Corn snakes are found in the eastern United States from southern New Jersey to Florida, into Louisiana and parts of Kentucky. They are most abundant in Florida and other southeastern states.
Introduced populations have been recorded on several islands in the Caribbean, with established populations in the Bahamas (New Providence and Grand Bahama), Grand Cayman, the U.S. Virgin Islands (St. Thomas) and the Lesser Antilles.
These snakes inhabit wooded groves, rocky hillsides, meadowlands, woodlots, rocky open areas, tropical hammocks, barns and abandoned buildings.
These snakes typically feed every few days. Young hatchlings eat lizards and tree frogs, while adults feed on larger prey, such as mice, rats, birds and bats.
Breeding season for these snakes takes place from March to May. Corn snakes are oviparous – this means they lay eggs that later hatch. In late May to July, the female snake lays a clutch of 10 to 30 eggs in rotting stumps, piles of decaying vegetation or other similar locations with sufficient heat and humidity to incubate the eggs.
Adult corn snakes do not care for their eggs, which require about 60 to 65 days at a temperature of about 82 degrees Fahrenheit to hatch. The eggs hatch between July and September, and hatchlings are 25 to 38 centimeters (10 to 15 inches) long. They reach maturity in about 18 to 36 months.