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corn snakes are a common sight in the southeastern United States. People often confuse corn snakes and copperheads because of their orange and red color, size and shape. The truth is that corn snakes are usually harmless to humans. In fact, if you look at what corn snakes eat, their presence is very beneficial.
This snakes are found in fields with high vegetation, buildings, empty buildings and forests. Like many snakes, they will run away if they detect a threat, like humans, but they are still a common sight.
The docile nature, beautiful shapes and large size of the corn snake also make them a popular choice for pets. Whether you encounter one in the wild or plan to keep one at home, we’ll show you what cornsnakes eat and the specific foods to expect in the cornsnakes diet.
What Foods Do Corn Snakes Eat?
eating corn snakes rodents as their primary food source. They are carnivores that prefer to eat small mammals that have a low chance of hurting them while feeding. This reptiles are often found near places where mice have made nests, such as houses or farms. Unfortunately, this brings them into contact with people who do not appreciate the food needs of the corn snakes.
Of course, these snakes need to add some variety to their diet. Some of the other staple foods that corn snakes eat include:
Corn snakes will eagerly hunt and eat all these creatures. Unlike some other snakes, they have an aversion to eat insects.
However, it is important to realize that the snakes’ diet is limited by their size and the size of their prey. Young corn snakes may be too small to attack large rodents, for example.
How do corn snakes hunt for prey?
The reason the size of this reptile matters when selecting prey is that the corn snake is not poisonous. They can’t just land a bite on an animal and wait for it to die. Instead, they are constrictors.
Corn snakes bite their prey and then wrap themselves around it. Once they have completely wrapped their bodies around their prey, the snake will slowly crush it to death before eating it.
Corn snakes are daytime, so they are mainly active during the day. During that time, they search for prey using their incredible sense of smell supported by their Jacobson’s organ. This snake’s sense of smell makes up for its relatively poor eyesight, allowing them to find meals almost entirely with that sense.
What do corn snakes eat in the wild?
When in the wild, corn snakes eat mice, rats, squirrels and other small animals mammals. At least, those are their primary and most common prey. They will hunt their prey using the methods we described above.
They are opportunistic carnivores, so they tend to eat whatever they find. Corn snakes will expand their typical food selection if they can’t find any rodents. When food is scarce, corn snakes may turn on and consume others of their species, especially if they are smaller.
Adult corn snakes should eat every 10-14 days, while juveniles should eat about once a week. So snakes can spend a good portion of their active time hunting, but they only need a successful hunt every week to stay well fed.
What should you feed corn snakes as pets?
Corn snakes are often kept as pets and their eating habits are different when in captivity, especially if you get a young corn snake. If you have a pet snake, here is the frequency with which you should feed corn snakes at different ages:
- Hatchling- should be fed every 5-7 days
- Juvenile – needs to be fed every 7 days
- Adult – should be fed every 10-14 days
If you keep a corn snake as a pet, the most common food to feed them is mice, which mimic the food they eat while hunting. The best way to feed your corn snake as a pet is to use humanely killed frozen mice.
You can feed your snake live mice, but the problem is that these animals will fight back against your snake. Therefore, you should consider two factors:
- Does your snake prefer live or frozen mice?
- Is your snake’s feeding response enthusiastic enough to overcome a mouse or rat without injury?
You also cannot feed your snake mice the same size at every age. Food suppliers supply mice in many sizes, from pinkie mice for young snakes to jumbo mice for adults.
What predators eat corn snakes?
Corn snakes are effective hunters, but they do have some predators to watch out for. The most common predators of these reptiles are:
Any of these animals will hunt and kill corn snakes if they have the same range. They will mainly feed on the younger, smaller snakes that are less able to use their constriction countermeasures.
Unfortunately, these snakes are also often attacked by humans because they closely resemble the copperhead snake. The copperhead is a venomous snake species that is responsible for most human bites each year. More than 3,000 people are bitten by them every year, so many people kill corn snakes out of fear.
The better option would be to learn how to distinguish the snakes or call professionals to move the snake instead of killing it right away.
The corn snake eats small mammals
s
uch as mice, rats and squirrels. Their keen sense of smell helps them find prey, and their narrowing ability makes them highly effective and cautious predators. Although they look like copperheads, corn snakes are not venomous.
While snakes may seem scary to humans, corn snakes tend to stay out of the way and reduce the population of disease-carrying pests. They are very beneficial to human communities.
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