Corn Snake Surprise

 

Over the Easter holiday I went home to visit my family and while at home we had a small family Easter egg hunt for the younger kids. While walking with my cousin, Gracie in wooded area behind my house we saw a corn snake. Luckily for me Gracie is an animal lover and was completely ecstatic to find this snake. Unfortunately, I did not have my phone or a camera to snap a photo of this guy, but he looked a lot like the snake in the picture above. I was positive he was a corn snake when I saw him slither over a small log. I was able to get a good look at his checkered belly. 

Corn snakes are known in the scientific world as Pantherophis guttatus. Adults often have colorful orange and red saddles and a black and white checkered belly. Juveniles are not as colorful as adults. The snake that we saw was definitely an adult using this system of classification. P.guttatus is unique to the southeast. They are like most snakes active foragers and eat small mammals. These harmless snakes do not possess venom and therefore constrict their prey in order to kill it before ingestion Typically these snakes are between 30 and 48 inches and this one was probably about 3 ft long. Because I didn't handle the snake I was unable to determine its sex.

Corn snakes are capable climbers but they are mostly found in terrestrial habitats like the wooded area in which I saw one. Often prowling underground in rodent burrows these snakes are much more common then one would think. Our field guide indicates that these snakes can be aggressive and will often "stand up and fight" when cornered in the field but the one that I encountered did not seem aggressive. This could be due to fact that I did not seem threatening to him. I simply observed him in his natural habitat and I tried not to disturbed him. 

Seeing this snake was pretty exciting. I really enjoyed the fact that my little cousin was with me when I saw it because she was so amazed. I think it's important to stop depicting snakes as animals to be feared but instead to explain the importance of giving them their space. I like the fact that Gracie wasn't "grossed out" by the snake but I made sure to explain to her that some snakes were best left alone because they could be venomous. I think it's all about learning to respect all animals.