Claire Brough, St. Patrick School
Morris County
Corn snake. Morris County. Claire Brough
Corn Snakes
I slithered quickly, trying to get away from that hawk. He's always trying to chase me. Luckily, I'm orange, so camouflaging is easy. We sometimes scare people with our head shaped like a spear point. I have flat sides and a flat belly like bread. I can smell anything with my tongue. Red. yellow, and orange scales cover me. Blotches or spots are also on my body. I grow up to be about three to four feet long. You could play checkers on my belly because it looks like a checkerboard. Adult corn snakes eat eggs, mice, small birds, and baby rats. Younger com snakes (like me) tend to eat lizards and tree frogs. We never eat more than once a week. When we are born, our moms lay about three to forty eggs. That's a lot of brothers and sisters. When we are born, we are between six to fourteen inches long. We live to be about twenty-three years old. Meadows, rocky hillsides, forests, and lowland areas are where we like to live. In forests we climb trees quickly to get away from predators, like you.
I have two big problems. One is habitat loss. People build on our land and cut down trees. Our second problem is illegal pet trading. That means people take us away and sell us for pets. A solution for habitat loss is to create a special resort. For pet trading, you can stop right now and make people pay a fine if they collect us. So please, think of me before you act, because time is running out.
Written by: Claire Brough
St. Patrick School, Chatham
Teacher: Mrs. Butkus