We have 2 Corn Snakes at Farmer Parrs. They are sometimes brought out during the animal show and are a real hit at Halloween! They have frightened many a teacher on a group trip too! I dont think Father Christmas is a fan of the snakes either.

The corn snake, or red rat snake, is a North American species of rat snake that subdue their small prey with constriction.  The name “corn snake” comes from the fact that they have a maize-like pattern on their bellies and because they were found in corn fields. The Oxford English Dictionary cites this usage as far back as 1676. Corn snakes are found throughout the southeastern and central United States. Their docile nature, reluctance to bite, moderate adult size 1.2–1.8 metres (3.9–5.9 ft), attractive pattern, and comparatively simple care make them popular pet snakes. In the wild, they usually live around 15–20 years, but may live as long as 23 years in captivity.
Corn Snakes are rat snakes and they are non-venomous.

Wild Corn Snakes prefer habitats such as overgrown fields, forest openings, trees, palmetto flatwoods and abandoned or seldom-used buildings and farms, from sea level to as high as 6,000 feet. Typically, these snakes remain on the ground, but can ascend trees, cliffs and other elevated surfaces.  They can be found in the southeastern United States ranging from New Jersey to the Florida keys and as far west as Texas.

In colder regions, snakes hibernate during winter. However, in the more temperate climate along the coast they shelter in rock crevices and logs during cold weather, and come out on warm days to soak up the heat of the sun, a process known as brumation. During cold weather, snakes are less active and therefore hunt less.
Corn Snakes have a diet primarily consisting of rodents, mostly mice and rats. Prey is killed by constriction. They are proficient climbers and may scale trees in search of birds and bats. As litters of infant mice are difficult to find in nature, many neonate Corn Snakes are known to eat small lizards as their first meals, and anoles are the preferred choice.[citation needed] Some individuals retain these dietary tendencies well into adulthood.

Corn Snakes are usually fed by their owners on a diet of commercially available rodents, predominantly mice, while younger and smaller specimens may eat live or dead rat or mouse pups of various sizes. Frozen mice that have been thawed to room temperature are usually preferred, as live prey can possibly carry disease or injure the snake if it has not been raised on live prey.