Behaviors:
Curiosity:        Pigment is a very curious and friendly snake.  He will let almost anyone hold him who is willing and is very calm.  When first introduced to his new environment, he went straight into his log-house.  However, he came out that night to explore and was very thorough about it!!  He has been observed on numerous occasions poking his head along the edges of the cage, flicking his very sensitive tongue the whole time.  This helps him to get an accurate idea of what his surroundings are, especially with his bad eyesight.  Snakes have poor eyesight as it is, but being an albino adds to that measurably.  He often also reaches his head up the sides of the glass looking for a way out. 

Feeding:          At first, we fed Pigment every week.  However, he was not striking at his food and coiling around it, as he should normally do since he is a constrictor.  So, in order to try to induce this behavior, we spaced out his feedings to once every two weeks.  After about the second week of doing this, he finally snapped.  This behavior is one that is instinctual to him, since if he were in the wild, he would be capturing live mice and he would have to coil and constrict them to death before eating them.He was fed a diet of small frozen mice, so over time he may have learned that the snapping and coiling behavior is not necessary for him to eat the mouse.  When it was just placed into the cage with him, he would just come up to it and eat it, but if it was dangled in front of his head (yikes!!  Almost lots my fingers a few times!!) then he would snap and coil.  Here are some pictures of this.

Video stills: Craig& Bowen

Agitation:         One evening over fall break, I went to take him out of his cage, and whenever I would touch him, he would push my away.  He would produce a spasm like motion in the area that was being touched and was not happy when I continued to do this in order to get it on film.  Needless to say, people aren't the only animals who get cranky!

Fun Facts About Corn Snakes:

~  They were some of the first snake breeds kept as pets
~  Alternate names include, the red rat snake, red corn snake,
~  If threatened, they may shake their tails against leaves to simulate being a rattlesnake
~  They are excellent climbers
~  They are bred to have some of the most beautiful and varied coloration patterns of all snakes

The colors and patterns that you see here is just one combination. There are unlimited varieties of color and pattern mutations for these unique and beautiful animals.

There are three widely recognized pattern variations which are motley, striped, and zigzag. The corn snake that you see here has a motley pattern variation. Motley is also as a result of a simple recessive mutation.

Most of the colubrids move by means of serpentine locomotion, which the body moves in a series of curves that pass from head to tail, pushing outward and against the surface on which the snake is moving. In addition, the North American corn snake has no difficulty in climbing trees. The outer ends of each of it's belly scales are bent upward at an angle and can hold the snake against irregularities in the bark while the body is moved forward by the muscles beneath the skin. The belly scales then successively release their grip, moving forward in a series of waves.

Reproduction

In terms of reproduction, many colubrids lay their eggs in rotten logs and other sites and then give no further parental care. Others give birth to live young. They prey on a variety of animals, including slugs, snails, earthworms, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. The primary method of a corn snake when faced with a live prey is to first grab the prey with it's mouth and then begin to constrict. Constriction leads to death by placing more pressure on the prey each time it takes a breath until the prey no longer can breath and death is achieved.

Most snakes eat their prey head first to avoid unpleasurable swallowing or resistance from the tail end. Corn snakes usually eat once a week and can go up to a month without food. Digestion of the prey takes at least a couple of days. The albino corn snake is primarily fed little mice cicles, but I am in the process of giving it new prey options for an experiment.

On the other hand, animals such as eagles, hawks, badgers, and wild cats place the corn snakes in their own food chain. The geographic range for corn snakes is from New Jersey to the coast of Florida and southern Texas and Mexico. It's habitat is wooded groves, meadows, deciduous forests, and fields.

In the classroom, the albino corn snake is in a 10 gallon tank, with some type of hiding place. Since snakes are reptiles and are cold blooded they have to be kept warm by a heating lamp. Water is also needed in the tank to keep the animal well hydrated. When feeding the snake, the prey needs to be warm and the snake needs to be able to eat in hiding.