Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm pretty new to Rats and Corns, but what exactly are the differnces between the two? I have a normal Corn adult and an Albino Rat yearling, but from the looks, they are almost identical other than the markings. Anything else I should be looking for? Thanx!

Corn snakes ARE rat snakes, just like your albino rat snake is a rat snake. They are just species (or maybe it is subspecies) of the rat snake. It is like asking what is the difference between a poodle and a dog. There are some differences between a corn snake and a (regular) rat snake, such as the spear point on the head and some other ones that I cannot think of.
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sue

I presume you mean the difference between Elaphe obsoleta and Elaphe guttata. They are really close relatives. It looks like E. guttata, the corn snake, is a rather recent descendant of Elaphe obsoleta acoording to an examination of their serum proteins. There are reports that they occasionally interbreed in nature. It appears that you are not the only one who have difficulty telling them apart. Individuals of both species sometimes cannot tell their own species from their close relatives either.

Thanks. I'm glad it's not only me. If they do interbreed in nature, what are the offspring like? Are they sterile? Any pictures or know of someone whos tried? Just curious.

The world of commonality...
there are such a great variety
(depending upon geography)
of all those common names you see;
that little of it makes sense to me.
(Which is why I stick to Latin!)

Corn snake, ratsnake, red rattler, red rat...just a few of Elaphe g.

Ratsnake, chicken snake, yellow rat....Elaphe o. (flavors)

Frank

One I have heard of is the 'Fantasy Corn Snake' which is Elaphe Guttata Guttata x Elaphe Obsoleta Spiloides ( Corn Snake x Grey Rat Snake )

Steve.

Oh man...what a tease. Your picture didn't come through.