These snakes are actually a species of rat snake, which are a slim species that kill their prey through constriction rather than venom.
They are found across the United States in the wild, but are popularly kept as a pet around the world.
While there is only really one species of corn snake, there are countless morphs that differentiate snakes by color, pattern, behavior, and more.
In fact, there are said to be around 800 corn snake morphs!
Whether you’re researching types of corn snakes to add one to your collection or if you’re merely curious about the various morphs, here are the top 13 types of corn snakes.
Normal Corn Snake
“Normal” is the name given to corn snakes most commonly found in the wild.
These snakes aren’t actually too popular in captivity thanks to the rise of morphs, but they are often kept by breeders to make specific morphs with other corn snakes.
Normal corn snakes typically have a light gray or brown base with distinctive reddish blotches.
Albino Corn Snake
Albino corn snakes are the most common type of corn snake morph.
These snakes are characterized by their distinctive albino red eyes along with their bright red and orange pattern, with a maximum length of up to 60 inches.
They have a distinctly docile nature, which is one of the reasons why they’re so popular amongst beginners.
Interestingly, this morph was originally bred from a natural amelanistic corn snake in 1953, meaning they lack pigmentation.
Lavender Corn Snake
A highly sought after corn snake morph is the lavender corn snake.
As the name suggests, these snakes exhibit a unique coloration of lavender blotches and a pink, orange, or brown base.
Their temperament is the same as any corn snake – docile, calm, and lacking in aggression.
Lavender corn snakes were first bred in the 1980s between a wild corn snake and a snow morph.
Their popularity means they aren’t too hard to find, but they typically cost more than albino corn snakes.
Snow Corn Snake
Also known as white albinos, snow corn snakes – as the name suggests – are characterized by their snow-white complexion.
Some snow corn snakes develop more coloration as adults, wherein they’ll have more beige or pinkish blotches.
As a type of albino, snow corn snakes have characteristic red eyes.
Snow corn snakes are a combination of Anerythristic A and Amelanistic morphs, both of which are recessive traits.
Hypomelanistic Corn Snake
Also known as Rosy corn snakes, hypomelanistic corn snakes have a reduced melanin pigmentation compared to other corn snakes, which explains their pale orange coloration.
They are often mistaken for albino corn snakes, although hypomelanistic snakes tend to be lighter.
As a result of their lack of dark pigmentation, these snakes come in various light color combinations, including red, orange, white, gray, brown, and yellow.
Black Corn Snake
Also known as the Black Devil’s Garden snake, black corn snakes are characterized by their dark gray body, charcoal blotching, and black lining.
While they look somewhat more threatening than other corn snake morphs, black corn snakes are equally docile and easy to care for.
Butter Corn Snake
Butter corn snakes are a hybrid of snow and caramel corn snakes, which is why they’re often called snow caramel corn snakes.
These snakes have a light yellow base with more prominent yellow blotches, which contrasts greatly with their bright red eyes – a result of selective breeding.
Caramel Corn Snake
Caramel corn snakes are a popular morph that actually began as a wild-caught species.
It has since been bred in captivity to maintain its beautiful coloration, consisting of a yellowish-brown base and caramel blotches. The blotches can also appear light or dark brown.
Sunkissed Corn Snake
Sunkissed corn snakes are named after their distinctive sunset-like coloration.
The combination of sunset orange and red matched with a light pink underbelly makes for a beautiful blend of colors.
The blotches are typically red, but they blend into the orange to give the illusion of a single color.
Amelanistic Corn Snake
Amelanistic corn snakes were first caught in the wild in 1953 before being bred in captivity in 1961.
They are commonly kept by breeders as a gene source for albino corn snakes.
As the name implies, amelanistic corn snakes lack melanin, meaning they don’t possess the black or brown pigments found in other corn snakes. These snakes have the characteristic red eyes.
Fancy Corn Snakes
Interestingly, “fancy” doesn’t actually refer to a singular morph.
Fancy corn snakes is the name given to corn snakes who have an unknown or uncommon morph.
A lot of breeding places will adopt this name when they don’t know the genetic composition of the corn snake, meaning these snakes come in all different colors and patterns.
Candy Cane Corn Snake
Candy cane corn snakes are certainly a unique morph. These snakes are bred from an amelanistic recessive gene, typically by breeding two Miami phase morphs together.
These snakes have a white base with reddish-orange blotches, making the snake look like a candy cane (hence the name).
The color is most prominent when these snakes are young. As they age, the stark color differentiation might fade, and the orange might begin to blur.
Ghost Corn Snake
Ghost corn snakes are a designer morph bred from hypomelanistic snakes that possess anerythristic A morphs.
These snakes have a normal pattern, but as the name implies, the color overall is slightly muted.
The base is typically gray with reddish-brown blotches, but the fascinating part about these snakes is that the color reverses further down the body, where the base turns reddish-brown and the blotches turn gray.
Ghost corn snakes are popular amongst breeders as they are phenotypically codominant, meaning they produce neutral or pastel colors when bred with other morphs.
Conclusion
So, there you have it! While we couldn’t write about the countless corn snake morphs, it’s clear why these morphs are so popular among breeders, beginner snake owners, and reptile enthusiasts.
Hi, I’m Olivia Kepner and I am a zookeeper here in San Diego. Since I was a young girl I have always been fascinated by animals and species across the globe.
I used to beg my parents to take me to our local zoo every single weekend. Well, I say local – it was more like a two hour drive away. But they took me as much as they could, allowing me to fall in love with the animals again and again.
