mulch, peat, sawdust, rug.
Climbing branches won't hurt either, if you haven't skimped on space and have somewhere to place them.
Breeding
Males reach sexual maturity earlier than females, usually at the age of two years, although earlier matings are also known, at the age of about a year. Females mature by 2-3 years, exclusively a little earlier.
It is not recommended to mate too young individuals. This can have a negative impact on the health of both the breeders and the brood, if there is one. Early matings often produce fat deposits.
Sexually mature individuals are overwintered, fed, and housed. After mating, after 1.5-2 months, females lay eggs. The clutch is removed and placed in an incubator at a temperature of 27-29°C. The number of eggs in a clutch is from 6 to 35 pieces. After 55-75 days, the eggs hatch and the babies begin to feed after the first molt. In terrarium conditions, repeated clutches were achieved, but for their fertility, repeated mating is necessary; for this, males and females are additionally stimulated. No repeated clutches have been observed in nature.

Locality: USA (SW/C Texas) south to
Mexico (Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas)
Type locality: USA: Texas, Jeff Davis County, Apache Mountains, Fort Davis (Yarrow,1880)



The species is named after Spencer F. Baird, a 19th-century Smithsonian zoologist.
One of the smallest snakes, very close to rat snakes, adult individuals reach only 120 - 140 cm. The record individual is known to be 157 cm long. It lives at altitudes from 300 to 3000 meters above sea level. Inhabits mountainous areas, forested areas of limestone canyons, rocky crevices, forested highlands, and in Mexico it is found in pine forests and among dry thorny bushes.

The color is quite variable (see album at the link). Individuals from Mexico usually have a brighter color, somewhat similar in tone to the color of the hybrid E. o. rossalleni X E. o. quadrivittata. Another characteristic feature is that the head color of the Mexican population is significantly more different from the neck color. In individuals from Texas, this characteristic, depending on the specific area, is either critically weakly expressed or close to that of the Mexican population (on the border with Mexico).

Pantherophis bairdi - Texas

Pantherophis bairdi - Mexico

We will describe the color in more detail, citing a quote from the Aqua Logo website:
"A distinctive feature is four longitudinal stripes, two stretch along the back, two on the sides of the body. Often the stripes are not clearly expressed, but large vertical spots are noticeable between them. With age, the stripes become clearer and the spots disappear. The main color tone of the barn owl is grayish-brown The edges of the scales, which are yellow or yellow-orange in color on the front of the body, closer to the tail, become bright orange, which gives this snake an interesting wavy color. Mexican specimens are much brighter colored than Texas ones. Their entire body may be yellow-orange. The heads of specimens from Mexico are plain, those from Texas have a pattern of dark stripes and spots. Juveniles have 48 or more transverse stripes on the back and tail, interspersed with rows of small dark spots."
A clutch usually contains from 4 to 15 eggs, the incubation period of which is 60-83 days.

Known morphs: Albino, Hypomelanistic




http://vk.com/album-48961717_181068214

The article can also be found in the group on VK at the link:
http://vk.com/polozy?w=wall-48961717_517%2Fall

Pantherophis spiloides (DUMÉRIL, BIBRON & DUMÉRIL, 1854).

Pantherophis alleghaniensis (HOLBROOK, 1836)

Locality: USA: east of the Apalachicola River in Florida, east of the Chattohoochee River in Georgia, east of the Appalachian Mountains, north to southeastern New York and western Vermont, Pennsylvania, Maryland, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, south to the Florida Keys .

Type locality: sumit of the blue Ridge in Virginia and highlands of the Hudson.

Allegheny snakes were isolated from rat snakes. Generally speaking, the current taxonomy of rat snakes is, to put it mildly, inadequate (it is believed that there are no subspecies), so we will make an amendment.

Nowadays, the Allegheny snake species includes such subspecies as:
Elaphe obsoleta quadrivittata (four-banded rat snake, Yellow rat snake);
Elaphe obsoleta rossalleni (Rossallen rat snake, Everglades rat snake).

As well as color variations that occur in the area of ​​overlap between the habitats of the above-mentioned subspecies and the island population. Thus, two subtypes are often distinguished, which are controversial in validity:
Elaphe obsoleta deckerti;
Elaphe obsoleta williamsi.

Elaphe obsoleta quadrivittata - distributed in coastal North Carolina, South Carolina, Central Georgia and south to Florida. Inhabits pine and deciduous forests, reed thickets, and orchards. Juveniles are colored typically for the entire species: dark gray or reddish spots on a light gray background. In adults, the color of the back and belly varies from pale to bright yellow, and even orange in the southern regions. Two dark longitudinal stripes run along the upper side of the body. Sometimes there are additional faint spots. Reaches 100 - 170 cm, record individuals up to 213 cm.

Elaphe obsoleta rossalleni - found only in the very south of Florida, in particular in the Everglades National Park. Inhabits wet prairies with sparsely growing trees and shrubs, subtropical forests and reed thickets. In juveniles, the main color tone is light gray, with darker spots on the back. Adults are entirely bright orange or orange-red. Sometimes dark longitudinal stripes faintly appear on the back. Reach 90-180 cm, up to 221 cm.

Elaphe obsoleta deckerti - found only in the Florida Keys, limited to the southernmost part of Florida from the Miami area to Cape Sable and Key Largo, where it frequents salt marshes. Inhabits subtropical forests and wetlands. The color of the young is similar to other subspecies, differing in greater saturation with ocher tones. Adults are yellow ocher, orange or dark orange-red. Dark longitudinal stripes are usually well defined, as are spots along the ridge. They reach a length of 100 - 120 cm.

Elaphe obsoleta williamsi - found in the north of the west coast of the Florida Peninsula in the contact zone of two subspecies - E. o. quadrivittata, characterized by longitudinal striping and distributed along the west coast of the United States and in Florida, except for the southern part, and spotted E. o. spiloides, found in the southern United States from Mississippi in the west to Georgia and Northern Florida in the east. The “williamsi” color variant, which combines the design features of the two named forms, is considered either the result of their hybridization or an independent subspecies. When bred in captivity, this type of coloration appears to be stable. The main tone is from light olive to light gray. The pattern consists of four dark brown longitudinal stripes, between which there is a row of 28-33 gray-brown transverse saddle-shaped spots, darker on the sides than in the center. On the neck, the spots are unclear or completely absent, so that only two longitudinal stripes remain. The top of the head is usually without a pattern, grayish. The iris of the eye is gray or grayish-brown. The belly is olive-yellow. Reaches a length of 100-150 cm.

A map of habitats and their overlap can be seen in the species album.

In fact, it is usually extremely difficult to determine the subspecies only in the case of hybridization, which often occurs both in captivity and in nature. The habitats of the subspecies are slowly but surely undergoing urbanization, as a result of which, for example, bright, contrasting, monochromatic, carrot-colored ones without longitudinal stripes and with extremely difficult to distinguish remains of juvenile spots of Rossallen snakes can be found less and less often, because they are increasingly mixed with the four-striped subspecies of the rat snake.

In terms of maintenance, all subspecies are the same; the conditions of maintenance are similar to those of corn snakes. They have a slightly more nervous and timid character, which is why they have a biting character. Usually they make one, less often two clutches per year. There are usually about 10-15 eggs in a clutch; it is stated that in the subspecies rossalleni there are up to 20, in quadrivittata up to 30. Wintering is extremely desirable, suitable temperature values ​​are 12-17 degrees, however, deviations are possible. From my own practice: in severe frosts, the wintering temperature of a powerful male rossalleni dropped for several days to +4 degrees. It is not recommended to reach such values. If the snake is not in excellent health, it may not survive such a harsh winter. They prefer to eat rodents and birds. They grow quite slowly, reaching their maximum size by about 3 years (for comparison, the Vietnamese thin-tailed snake gains 90-95% of its maximum length by 1.5 years), but they mature quite quickly, with proper feeding, females are ready for reproduction at 2 years, males at 1.5.
An interesting fact is worth mentioning separately. Rat snakes (including Allegheny snakes) have perhaps the MOST distinct juvenile and adult coloration. Compare the color of the same rossalleni in the album at the link; only difficult to distinguish remnants of spots remain. There are few analogues in the world of snakes. Almost all species change their color from the moment they hatch from the egg to the age of two years. A green python can change from bright red to green or yellow, but it does not have the same pattern as rat snakes, so its changes, although extremely beautiful, are not so significant!

I recommend reading this article on the taxonomy of the rat snake complex:

The corn snake is the main name of a non-venomous snake from the colubrid family, belonging to the genus Pantherophis. This type of snake is also known as the red rat snake. This second name for the snake is due to its characteristic appearance. In addition, in private collections kept by exotic lovers, this reptile is often called gutata or spotted climbing snake.

Appearance, description of the runner

The reptile grows up to two meters, but in most cases, the average size of an adult does not exceed one and a half meters. Today, many varieties or so-called color variations of the red rat snake are known, but the main coloring of the corn snake is represented by an orange background and black stripes that surround spots of red. The belly is characterized by the presence of a reticulated whitish-black pattern.

Corn snake in the wild

As a rule, snakes are earth dwellers and move along its surface, but some individuals are also very active on trees and shrubs.

This is interesting! The main version that the second name of the snake was received by the reptile due to its frequent habitation in corn fields and near granaries, where the snake hunts mice and rats, is often disputed by another, no less interesting assumption. It is believed that the pattern on the belly of the corn snake closely resembles the kernels on the cob of corn.

Range and habitats

Under natural conditions, the maize or spotted climbing snake is found, as a rule, in deciduous forests, as well as on barren soils and near rocky slopes. A very large population lives near farms throughout almost all of America, as well as in the Mexican provinces and the Cayman Islands.

Rat Snake Lifestyle

In its natural habitats, the reptile lives on the ground for about four months, and then quite often climbs trees or bushes, rocky ledges and any other heights. Adults are characterized by a semi-arboreal lifestyle..

Morphs of corn snake

The red rat snake is an understandable second name for a snake that is distinguished not only by its unpretentiousness, but also by its variety of colors. Most popular morphs:

Morph "Amelanism"– individuals with a complete absence of black pigment, pink or red eyes and whitish-pink or red coloring;

Morph "Hypomelanism"– individuals with brown, grayish or light brown ventral scales;

Morph "Anerythrysm"– individuals with a complete absence of red pigment, a light gray color and a small amount of yellow on the neck and lower abdomen;

Morph "Charcoal"– individuals with a predominant color in the form of neutral gray and brownish shades, as well as with an almost complete absence of yellow pigment;

Morph "Caramel"– individuals with a mutation that suppresses the red pigment and replaces it with yellow shades in coloring;

Morph "Lava"– individuals with a predominant black pigment, giving an almost uniform dark color with small blackish inclusions.

The “Lavender” morph is one of the most interesting mutations, characterized by an almost complete absence of melanin. As a result, the color of the snake can vary from soft lavender to pink and coffee shades.

Food and prey

Under natural conditions, the main activity of corn snakes occurs in the evening and predawn, when the reptile best sees its prey. Mice and small rats, bats, as well as small birds and their chicks or eggs become food for the snake.

The main enemies of the snake

Many large birds can pose a threat to the corn snake or red rat snake, including storks, heron, secretary bird, kite, hawk and eagle. Of the mammals, the greatest danger is represented by jaguars, wild boars, crocodiles, leopards and mongooses.

Keeping corn snake at home

Setting up a terrarium for a snake

Terrariums for corn snakes are selected according to the size and age of the reptile. For newly born snakes and young individuals, you will need a “dwelling”, the volume of which is approximately 40-50 liters. A more mature and fully formed corn snake should be placed in a terrarium, the volume of which cannot be less than 70-100 liters with dimensions of 70x40x40 cm.

The main substrate should be pine shavings, as well as crushed tree bark, clean gravel or paper. The artificial turf “Astroturf” has proven itself well. To provide daylight, it is recommended to use fluorescent lamps.

It is also very important to arrange a warm corner in the terrarium with a temperature of 28-30°C and a cold corner with a temperature of 24-26°C. At night the temperature should be at 21-23°C. To maintain humidity in the terrarium, frequent spraying with warm water from a spray bottle is carried out. Inside the terrarium there should be a fairly large and very stable drinking bowl, as well as several clean driftwood and relatively large roots.

Diet, basic diet

An adult corn snake needs to be fed weekly.. For this purpose, small rodents are used, as well as day-old chicks. In order not to injure the snake, it is best to use food that is frozen and then thawed to room temperature rather than live. Along with its food, the red rat snake should be given various vitamin and mineral supplements. Drinking water should be replaced regularly with fresh water.

Precautionary measures

Many reptile lovers are concerned about the questions: is the corn snake poisonous or not, and what side effects can be observed in the event of a bite. It should be noted that snakes of this species are not at all poisonous, and therefore are not capable of causing harm to humans and domestic animals with their bite.

Important! The corn snake can easily be confused with the highly poisonous copperhead, and the main differences are a narrower head, lighter color and the presence of square-shaped spots.

Corn snake health

The result of active inbreeding was the appearance of health problems in the majority of snakes born in captivity, which manifest themselves in refusal of food, sudden and causeless death, and a sharp decrease in life expectancy.

Individuals who rub their bodies too often against the lid of the terrarium usually develop abrasions, which must be treated with special antiseptics or antibiotic-based ointments. When properly kept in captivity, life expectancy exceeds ten years.

Breeding snakes at home

For home breeding purposes, three-year-old females and two-year-old males can be used. The female should be about a meter long and weigh at least a third of a kilogram. The process is stimulated using artificial hibernation, in which the reptile must remain for at least two months. During this period, the temperature in the terrarium is 13°C.

After wintering, around February or March, mating occurs. The gestation period lasts a little more than a month, after which it is necessary to place a special nest box with wet vermiculite in the terrarium. The female lays ten to fifteen eggs. The clutch is carefully removed, and the eggs are grown in an incubator for a couple of months at a constant temperature of 26-29°C.

This is interesting! Newborn snakes have a special tooth with which they are able to get out of the egg on their own.

If a newly born corn snake refuses to eat on its own, then it is necessary to force-feed the reptile. It is important to remember that newborn red rat snakes have a fairly high mortality rate.

If a lover of exotic reptiles is interested in the red rat snake, then buying one is currently not difficult. Its unpretentiousness has made the corn snake very common, so many private breeders are engaged in raising it in captivity and selling it.

Where to buy a snake, what to look for

Price of corn snake

The red rat snake, popular in our country, the price of which often varies depending on color and age, is sold both by private breeders and by many zoo nurseries specializing in reptiles. The price is affected by the class to which the runner belongs:

• S—juvenile;
• M - teenager;
• L - from semi-adult to sexually mature;
• XL - adult, large and sexually mature individual;
• XXL is a very large individual.

The average price of an adult is five thousand rubles. It is best to purchase a kit with your reptile that includes a terrarium and basic equipment for keeping it. The cost of such a kit, as a rule, does not exceed 8-9 thousand rubles.