Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Here are some pics of recent finds in my home area from Cumberland county, NC.
All were found within a few miles of each other. This one is a four foot female (found under carpet) in TRUE color - no flash! The pic kept coming out too bright (made the snake look like an OKEE) until I changed the background lighting and cancelled the flash, LOL

Zee

Here's a 4.5 foot male (this one was actually a little nicer than the pic shows):

Here's a HUGE five foot male (biggest one I've ever found):

Another female found right by my house crossing a road:

This one was simply awesome, AND yes a keeper!!! A georgeous 3.5 foot male that is red with orange all the way to the tip of his tail! Not what you would normally find here - all the other corns I've seen here are less bright and always darken towards the posterior of the body. This one is just as bright in the back (of his body) as he is in the front.
I found this one last fall, but couldn't resist sharing because of his phenomenal colors (Ironically, I found this one thirty minutes after finding the golden corn about a mile further up the road)
Sorry for the low-quality pic (just noticed). I'll take some more pics soon, though. Hope you enjoyed the pics,

Zee

wow they are all pretty, but i agree that last one is awesome!

Thanks! I have found a lot of cornsnakes in my life, but only two of them with high red in them - One in S. GA (I used to herp there for 6 years as a resident) and then this lonely one from NC. (my current home).

Zee

you know i have never been out snake searching, seems like it would be interesting though.

To me it's kind of like fishing: You never know what you're going to get and every once in a lifetime you can run accros something like this in the wild (To me it's the big one that DIDN'T get away):

How about some tips for those of us who don't have your success. I would love to catch a wild corn. I live in south Florida so there are corns here, I just never find any. I've caught a few ribbon snakes around my house and a few years ago I caught a hatchling cottonmouth in my parents back yard. He was very docile so I just scooped him up with a VERY long stick and carried him a few hundred yards away to a canal and let him on his way.

Where in Cumberland county I live in Wilmington and wouldn't mind catchin a few corns are there lots of snakes were you live, they just keep cuttin all the woods down around here for stupid mini malls and Wal-Marts

Hey there!!! Call me please, maybe you can help me to find some Kings, LOL!
I can show you some PRIME areas. Almost guarantee a corn for you. It helps that they ARE very common here (in my opinion). I live about 20 miles south of Fayetteville.
My #910-826-7226

Zee

Thanks. Success depends on where you live. Different areas call for different schedules. Here in NC I usually find corns after 7:30pm this time of year and only after hot days (the time gets later as it gets closer to summer). Corns also crawl around 9-10am in the mornings on warm days - After 10am , forget it!
In South Florida you should be able to find corns this time of year after 9pm all the way until around 1am. That is when I found corns in S. Florida when I herped there a few times in the past. I herped areas South of Miami and had decent success for the most part.
Other things you should remember to be more successful/increase your luck:
1. Use highways that have the least amount of traffic on them. I know that is hard to do, but there are a few roads in S. florida where you can still go. Buy a very detailed map (that shows all the back roads) - that helps a LOT. Determine which roads link towns and which don't. Use the ones that do not link towns together or even have dead ends. This means less traffic = more corns survive over the years = more living corns for YOU to find.
2. Basic habitat info: Corns LOVE and prefer wooded areas, but will also go to open fields, though less frequently unless abandoned & derilict buildings/barns are present.
3. Microhabitat info for "flipping" (looking under objects): Select trash sites that are in wooded areas or thick bushy areas or areas bordering woods. Type of trash I found corns under: Large Boards, car hoods, tin sheets, carpets. Make sure that all these items have been dumped at least a year earlier. I never found corns under "fresh trash piles", I think this is because corns can still smell human scent there and avoid them. Go flipping only in the very early morning hours (usually from 5am-8am, sometimes up to 9am) before the sun can heat the objects up. After that snakes usually abandon those areas to seek shelter from the excessive heat.
4. Almost forgot: Corns ARE nocturnal and generally love to crawl between the hours of 9am until 10am in the mornings and then again from 9pm-11pm seems to be MOST of the activity. After 11pm you can still find them til' about 1 am, but less frequently.
I DID NOT READ THIS IN A BOOK, BUT HERPED A LOT OF AREAS in my past twenty years that have corns: Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Mississipi, Louisiana. I found corns in all of those states in the past.
Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.
Good luck,

Zee

When you are checking along roads do you park and walk or drive along slowly? Do you use a light or try to keep it dark?
Thanks,
Jonah

I usually drive around 35 mph and kick my eyes into high gear (wouldn't want to hit a snake ) it doesn't have to stay dark i just use a spotlight.

Derek

Just read your post! GOOD ANSWER! I see we have something in common, LOL!

Zee

Once you see something stop and get your flashlight out for a quick ID of the animal (wouldn't want to pick up a "nice" copperhead by accident). Always pull off the road, leave your lights on, and keep a vigil for cars coming out of nowhere when walking onto the middle of the road. It helps to know ALL your local snakes for quick ID and to minimize the time spent on the pavement. Preferred temps for road cruising: 76 to 82 degrees. But I have found snakes with an extreme low limit of 68 and high of 88 degrees. I have even seen a water snake on the road ONCE at 54 degrees, but I think that one got chased out of it's home or was just plain confused, LOL!

Zee

Hi All,
I've been herping for about 40 years and reds (corns)have always been my favorites. I agree about the hunting hours. Right at dusk and for about 45 minutes after that is the best time. After Spring emergence, about the 2nd week in June (here in LA, at least)they pretty much shut down. Actually almost everything does, snake wise except aquatic species after a rain. This Spring is really messed up. The nights here are dropping fast after dark and were even doing so in West Palm Beach last week, so snake activity was not much. I did see a red and a baby grey last night in extreme N FL right at dusk and then nothing.

As far as "new" trash goes, back in the 80s in S. Dade, there were reds everywhere and I caught one in a stack of bushel baskets that had only been out by the grove for about 6 hours. Of course the snake could have been in the stack before it was moved. Try cruising or flipping trash out in W. Dade around the Redlands/Chekika area. It used to be great and I'm sure there are still plenty there in spite of all the new people. Good Luck
Jim McLean
Baton Rouge