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Red Coluber — Part 2
The species receives its name from a habit of frequenting fields of growing corn. Its presence there is significant when we consider that numerous rodents collect in such places to feed upon the grain. In some localities the reptile is regarded as useful and harmless, and its life is generally spared. In one district of this kind, the species was known as the "mouse snake." Many specimens were unearthed by the ploughs, during the early spring, showing that in this area-Hampton County, South Carolina-these serpents passed the mild winter in burrows in the fields.
In captivity the Corn Snake soon becomes very tame, its good temper combining with the beautiful colouration, in making it an attractive pet. The species frequently breeds when captive and is oviparous, depositing from one to two dozen yellowish-white eggs. These should be placed in dampened wood-pulp in an ordinary living room temperature and will hatch within a period varying from six to eight weeks.