Corn snakes are one of the most popular pet snakes and are great beginner snakes. If you’re thinking of getting one, then you will want to know how to care for a corn snake, and you might want to know how long does a corn snake live? In this article, we look at this question?
How Long Does a Corn Snake Live?
The average corn snake lives for between six and eight years in the wild. Numerous factors contribute to this, predation and environmental factors are two main reasons for their shortened lifespans.
There are many predators of corn snakes which can include foxes, skunks, weasels, hawks, opossums, and bobcats. Humans can also kill corn snakes, mistaking them for danger, when corn snakes are no threat to humans.
In captivity, corn snakes can live for much longer. The average age is between 20 and 25 years. Although the oldest known corn snake in captivity lived for 32 years and 3 months.
How Long Does it Take for a Corn Snake to Become an Adult?
It is important to consider the growth of the corn snake. It takes above three to four years for baby corn snakes to mature into adult corn snakes. The speed and the size of the corn snake can sometimes be because of the environment and feeding.
Corn snakes need to be fed very regularly when they are young. Most baby snakes should be fed every five days. As they mature, at about three months old, they can be fed every week.
It is also the size of the meals that is possible. Snakes can be fed meals that are 150% the girth of the snake. This can seem like a lot, but snakes can expand their stomach and ribs to accommodate the meals inside them.
What is also important is that you leave the snake alone for 48 hours after feeding. If you don’t leave a snake alone after feeding, it can regurgitate the meal, this can cause scarring along the food pipe of the snake.
If this does happen, snakes can’t feed for two weeks as they need to heal.
The Corn Snake Teenage Stage
Many corn snakes do go through a ‘teenage’ stage. This is normally experienced for nine to eighteen months. During this period, corn snakes tend to become a little more defensive and grumpy.
What happens during this stage can differ. Sometimes a corn snake will just be less likely to want to be handled, preferring to be alone. At other times, they can be more defensive, striking if you attempt to handle them.
However, these behaviours do subside within a couple of months, especially if you continue with regular interaction. It is important to let your corn snake know that their behaviour isn’t going to deter you, otherwise, the corn snake might learn that to keep you from handling them, they just need to be more defensive.
Though that does normally go against the wishes of many corn snakes. We note that corn snakes are natural explorers and love handling time because it gives them time to experience new sights, sounds, and smells which stimulate them. Therefore, they enjoy handling experiences.
Therefore, if a corn snake does go through a teenage phase, just remember that this is for a limited time and they will tame down again.
Final Word: How Long Does a Corn Snake Live?
Corn snakes are great beginner snakes for kids and adults. They are calm, relaxed, and interactive. They can also come in a variety of colours and patterns, making them an interesting species to keep. If given the right conditions, corn snakes can live for over two decades.
