There is a lot of buzz about cute little baby corn snakes. The parents look all beautiful with their golden and reddish hues, and then there are all the breathtakingly gorgeous morphs painted in the colors of the rainbow. But do baby corn snakes imitate the color of their parents?
In fact, no. A baby corn snake may, in some cases, look quite different than their adult versions. They metamorph into something completely different once they are all mature. In general, a baby corn snake looks much brighter and shinier than their parents, and why wouldn’t they? They just hatched from their protective covering with their first-ever skin!
Already curious to know more about these miracles of nature? What do these tiny critters do right after they hatch from their capsule-homes? Without further ado, let’s break open the shell!
Baby Corn Snake: The Colorful Journey From Cradle Up To The Tree!
Corn snakes are non-venomous serpents that are a part of the Colubridae family. The adult versions of the wildtype Carolina corn snakes have a mesmerizing orange color with bright red saddle markings. Then there are the other species of corn snakes, like the Slowinski’s corn snakes, that have a more grayish appearance. Their baby versions may not look the same but may share a number of commonalities.
However, let’s not forget that there are about a thousand, if not more, corn snake morphs that have been captive-bred in controlled settings by means of inbreeding and crossbreeding, where we may find a lot of discrepancy in the colors between babies and adults. Let’s meet some of these corn snake morph babies and compare them to their adult versions.
What Do Baby Corn Snakes Look Like?
There are some baby corn snakes that look quite similar to their parents or adult versions, while there are others that look completely different. The wild-type corn snakes have such beautiful colors because of pigments called erythrin and xanthine in their body. When these pigments are not present, corn snakes may look mostly black and white, with gray, brown or bluish hues.
Corn snakes may be amelanistic as well. In this case, the snake cannot produce the pigment called melanin that gives a black coloration to certain parts of its body, like the eyes or the edges of the saddle-markings. An amelanistic or albino corn snake, surprisingly, however, looks extremely bright if the colorful pigments are present. If both erythrins and melanins are absent in the snake, the corn snake will look completely white. Let’s take a look at the different colors of corn snakes and compare the baby versions with the adult versions.
Albino
Corn snakes that are albino have little to no black coloration on them. Their eyes are usually red or pink because of the higher visibility of blood vessels underneath the eyes. They are, however, quite colorful. Sunglow corn snake hatchlings, for instance, look quite white with bright orange saddles on their body. However, as they grow older, they look fully orange.
Creamsicle babies look quite similar to their parents as well. They have a light beige coloration on their body when they are young, with baby-white snouts. They retain the white color even in their mature age, while the saddles turn more creamy orange. Ultramel corn snake offspring, however, look quite different from their older versions. Ultramel babies look blood-red whereas as they mature, they look more like the creamsicle corn snakes.
Blue
Corn snakes that look blue may do so due to iridescence or hypomelanism. Blue corn snakes are actually white or gray corn snakes that look blue due to light reflecting off at different angles on their body. Lavender corn snakes are the best example. They look purple all over in their adult state, though they appear dark red when they are hatchlings.
Pewter corn snakes are another example. When they hatch out from their eggs, they look purplish-pink with light gray saddle marks. However, they turn completely gray and white once they mature into adult size. Plasma corn snakes are hypomelanistic corn snakes that produce less than the required melanins. They look brown as babies, and gray as adults.
Red
This is one color that makes the signature appearance of corn snakes. Most wild corn snakes are red and orange in color. Designer captive-bred red morphs contain the famous Okeetee corn snakes that are quite affordable to purchase and take care of at home. Okeetee corn snake babies and adults look similar, only hatchlings appear brighter.
There are amelanistic versions of Okeetee corn snakes, known as Reverse Okeetees. They appear almost white as hatchlings, but show red saddles as they mature. Lava corn snakes are another red corn snake morph that look red and white as hatchlings, but look flaming orange with red saddles as they mature, thus the intriguing name.
White
One of the rarest types of corn snakes are the white corn snakes. When a corn snake cannot produce any of the brighter or darker pigments, it looks white or gray in appearance. Blizzard and powder corn snakes are one of the best examples. They both look pink when they are babies, but look completely white as they mature.
Palmetto corn snakes are another designer corn snake morph that are highly popular as pets. They have confetti like orange and pink flakes on certain parts of their body, which is mostly white. They look pink as hatchlings as well. There is another mentionable white corn snake called the phantom, that look purplish when young, looking more grayish as they mature.
Yellow
Yellow is a color that is quite common in corn snakes, but not as common as red or orange. Almost all wild-type Carolina corn snakes have yellow on their flanks and undersides. However, some captive-bred morphs like amber and caramel corn snakes have beautiful shades of gold, brown and yellow on them.
Caramel babies look black and white, where adult caramels have light yellow patches on their body. Amber corn snake hatchlings look dark brown but look a beautiful golden yellow in their matured state. Butter and snow are other corn snake morphs that have yellow on them. Butter hatchlings look mostly white as babies, but they turn bright yellow as they mature. Snow corn snakes look pink in their young age, but have yellow saddles as they develop.
Black
Black is also a rarely-seen color as far as corn snakes are concerned. Slowinski’s corn snakes and the Great Plains corn snakes, which are corn snake species found in the wild, have black and gray hues on their body. Among the designer hybrid morphs, cinder and charcoal are quite popular. They are anerythristic corn snakes that cannot produce bright pigments. Both appear almost black when young, but turn more gray as they mature.
Granite and platinum corn snakes are other black corn snake morphs. Their young and adult versions look quite similar, with black and purple hues. Platinum corn snakes appear more purple than black, and will remind you of lavender corn snakes. These snakes look black and gray because they produce a lot of melanin in their body, but no bright color pigments.
Pink
White corn snakes emit pink hues due to reflection of light. However, there are certain corn snake morphs that have beautiful pink hues on their body. Take the coral ghost corn snakes, for example. They look brown and white as hatchlings, but their older versions have really pretty pink coloration with gray saddles. Salmon snow corn snakes have pretty pink saddle markings on an otherwise light purple body.
Another extremely beautiful pink corn snake includes snopals. They are a version of lavender corn snakes. They look quite purplish when young, but turn princessy pink on a silky white background as they mature. Citrine corn snakes are another example of pink corn snakes. They appear brighter as hatchlings, and look more white as they develop in their older versions.
What Is The Size Of Baby Corn Snakes?
Baby corn snakes, no matter which species or morph, are usually between 5 and 12 inches in body length, and about 5 to 50 gm in weight. The ones in the wild may weigh a little less since they have to struggle a lot to find food for themselves.
Weight of a corn snake may be affected by a number of factors. Stress, overeating, lack of exercise, and diseases are some of the notable reasons. Stress and excessive eating are two common problems among caprice-bred and reared snakes but the problem can be minimized by sticking to a strict feeding and handling schedule.
How Do Baby Corn Snakes Survive In The Wild?
Baby corn snakes are not as helpless as baby mammals. Newborn cats and dogs get their parents to continue taking care of them up to a certain age, but snakes, however, are left by their parents to fend for themselves even before they hatch from their eggs. They have an egg- tooth by which they make their way out the leathery shell of their oblong egg-homes.
While inside the mother, baby snakes get their oxygen and nutrition from their mother. After the eggs are laid, the main nutrition source becomes the yolk-sac that surrounds the baby snake inside the egg from all sides. Hatchlings have the innate ability to wriggle about and hunt on their own the moment after they hatch. They are ruthless and wondrous baby critters.
Do Baby Corn Snakes Shed Skin?
Hatchlings shed their old skin within a week after they have hatched. After that, they keep shedding every 4 to 5 weeks. This is the time when they shed old skin most frequently. Shedding becomes less frequent as they grow older.
Cinder and charcoal corn snakes, for example, look almost black with faint white saddles when they hatch out. But with every molting, they metamorph into their lighter grayer version. Same goes for butter corn snake babies that look almost white when they are young. However, with each successive molting, they change into their yellowish-orange state.
Care-Sheet For Baby Corn Snake!
Before you adopt or buy a baby corn snake from a rescue center or pet store, make sure the people you are getting it from have a good reputation especially as far as treating wild animals is concerned. The next thing you have to consider is their food and habitat. Corn snake babies could be easily fed frozen thawed pinky mice once every week.
Baby corn snakes could be kept in a bunch (2 or 3 of them max) in a 10 or 20 gallon terrarium. Much decoration of the tank is not needed at this stage but you are more than welcome to keep caves and logs of wood with some climbing plants in different parts of the tank. Make sure there is a screen on the top of the tank and plenty of hiding places, like a thick substrate.
Heat and moisture is crucial. A temperature gradient between 70 and 90°F should be maintained the whole time. One side of the tank should be the warmer part or the basking spot, while the other part should be the cooling spot. Heating pads of lamps could be used to hold onto this temperature difference. Additionally, 40-50% humidity must be present.
How Much Do Baby Corn Snakes Cost?
Baby corn snakes make the best pet for many beginner snake-lovers. As babies, they may hiss a little and might prove to be slightly feisty, but with time, they get gentler as they usually are.
Common or Carolina corn snakes are quite affordable and could be purchased between $30 and $50. However, certain designer corn snake morphs, like the lavender and albino corn snakes may start at $100 and could be as high as $400.
Thoughts
Corn snakes are lovely animals, and their babies are even cuter. A baby corn snake may be a little restless as soon as it meets you, but with each handling session it will start to wriggle and dance on your arms and shoulders.
With a little care and feeding, a baby corn snake will thrive. They grow very fast and may be as long as 30 to 40 inches within months! Keeping them inside an enclosure is also highly affor- dable. Two or three hatchlings could be kept inside a 20 gallon terrarium. Baby corn snakes are some of the best pets for beginner corn snake enthusiasts and breeders.
