Today was another great learning opportunity for the kids and myself.
We are fortunate to live near some wonderful state parks and the one we visited today was Panther Creek State Park in Morristown Tn. The park was offering an animal class and we had the fortune to meet "Wilbur the Corn Snake" ...
Corn Snakes are very common in this area and look very similar to some other snakes, but are not poisonous... The corn snake has very small teeth and poisonous snakes have "fangs"...Also their pupils are round like ours, and poisonous snakes have vertical slits...(but if you are that close to tell, you are TOO CLOSE)...*L*
We also learned why they are called the "Corn Snake" and that is because of the pattern / colors looks like Indian Corn... Plus on the underside of their bellies, it looks like a checkerboard... and one more thing about them, when "petting" them, touch them in a downward motion and toward the end of the tail.. Because when the plates of scales are shifted the wrong way, it actually is uncomfortable and almost painful for the snake, as well as, pinches the person touching them... We also learned that some corn snakes can be different in coloring..
The diet of the corn snake consists of most anything that is smaller...birds, bunnies, rodents, and of course insects...
As for other snakes in the area, we learned that of the poisonous variety, there are the Eastern Rattler, the Timber Rattler, the Copperhead, and the Cotton Mouth (also known as the Water Moccasin)...
I loved this class and learned as much as the kids did... And I am so thankful that my kids have opportunities like these...
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