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If you find a snake in the wild, how can you tell if it's a corn vs a different kind?

J

JjSnake

New member
If you find a snake out in the wild, how can you tell if it's a cornsnake, versus any other kind of snake? Can you determine the type by looks alone?

Thanks
 
Yes you can. Your best bet would be to get a book about the snakes in your area, County, City, State, Portion of the US. There are many out there. I still keep my Reptiles and Amphibians of New Mexico book on me when I go out herping. I do not want to chance across a venomous snake and mistake it for a non-venomous snake just because it does not necessarily belong in this portion of New Mexico. Snakes are wandering out of their ranges every day, either due to expansion or people moving them. So, better safe than sorry.
 
Yep no wild corns in IL, but a good reference guide to reptiles in your area is a great thing to have and maul over on those blistering cold days. Then in the spring you'll be prepared for what you might see. :)
 
Oh, I had no idea there were no corns in IL! Good thing you guys told me that. I'm used to seeing small garter snakes frequently, but one time a few years ago I found a large 3-foot snake. I don't remember what color it was, but vaguely I'm thinking it was earthy tones. My friends' kids were holding it and playing with it, so I'm guessing it wasn't dangerous in any way.

Do you have any idea what kind of snake would be 3 feet long and friendly in IL?

Thanks :)
 
JjSnake said:
Oh, I had no idea there were no corns in IL! Good thing you guys told me that. I'm used to seeing small garter snakes frequently, but one time a few years ago I found a large 3-foot snake. I don't remember what color it was, but vaguely I'm thinking it was earthy tones. My friends' kids were holding it and playing with it, so I'm guessing it wasn't dangerous in any way.

Do you have any idea what kind of snake would be 3 feet long and friendly in IL?

Thanks :)
Click to expand...

If it had dorsal blotches similar to a cornsnake, only browner and more "earth-toned" as you described, my first guess would be that it was a young western Fox Snake. They can be extremely variable, and even have a "rusty brown" colored head quite often. They used to be classified within the same genus as corns years ago...... formerly (Elaphe vulpina)

Check out this link below.....

http://herp-pix.org/elaphe/vulpina99.JPG
 
Not only are identification guides a good thing, but you might want to just google native snake species in your state and see what pops up.

Not knowing a corn from other snake species, to me, is sort of like not knowing a german shepard from a poodle. Both dogs, but different. :)
(Well except that all dogs are the same species, unlike snakes, but you know what I mean!) :)
 
Shiari said:
You will not find any wild corn snakes in Illinois. :p
Click to expand...

I'm curious. Do you state this from experience or because they are not on the DNR list of native species? (I'm glad they are not on the list because then a permit would be necessary to keep/breed/sell them) I live here and have found them in the wild on more than one occasion and in more than one locale. I'm not talking about the many animals I have been called to extract from gardens or car engines either. Granted like many animals they may have been an introduced species at some point in time but they are living and reproducing in a wild state now.
The OP most probably is talking about a Western Fox Snake which are far more common in the Chicago area. Had he been in Southern IL when he encountered the snake in question it would be entirely possible and far more probable that it was a corn. They can be found here in the Chicagoland area though as well. It's just not as common given the lack of undisturbed environment.

Terri
 
Here are a few websites that may help you. We conduct educational programs with our corn snakes and use these maps and information as references during our presentations. They include map links to show the native ranges of the corn snake (this information is based upon data collected by researchers in the field and it is updated often with new information). The numbers of native corn snakes in the wild are declining in some states such as here in AL where the state is considering listing them as "threatened"
The bottom link is to a wonderful organization called PARC - Partners for Amphibian and Reptile Conservation - the link is to your local Midwest chapter that includes Illinois - we are active with SEPARC which is the southeast chapter. They have great educational information on the herpetofauna of your region plus links and information regarding any questions you might have about local regulations.
Hope this helps :)
http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/63863/0
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_snake
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/herpetology/fl-guide/pantherophisguttatus.htm
http://www.mwparc.org/
 
Yes, and I forgot to also add earlier that the Great Plains Rat(P.emoryi) ranges just into the southwestern portion of the state, and the Black Ratsnakes are VERY abundant there in about 2/3rds of the state of Illinois.


~Doug
 
crackerhead said:
I'm curious. Do you state this from experience or because they are not on the DNR list of native species? (I'm glad they are not on the list because then a permit would be necessary to keep/breed/sell them) I live here and have found them in the wild on more than one occasion and in more than one locale. I'm not talking about the many animals I have been called to extract from gardens or car engines either. Granted like many animals they may have been an introduced species at some point in time but they are living and reproducing in a wild state now.
The OP most probably is talking about a Western Fox Snake which are far more common in the Chicago area. Had he been in Southern IL when he encountered the snake in question it would be entirely possible and far more probable that it was a corn. They can be found here in the Chicagoland area though as well. It's just not as common given the lack of undisturbed environment.

Terri
Click to expand...

I lived in the Millstadt area for quite a while and we herped a few counties from there to southen Illinois, never saw a corn (not saying you didn't) but did see milk snakes.
 
I'm in the Chicago area. Only thing I have seen around us is garter snakes not to say there are not other kinds out there I just have not seen them.
 
Garter snakes are definitely the most common on my property too. Just now I looked up the maximum length of a garter snake, and found that they can get up to 3.5-4 feet long. I wonder now if the snake I had originally written about in my second post was actually just a garter snake.

If I ever see a large snake like that again, I'll definitely try to take a picture. Or if I don't have a camera on me, I'll at least try to look it up right away to try to identify it.

But most garter snakes that I've seen around my garden or crossing my driveway have been fairly small.
 
I've read many posts of people finding "Corn Snakes" in PA (another state which they are not native to) and in every case it turned out to be an Eastern Milk Snake. Posting pics of the snakes found would help greatly in getting a proper ID. A field guide is a great tool to positively ID confusing species.

Illinois Milk (and yes, it superficially looks like a Corn. But it lacks striping under the tail, which is an easy way to differentiate it from a Corn):
emilk2.jpg
 
tspuckler said:
I've read many posts of people finding "Corn Snakes" in PA (another state which they are not native to) and in every case it turned out to be an Eastern Milk Snake. Posting pics of the snakes found would help greatly in getting a proper ID. A field guide is a great tool to positively ID confusing species.

Illinois Milk (and yes, it superficially looks like a Corn. But it lacks striping under the tail, which is an easy way to differentiate it from a Corn):
Click to expand...


Very true Tim,..........as well as the cornsnakes having a divided anal plate and the milks having a single anal plate. Unfortunately when people see these snakes from any distance and are leary of capturing the snake in the first place because of the uncertainty of what they actually are, it makes these two identifying characteristics unlikely to be looked at as we both know.



cheers, ~Doug
 
tspuckler said:
I've read many posts of people finding "Corn Snakes" in PA (another state which they are not native to) and in every case it turned out to be an Eastern Milk Snake.
Click to expand...

Always wondered since they aren't native to PA, but are native to Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey if there isnt a small disjunct population somewhere in SE PA...They are not listed as natives in PA, as has been mentioned. I've heard of ones turning up in western MD (Carroll or Frederick County) but have never seen one from there, and have only seen pics of native MD ones...
 
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