Corn snakes are a commonly spotted snake in the southeastern parts of the United States. They have the color of flames, with bright orange, red and yellow colors sparkling and dancing on their curvy and elongated body. There are hundreds of corn snake morphs and each has a color prettier than the previous one. Can you believe there are blue corn snakes too?
Corn snakes are docile and easy to manage. Just give them a couple of weeks, and they will wriggle and wiggle all over you. They are as gentle-natured in the wild, and except to save themselves from threats, they rarely ever bite. Are blue corn snakes just as gentle? Do they eat the same kind of food as others? All that and much more will be explored in this article.
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Blue Corn Snake: Dive In The Deep Blue Hues Of These Creatures!
So what are these blue corn snakes? Do they actually exist or are they characters from a mythological story? Corn snakes are famous for their red and orange appearance that make them look like fireballs squirming around. So how did these blue snakes come about? Let’s dig deeper, because don’t know about you, but we are quite excited to see what will unfold!
Source: @envy_reptiles
What Do Blue Corn Snakes Look Like?
It might be a little disappointing to comprehend this, but blue corn snakes do not exist. If you expected a blue dragon-like snake with fiery flames blowing out of its nostrils and mouth, we are sorry to break your heart! But stick around, because it gets interesting!
While a dedicated blue corn snake morph may not exist, certain morphs of corn snakes look blue in different shades of light. Amelanistic and anerythristic corn snakes are crossed with other morphs of varying colors and patterns to obtain white, off-white or gray corn snakes that emit different shades of blue or purple.
There is a new gene called “dilute” that reduces the production of melanin in the body of the snake. It sort of goes hand-in-hand with the gene that causes hypomelanism. Melanin is responsible for the darkening of certain parts of the body, and in snakes, melanin darkens the patterns and markings on their body. Its reduced presence manifests as gray or off-white coloration in places of total black.
Amelanism results in a total lack of melanin. Anery or anerythrism causes the total absence or subdued presence of red orange and yellow pigmentation. Therefore, when an amelanistic and an anerythristic corn snake mate, they produce pearly white babies that have neither black nor red pigments showing on their body. These snakes give off blue or purple hues as well.
One of the most popular blue corn snake morphs are the lavender corn snakes. It is the closest that can go to what you would call a blue corn snake. They look reddish when they hatch out from the eggs, but turn into these fairy-like purple snakes that have gorgeous white saddle marks running all over their body. They also have ornate white markings on the head.
What Do The Eyes Of Blue Corn Snakes Look Like?
The color of the eye of a blue corn snake depends upon which gene has expressed itself more profoundly. A diffused corn snake may have black or dark brown eyes if the gene for anery- thrism has expressed itself. If the corn snake is amelanistic or hypomelanistic, then it may have pink or red eyes since the body is not producing any or sufficient melanins.
Do Blue Corn Snakes Have Morphs?
Different morphs of corn snakes are interbred to produce new morphs. Usually the amelanistic and anerythristic corn snakes are the ones that give off blue hues. Below is a list of a few.
Lavender: Lavender corn snakes, as previously mentioned, look brownish or completely white when they hatch, but slowly turn purplish as they grow older. These snakes look white due to hypomelanism, amelanism and anerythrism that cause them to have reduced or zero black and red pigmentation. They have striped, motley and tessera versions.
Source: @geneandjanefarm
- Ghost: Ghost corn snakes are mostly white with shades of gray and brown on their body. Different morphs radiate different colors like lavender, pink or tans. Lavender ghost corn snakes purplish-pink coloration with whitish saddles. Lavender ghost stripes are purple with white stripes on them. They are hypomelanistic and anerythristic, so they have pastel colors.
Pewter: Pewters are born to charcoal and diffused parent corn snakes. Charcoal corn snakes are subdued versions of the common corn snakes, having little to now yellow and a whole lot of dark colors. Diffused corn snakes lack the checkered pattern on their belly. Pewter corn snakes have a cloudy purplish look, with an interplay of darker and lighter shades of purple with white saddles edged in black.
Source: @slaveworldreptile
- Plasma: Plasma hatchlings and adults radiate some of the most dazzling purplish-gray hues out of all other blue corn snakes. Take the amelanistic plasma tessera, for instance. They are a beautiful shade of purple with white pixelated markings on their whole body appearing as squares and rectangles. They are a breed between lavender and diffused morphs.
Opal: Amelanistic and lavender corn snake parents mate and produce beautiful opal morphs. They are mostly white snakes with pink to purple highlights.
Source: @portuguese_pythons
- Dilute Anery: Dilute amelanistic and anerythristic parents produce dilute anery corn snakes. Dilute anery are called “dilute” because instead of a complete absence of black color, there are gray (diluted black) hues. Dilute anery stripe corn snakes are fabulous with mostly a gray appearance and black longitudinal stripes. Dilute anery motley have beautiful spots and dashes on their grayish-purple body.
- Blue Blood Motley: These are one phenomenal morph produced by interbreeding the traits of 4 different corn snake morphs together– anerythristic, diffused, dilute and motley. They look very dark as they hatch out but have a more grayish-brown appearance as they mature.
Sunkissed Blue Motley: They are a product of 4 traits of corn snakes stirred together– anerythristic, dilute, motley and sunkissed. Sunkissed corn snakes have unusual patterns on their heads and are hypomelanistic, meaning they contribute to the grayish appearance of the snake. As hatchlings, they have a white and brown look.
Source: @twins_herps
- Scaleless Blue Motley Tessera: They are a combination of motley, tessera and scaleless features of corn snakes. They have an overall creamy gray appearance with white stripes. As they have fewer scales on their body, they appear rubbery.
How Do Blue Corn Snakes Make Babies?
Corn snakes are oviparous, that is to say, they lay eggs. There are ovoviviparous snakes, such as rattlesnakes or adders, where the eggs hatch inside the body of the mother and the snake- lets come out of the cloaca of the mother. While the babies of corn snakes are inside the eggs, they get their nutrition from the egg yolk. After hatching, they are completely on their own.
The blue corn snake morphs follow the same egg-laying routine. Mothers choose moist and warm places to lay their eggs so that the babies can grow at the correct temperature and humid- ity. Time between May and July sees the mating and egg-laying of these beautiful corn snakes. Usually about 12 to 24 eggs are laid at a time.
What do babies of blue corn snakes look like? The appearance of baby corn snakes depends on the morph of the corn snake that has been produced. Dilute anery hatchlings, for example, look gray overall with white saddles, whereas in the case of dilute anery stripe corn snakes, the babies are almost white with faint brown stripes. They are about 5 to 12 inches long each.
How Long Do Blue Corn Snakes Live?
Corn snakes can live for about 6 to 8 years in the wild. They are usually found in the grasslands, flatwood forests, edges and clearings of forests, and even near to where humans live. However, due to deforestation, pesticide usage and natural disasters, corn snakes have lost a huge proportion of their natural habitat. Predation is another reason why their population has dwindled over the years.
However, when corn snakes have been rescued from the wild and been given shelter at reserves or sanctuaries, they have been seen to thrive. All corn snake morphs, which are taken care of by humans and not released in the wild, seem to live for longer than 15 years. They get food and water regularly, and do not get preyed on. These are some of the reasons they live for so long under human care and supervision.
Care-Sheet For Blue Corn Snake!
Source: @fuzzycornsnakes
It is not like blue corn snakes need more time, care and investment. The process of nurturing them is the same as that of any other corn snake. They are beautiful creatures that are also gentle-natured, and unless provoked a lot, they do not bite or even hiss. The beautiful colors and patterns on the bodies of these snakes are what make them so popular as pets.
The numero uno aspect that you must consider before rescuing or buying one is to get them a large and comfortable house. A reptile tank or terrarium of sizes 30 to 40 gallons for adult corn snakes would be perfect. Tanks made of glass, wood and plastic are all available to choose from. For hatchlings, a 10-20 gallon tank would suffice. Sometimes, even shoeboxes work.
The second most important thing would be temperature and humidity. Temperature must be maintained between 75 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit, with the basking side a little warmer than the normal temperature range. A 65 to 75% humidity would be crucial for them especially when they shed their old skin. Automatic misters, heating pads, UVB lighting systems are all available.
What do blue corn snakes eat? They eat about the same thing as any other corn snake. They primarily feed on rodents in the wild, and it is no different in captivity. Corn snakes do not have venom or fangs. They only have small, pointed teeth that they use to grasp their prey, constrict them and swallow them in one whole piece.
How frequently do blue corn snakes eat? In the wild and in captivity, they eat once every couple of weeks. Hatchlings, within human care, could be fed a small pinky thawed mouse once every week, whereas adults could be fed one big fuzzy mouse once every 2 weeks. Besides rodents, they could be fed quail birds and bird eggs.
How Much Do Blue Corn Snakes Cost?
Corn snake morphs are available at a wide range of prices to suit the purchasing ability of every interested individual. Beautiful lavender and ghost corn snakes could be bought at prices as low as $45, and as high as $300. Dilute anery corn snakes are available between $125 and $175. Dilute anery motley and tesseras may be on the costlier side.
Are There Other Blue Snakes In The United States?
In fact, there are, and a number of them. Take the Eastern Indigo snakes as a starter. They are non-venomous and have a striking iridescent blue on their body that can captivate anyone’s attention within a second. Even their eyes seem to be grayish-blue in color. They are found in the southwestern parts of the United States.
The Bluestripe Ribbonsnake is another example. They can be found along the Gulf Coast of Florida. They have a mostly dark body but the cyan blue stripes that run down their flanks hold the power to enchant even the wisest. The Blue Racer Snakes is one more example out of numerous others. Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio and Illinois see these beautiful blue snakes in prairies and open woodlands.
Thoughts
Blue corn snakes are actually the white or gray corn snake morphs that give off blue and purplish hues as they move around. True blue corn snakes are yet to be seen– meaning they do not exist as of yet. Nevertheless, the tessera and motley stripes on the morphs are gorgeous.
Blue corn snakes are not found in the wild and are bred only in captivity. Like all other corn snakes, they are mild-mannered and do not bite their owners. However, they may get a little stressed when around unknown people. They live for a long time within human care.
