Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have had the good fortune of working statewide for the past three years. This has given me a renewed interest in the variation that the corn snake exhibits from one end of NC to the other. I thought I would share with everyone on here just what that variation is like going east to west. I think they are just amazing.

First off, the NC coast...

Lots of orange in the background of the coastal corns. The occasional NC coastal specimen is hot enough to rival the ones found in coastal SC. Below are photos of an absolute screamer followed by a typical NC coastal corn.

The NC sandhills sit between the piedmont and coastal plain. The corns from this area are as variable as anywhere in the state. The animals I have seen from the southeastern edge of the sandhills resemble the coastal animals (more orange). The ones from the NW corner of the sandhills appear to have a little more influence of the Uwharrie snakes (more grey). But the reality is that you can find corns from the sandhills that vary from very dark, dirty looking animals, to bright orange, or anywhere in between. Here are a few examples of sandhills corns from Hoke, Scotland, and Richmond County.

I appreciate this locale the most because finding a corn in the NC foothills took, by far, the most work for me. Corns are not well known from the foothills of NC, and as a result there is not a lot of information out there regarding the habitat corn snakes utilize in this part of the state. Finding this snake this spring represented the result of eight years of study, talking with field herpers from other states that offered similar habitat, consulting with various biology professors, comparision of foliage and soil types, and hundreds of dollars in gas traveling to that region.

One of my most appreciated and fulfilling finds ever...not to mention an absolutely beautiful snake.

Wow!,....that nice specimen certainly does have a strong "Miami-ish" gray background to it!

Congrats on ALL of those locality corns you found in your study travels

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

That was my first thought too Doug. Very miami-ish indeed! Great pictures of all locals.
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
J Sierra

Very nice photo perspective of corns from different regions in the state. Its interesting how they vary by habitat and was a great reminder to me of how just diverse WC normal corns can be!!

I'm really digging that last one. It must be nice to live in an area where you can field herp for corns.

Tim

Well done! Congratulations on some great finds. I am from NC originally (still only live thirty miles from the border). I was born and lived most of my life in Richmond Co. and caught my first corn there. Heck, I caught my first snake there! Great state for herping...and living!

The corns are really interesting from this state, and throughout their range. I'm doing a few days of training in Wilmington in mid-May and hope to run into a few more corns in that area to photograph for you guys. I remember seeing a photo of a Pender County Corn in 2005 that was absolutely amazing...Fingers crossed.

One of my favorite cornsnake posts ever! Thanks! John Meltzer

>>wait, did you go and field herp all these? I can't help but hear that old Budweiser jingle "Real Men of Genius." Except in a non-sarcastic way. Pretty impressive.
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We wouldn't have 6 and a half billion people if you had to be beautiful to get laid.
6.6 African House snakes
3.2 reticulated pythons
.1 corn snake
4.2 Florida Kings
1.2 speckled kings
1.2 ball pythons
0.0.1 Argentine boa

since last September. Funny thing is that I grew up in a portion of NC where corns are NOT found and spent my first 20 years of field herping without ever finding a corn. They are absent from a great deal of the piedmont.

I found every one of those photographed except for the Hoke County Corn, which was caught by an old herping companion of mine, Carston "Zee" Zoldy (BlueKing). Zee was on the first trip with me when I found my first ever corn. He was about 20 yards away from me when I found that first Corn in April of 2005.

Thanks for the great compliments guys. I will make an effort to post more often to share with you all.

Michael

I've found great plains rats 2-3 times out here, but I've never lived in the actual corn's range. So Iv'e never herped one either
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We wouldn't have 6 and a half billion people if you had to be beautiful to get laid.
6.6 African House snakes
3.2 reticulated pythons
.1 corn snake
4.2 Florida Kings
1.2 speckled kings
1.2 ball pythons
0.0.1 Argentine boa

again,...very nice finds bro!

BTW,..please Tell "Zee" hello from all of us here too!

I know he would rather be back home messin' with his breeding projects and what not right about now..LOL!

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com