Flamma the cornsnake

Name: Flamma
Species: Cornsnake (panterophis guttatus guttatus)
Gender: female
Hatched: july 25, 2004

This is actually my first own pet, the first one I got after moving out of my parents house. I wanted a snake since I had such a tiny apartment and didn't have the time/money to get a dog, and snakes are such gorgeous animals. So after a year with no pets I bought Flamma from a friend of my ex.
Her name is the swedish word for flame, I think it suits both her temperament and her colors. She's very energetic and doesn't like to be disturbed. Altough there's no problem holding her I know she prefers to be left alone in her vivarium.

I know for sure that Flamma is a she because she shared her terrarium with another cornsnake for a short time, and 2 months later she laid a pile of eggs. Another couple of months later 13 lovely baby corns hatched :) It was fun, and they where really cute, but I'll never have snake babies again. It was such a hassle keeping them all fed and finding them good homes.

Photos

I have some more on my flickr account if you want to see.
And some photos has pictures of her eating = dead mice. Just so you know.

Some Corny information

This is the most popular pet snake, a colorful creature that gets along fine in captivity.
If you ask me I say that this is one of the best snakes in the world! Not the prettiest or the most special or the coolest - but the best.
They're durable and robust, very low maintenance and often quite calm and friendly. They have the perfect size (not to big - not to small) and come in a variety of pretty colors and patterns. It's hard do fail with a cornsnake, even if you're a complete newbie.

Natural habitat:
Wild corns prefer habitats such as overgrown fields, forest openings, trees and abandoned or seldom used buildings and farms. They're also good swimmers.
They can be found in South Eastern USA and northern Mexico.

Size:
An adult corn is about 120-180 cm (4-6 feet). But they're very thin, so they don't look big at all.

Colors (morphs):
They come in every color of the rainbow. Almost.
After many generations of selective breeding, corn snakes in captivity can be found in a wide variety of different colors and patterns. And new and interesting variations, or "morphs", become available every year since there is a lot of breeders that "invent" new morphs.
If you want to see some photos of different morphs I can recommend this site, click on "corns" in the menu to the left.

Lifespan:
Normally 10-15 years, but they can be up to 20 years.

Food:
Wild cornsnakes live of amphibians, small birds and mammals. Newly hatched corns can even eat insects at first until they can find a rodent or something that's small enough.
In captivity they eat mice, and a fully grown corn can also eat slightly larger rodents.

Temperament:
This is probably the best snake for beginners. Very calm and gentle, and no large fangs or venom.
All snakes can bite but corns very seldom do. When threathend they always try to escape first and only use biting as a last defence.
Because of that "escape instinct" they can sometimes be a little tricky to hold. They sometimes refuse to stay still in your hands and keeps squirming around, trying to find a safer place and/or a better grip of your hand. Some corns are calmer and easier to hold than others.