Profile of an Everglades corn snake.
Throughout their immense range over most of the eastern USA (NJ in the northeast, to AR and LA in the west, and the FL Keys in the southeast) the corn snake (or red rat snake), Pantherophis g. guttatus, varies widely in abundance and color. But over that geographic immensity, the corn snake is probably no better known and variable than in Florida. If you, as a hobbyist, have any interest at all in pretty, fairly large, easily bred, nonvenomous snakes, you have almost assuredly heard of “Tampa phase,” “blood reds,” “anerythristic,” “Miami phase,” “Keys corns (which designation contains 3 or 4 color variants), or just plain old “Florida” corns.
But one you don’t hear an awful lot about is also one of the brighter Florida variants. This is the Everglades phase of the red rat (or corn) snake.
The ground color of this constricting beauty is a warm tan. The red-orange dorsal blotches are edged with black. The black edging is about a half-scale wide on the front and rear of each blotch but is noticeably less prominent on the lateral edges. All colors are paler along the sides of the snake.
Caught your attention? Like other corns, this variant is active crepuscularly and after nightfall. It may often been seen in agricultural or grassland regions at the southern tip of the peninsula. But a word to the wise should be sufficient—if you are collecting, stay out of the Everglades National Park.
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