Snakes are incredibly diverse creatures, often wearing a wide range of vibrant colors in complex and beautiful patterns. As naturally curious creatures, humans have experimented with popular snake breeds such as corn snakes, crossing them to create even more interesting and unique colorations and patterns. The result is that today we have tons of beautiful corn snake variations to pick from. No matter your personality and preferences, you’re certain to find a corn snake that fits you in this wide range of options.
The 50 Popular Corn Snake Colors & Morphs
1. Amelanistic Corn Snake Morph
This variation occurs wildly. Though they weren’t bred in captivity until 1961, a wild specimen was captured in 1953. An amelanistic morph has low contrast between their colors, making a yellowish-orangeish-reddish snake with red eyes. An interesting fact is that this morph is the source of the gene for a standard albino. You can pick up an amelanistic corn snake for between $50–$75.
2. Anerythristic A Corn Snake Morph
Anerythristic A corn snakes are a pale gray color with patches of a darker gray outlined in black since they lack any yellow-orange or red pigment. However, they can show a small amount of yellow on their throat and neck when they’re fully mature. Also called anery or black albino corn snakes, this morph sells for about $70.
3. Anerythristic B Corn Snake
This variation is also called a charcoal morph or the Pine Island Black Albino. It looks pretty close to an Anerythristic A, but it’s a completely different mutation and even more difficult to find. They range in price from $80–$150.
4. Aztec Corn Snake Morph
Corn snakes with this mutation have a pattern of broken zig-zags down their sides that look similar to many patterns in Aztec art; hence, the name. These are rather affordable, with prices starting at $65.
5. Black Corn Snake Morph
You could say that black is this morph’s short name because they’re also known as the black devil’s garden corn snake. These are a rare morph because the only one to truly make one is to get a parent from a particular area in the southwestern part of Florida. These snakes have charcoal patches with black outlines over a dark gray base. You can pick up a black corn snake for $100.
6. Blizzard Corn Snake
This morph results in a striking snake that’s pure white on its entire body with red eyes that stand out against the pale scales. They have blotches that aren’t visible because they’re white, though these sometimes develop yellow outlines as the snake reaches maturity. This morph was surprisingly created by crossing a charcoal morph with an anerythristic B morph that was caught in the wild. Blizzard morphs are pretty costly, with prices beginning at about $150.
7. Blood Red Corn Snake
Blood red corn snakes are diffused snakes that were purposefully bred and didn’t occur as an accidental mutation. They lack the traditional pattern that most corn snakes wear and are a solid red or orange instead. While they’re very unique in appearance, they’re not very expensive. Prices start at $80.
8. Blood Red Pied-Sided
This rare and valuable morph is a rather recent addition to the corn snake family. They were created by crossing a piebald with a blood red, resulting in a red snake that might have some faint patterning. They also have white bellies, with small trails of white reaching up from the underside of the snake towards their top. Due to their beauty and rarity, these morphs cost $250 on average.
9. Blue
The blue dilute gene responsible for the blue morph’s coloration was created by crossing a dilute with a charcoal morph. This results in a snake that’s actually gray but often takes on a blueish coloration with dark grey blotches. If the owner is lucky, the pattern could fade and leave a blue-gray behind on the adult. These are pretty expensive morphs that generally go for $200.
10. Butter
Butter snakes are named for their yellow coloration. They’re also called snow caramels because they’re a mixed morph created by crossing two other morphs; snow and caramel. On top of their yellow base are lighter or darker blotches of yellow, but it’s really the red eyes that set off this morph’s appearance. Though striking, they can be purchased for as little as $70.
11. Calico
This is a rare trait that has fallen out of favor with breeders. Calico snakes don’t begin to show their distinguishing white freckles and splotches until they’re close to maturity, making them expensive to raise. Worse, they tend to develop blistering beneath their white patches, making many people think they’re unhealthy.
12. Candy Cane
For such a unique and interesting-looking morph, candy cane snakes are very affordably priced, with specimens available for a mere $50. They have a white base color with standout red patches along their bodies. Naturally, it’s this juxtaposition of red on white that earns them the name of candy cane.
13. Caramel
This is a naturally-occurring color variation that was captive-bred after first being captured in the wild. They have a base color of yellowish-brown with brown patches that range in shade from light to dark. These are very common morphs and they’re easy to breed, which is why they only cost about $40.
14. Cinder
Similar in appearance to charcoal corn snakes as babies, cinder corn snakes start to show red in their pattern as they age. Prices for a cinder morph begin around $90.
15. Coral Snow
This morph features light orange patches over a base color of faded pink. They can also have yellow or white along the sides of their bodies. The bellies of these snakes are usually white instead of the checkers that most corn snakes exhibit. They’re about $130 on average, making them one of the pricier variations.
16. Creamsicle
Considering all the work it takes to create a creamsicle morph, these snakes are rather affordable with an average price of around $70. These snakes have red eyes with bodies that are a yellow base and have orange-yellow patches. To create a creamsicle morph, you have to complete two rounds of breeding with different morphs, making them prohibitively difficult to create for the price.
17. Crimson
Crimson corn snakes have dark red blotches over a lighter orange base with high-contrast colors that really pop. They cost about $70, so they’re one of the more affordable variations.
18. Diffused
Diffused corn snakes are all red or orange with none of the normal patterning that defines most corn snakes. Diffused snakes might have odd variations to their patterns when they’re young, but they’ll begin to fade as the snake nears adulthood. Prices begin at around $80.
19. Dilute
Dilute genetics are commonly crossed with other mutations as they fade the snake’s colors, giving it a somewhat pastel appearance. It looks almost like the snake is in shed, but with a shiny appearance. As a pure dilute, they’re not much more than a standard corn snake, but they can get pretty pricey when crossed with other variations.
20. Eastern
These are some of the most common corn snakes. They can be found in the wild in the eastern part of the US, ranging from southern Florida to as far north as New Jersey. Because they’re so common, these snakes are some of the cheapest-priced corn snakes, usually available for about $30.
21. Fancy
Fancy is kind of a catchall term for any corn snake that’s not a common variation. At many pet stores, they don’t know how to differentiate between specific corn snake morphs. So, they call them fancy corn snakes and figure it covers the whole range.
22. Fluorescent Orange
These snakes begin life as pink hatchlings but will mature into orange adults that feature patches of dark red outlined in white. They are striking creatures that are well deserving of the $140+ price tag that they commonly wear.
23. Ghost
Creating a ghost morph requires crossing an anerythristic type A with a hypomelanistic corn snake. The resulting ghost has a normal pattern with faded colors, causing them to appear pale gray with patches that are reddish-brown. What sets them apart is that this pattern switches halfway down their body, meaning their other half is reddish-brown with gray patches. Despite their awesome looks, they’re one of the cheapest morphs with most specimens selling for around $50.
24. Hypomelanistic
Hypomelanism sounds complex, but it’s just a reduction in the amount of black pigment in a snake’s skin. It’s one of the most common of all color morphs and can produce a wide range of looks. They’re so common that they’re priced about the same as a standard corn snake.
25. Jungle
Jungle corn snakes aren’t just corn snakes anymore and they can have a rather unpredictable appearance. To create a jungle corn snake, you have to mix a standard corn snake with a California King Snake. While the results can be pretty cool, they can’t be bred, so they’re rather inexpensive at just $80.
26. Lava
Similar in appearance to a hypomelanistic morph that lacks black pigment, but shows a purplish color in the places where a hypo would show a small bit of remaining black pigment. You can get a corn snake with only the lava mutation for around $80. But they can cost over $300 when crossed with other mutations, like cinder, for example.
27. Lavender
With distinct looks and an affordable price of about $50, lavender morphs are highly popular corn snakes. They appear grey when young, but their color turns lavender with silver patches as they age. Though they’re affordable as a single morph, they cost considerably more once they’re mixed with other desirable morphs.
28. Miami Phase
Like many corn snake variations, the Miami phase corn snake is named for the area where they naturally occur. Unlike most corn snakes, this variation prefers to eat lizards rather than rodents, which can make them harder to feed in captivity. They have a silver base color with burnt-orange patches. They cost about $70, even though they’re a naturally-occurring variation.
29. Microscale
This is a rare morph that affects a snake’s scales rather than their color or pattern. The result is that they have tiny scales, which causes there to be gaps of skin between their scales. This creates a snake with a very unique texture and they can sell for $150 or more.
30. Motley
There are many pattern morphs that corn snakes can display, but motley is the most common, so it’s usually combined with other variations. This morph inverts the snake’s normal pattern, resulting in a ladder design going down their side and removing the checkered belly pattern that’s present on most corn snakes. Because this mutation is so commonplace, you can get motley morphs for as little as $30.
31. Normal
As you might guess, normal corn snakes are your average, run-of-the-mill corn snakes. They’re brown or gray with patches that are a mix of red and brown. These snakes are some of the cheapest and they’re most commonly used to breed other morph variations.
32. Okeetee
This morph is characterized by a medium brown to orange base color with dorsal patches of a deep red or burnt orange outlined in black. They can also have lateral markings of orange or yellow. What’s interesting about this morph is that it’s a wild morph that was discovered in South Carolina. Unfortunately, they’ve been over-collected in the wild since their discovery, so they’re much harder to find now. You can purchase a captive-bred Okeetee for about $100.
33. Opal
Opal corn snakes are almost completely white with a very faint pattern of light yellow that’s so light it’s hard to make out. They have burgundy eyes as well. But these snakes change wildly throughout their lives. Hatchlings begin with light pink on their bodies, and eyes that have pink irises and red pupils.
34. Palmetto
This morph creates incredibly beautiful corn snakes. They’re a pure white color with splotches of orange-red and a few spots of black. Prices for these snakes start at $350 and reach $900.
35. Peppermint Stripe
This is a very rare and difficult variation to produce that requires the combination of three recessive genes; amelanistic, cinder, and stripe. Adults of this morph are usually a dark pink color with fainter pink stripes, though they can sometimes fade to a lighter pink with speckles as they age. Other traits of the peppermint stripe morph are their red pupils and white bellies. Since they’re so hard to produce, their high cost of about $175 isn’t surprising.
36. Pewter
Pewter corn snakes are a cross between the anerythristic B morph and a blood red variation. The result is a snake with a base color of light gray-lavender that has faint patches that get even less pronounced as the snake reaches maturity. They cost about $100 on average.
37. Pink
As the name would suggest, pink morphs are a light pink color. They have orange center stripes with red dashes along their bodies instead of the lateral blotches common to most corn snakes. They also display red eyes. Since they require a combination of several morphs to create, pink corn snakes aren’t cheap, with prices starting at $120.
38. Red Amelanistic
This morph usually results in a snake with bright red or orange coloration, beset with patches of another red color. They’re also referred to as red albinos and generally sell for around $100.
39. Red Coat
Red coat corn snakes have a deeper, more vibrant red coloration due to a gene mutation that intensifies the red pigment in their skin. These are common morphs and share a similar appearance with several other variations, so you can usually pick them up for as little as $60.
40. Reverse Okeetee
Also called the Albino Okeetee, the Reverse Okeetee has red-orange patches with white borders. These are set on top of a peach base, creating a hard contrast that this morph retains through adulthood. Pricing for this morph begins at about $125.
41. Scaleless
Based on their name, you’d expect these snakes to be devoid of scales, but they’re not. On top, scaleless corn snakes can have patches of scales missing, all of their dorsal scales gone, or anything between. These snakes still have scales on their bellies, and they often still have scales on their lips and sometimes their spines as well. As a very rare and desirable variation, snakes with this variation cost $450 and up.
42. Slowinski’s
This breed gets its name from the renowned herpetologist Joseph Slowinski. They’re a wildly-occurring corn snake that’s native to select areas in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas. They have a similar head pattern to a Texas corn snake with two stripes that meet between their eyes. This type of corn snake is rarely sold or bred in captivity.
43. Snow
A combination of amelanistic and anerythristic A morphs, snow corn snakes are white in color and can have very pale patches or even pink to light tan patterns. Their patterns don’t develop until adulthood though. As babies, they’re all white. They’re often referred to as white albinos and their pricing starts at about $100.
44. Strawberry
Strawberry corn snakes are so similar to hypomelanistic ones that the trait was only recently shown to be a separate mutation. This means that there are already many snakes with strawberry genetics in captivity. They have a bit more contrast than hypos and more pronounced red in their coloration, but they’re so common that they only sell for around $40.
45. Striped
This morph’s pattern is pretty self-explanatory. Rather than the traditional corn snake pattern, striped corn snakes are adorned with three or four lines that run down the length of their body. If you get a corn snake with just the striped variation, they’ll generally cost around $70–$100. But when mixed with other morphs as this variation commonly is, prices can be many times higher.
46. Sunkissed
There’s very little way to distinguish a sun-kissed corn snake from a hypomelanistic one. In fact, sunkissed snakes are often called hypomelanistic B, though they’re really a hypomelanistic Okeetee. They’re most often crossed with other morphs for striking effects, but you can get a sun-kissed for little more than a regular corn snake if it’s the only variation.
47. Tessera
This pattern is defined by the dorsal stripe that Tessera morphs have running down their backs. Due to this stripe, their patterns are pushed down to the sides and squared off, turning them into a work of southwestern art. They’re surprisingly affordable with prices beginning at just $75.
48. Texas
Texas corn snakes are so-named because they’re native to Texas. They’re a naturally-occurring corn snake. As such, they’re quite affordable, with prices generally falling near $30. These snakes have a light brown base color with brown patches. Their most defining feature is two stripes that cross their eyes, meeting in a point between them.
49. Terrazzo
This is a very rare variation that’s also quite new. It creates an appearance that’s almost patternless with grainy stripes and bellies that lack the common corn snake checkering. Their pricing starts at $150 and climbs from there.
50. Zig-Zag
While most pattern morphs have noticeably different patterning on the tops of their bodies, zig-zag corn snakes don’t. This trait, instead, alters the pattern of scales only on the snake’s belly. This causes them to have a zig-zag pattern; hence, the name. At $175, this is a pretty pricey variation, showing its desirability among breeders and buyers.
Conclusion
As you can see, there’s no shortage of beautiful corn snake morphs and variations. These snakes span a range of interesting colors and patterns, with some forgoing the patterns completely and still creating looks that are just as beautiful to behold.
As awesome as these corn snake colors appear on your screen, they’re far more incredible to see and touch in person. If you’re considering one of these morphs, you should head to a reptile show near you and see what they look like in person. Then, if you find the one that calls to you, you can leave with it in tow and take it home.
- Related Read: How Big Do Corn Snakes Get? (Size + Growth Chart)
Featured Image Credit: Pixabay
