Description
As an adult the corn snake may have a total length (including tail) of 61–182 cm (2.00–5.97 ft).[12] In the wild, it usually lives around ten to fifteen years, but in captivity can live to an age of 23 years or more.[13] The record for the oldest corn snake in captivity was 32 years and 3 months.[14] The natural corn snake is usually orange or brown bodied with large red blotches outlined in black down their backs.[15] The belly has distinctive rows of alternating black and white marks.[16] This black and white checker pattern is similar to Indian corn which is where the name corn snake may have come from.[17] The corn snake can be distinguished from a copperhead by the corn snake's brighter colors, slender build, slim head, round pupils, and lack of heat-sensing pits.[18]