Corn snakes are extremely popular pet snakes all over the world and live a surprisingly long time. They are loved by both experienced and less experienced reptile keepers alike. If you’re looking for more information about a corn snake’s lifespan then you’re in the right place.
This blog post will teach you about a corn snake’s lifespan, including how long a corn snake lives for as well as some general facts.
Quick answer: Corn snakes usually only reach an age of 6-8 years old in the wild. In captivity, these beauties can reach ages over 15 years old, sometimes even older than this!
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Corn snake lifespan and age
A corn snake can live to ages well into the late-teens and even into the early twenties in captivity. Obviously, if you’re looking to get a corn snake as a pet, this means you need to think carefully about whether or not you’re ready to dedicate so much time to this snake.
Compared to other reptiles, corn snakes are quite average when it comes to how old they can get. A ball python, one of the other best pet snakes available, can live for twice as long!
How long does a corn snake live for in the wild?
Corn snakes tend to only live to the age of 6-8 years old in the wild. In the wild, predators, climate and failure when it comes to hunting make’s life a lot more challenging for these cool snakes.
In the wild, the environment they live in is also a lot less sterile than in captivity. This makes disease and parasites a lot more common among wild corn snakes. This is also one of the reasons that they do not tend to reach such an old age in the wild.
On top of this, baby snakes and eggs are very vulnerable, so the number that will even make it to adulthood is quite low compared to captive-bred youngsters.
Note: It’s also extremely difficult to tell how old a wild corn snake is. Since they can’t speak, guessing or tracking them from birth are some of the only options we have of really measuring this.
How long do corn snakes live for in captivity?
Corn snakes can reach ages above 15 years old in captivity, which is a major improvement on their life expectancy in the wild. More sterile living conditions, not needing to hunt, and a regulated environment all ensure that these animals live long healthy lives.
Due to them being extremely popular pets, it’s a lot easier to get information on their husbandry when compared to more exotic snake varieties. This is one of the reasons why they’re the best pet snakes for beginners and are so loved among reptile keepers.
When more people keep them as pets and there’s more information available, they have a much better chance of thriving in captivity.
When corn snakes are young
Even though baby corn snakes are a lot more vulnerable than adults, their chances of making it to adulthood in captivity are fairly high. As long as they are cared for properly and you know what you are doing (along with a little bit of luck), your corn snake should be able to reach an old age.
As a hatchling, they are only about 8 to 12 inches long. Once they’re full grown they can reach sizes of upwards of 5 feet!
How to tell how old a corn snake is
Unfortunately, there is not much useful info that can be stated on this topic. Up until the one-year mark, it’s possible to tell the age of a corn snake by its size.
After this one-year mark, it gets increasingly difficult.
If you need to know how old your corn snake is, then it’s best to contact the breeder where you got them. In most cases, the breeder will have a detailed record of corn snakes born there.
If you bought the corn snake at a hobby-breeder, or they do not have the records anymore, there aren’t many ways for you to determine the age of your corn snake. An educated guess is often the best you can do!
Corn snake sexual maturity
Being one of the easiest snakes to breed in captivity is one of the things that makes corn snakes so popular.
Once they reach the age of one and a half to 2 years old, corn snakes tend to be ready to breed. This is somewhat dependant on their feeding habits though. Malnourished snakes, especially when it comes to the female who needs to lay the eggs, aren’t ideal for breeding with.
At the age of about 10-12 years old, corn snakes stop breeding. Many breeders will try to get rid of their older corn snakes inexpensively in order to make room for breedable snakes.
What age is a corn snake full grown?
At roughly the age of two, corn snakes reach their mature size. Obviously, this number varies slightly from one species to another based on how they are fed and their genetics.
What is the oldest corn snake ever to exist?
The oldest corn snake to ever live in captivity was 32 years old according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_snake. This just goes to show that with proper care, these snakes can be very long-lived.
That being said, no one knows for sure if this was the oldest corn snake ever as many people aren’t sure of the age of their pet corn snake.
Are they good pets?
Yes, they’re great! There are a lot of people that debate whether to get a corn snake or a ball python, so we wrote an article on it to help you out!
Conclusion
As you can see, there’s a lot more to a corn snake’s lifespan and age than meets the eye. We hope that’ you’ve found the information you were looking for in this post. If not, we’d love to hear from you so we can improve the resources we provide!
