Corn snakes are increasingly popular pet snakes thanks to their manageable size and docile personalities. If you're looking for one with unique coloring, you should definitely consider an albino corn snake. While many people associate the term "albino," with white coloration, these snakes aren't completely colorless. Instead, they lack dark pigments, so they can have orange, red, beige, or white markings. Albino corn snakes can be found in numerous color and pattern combinations, depending on their genetics. Check out photos of these beautiful morphs and decide which one you'd like to take home.
Popular Albino Corn Snake Patterns and Morphs
Not all albino corn snakes look the same; there are several genetic mutations that can give a snake interesting patterns or color combinations. These are the 11 most popular pattern and color morphs you can find.
Corn snake morphs have rare genetic traits that cause them to look different from typical wild corn snake colors and patterns. Many morphs have a single unique genetic trait, but with designer morphs, breeders have selected and bred snakes that carry two or more genetic variations.
1. Albino Tessera
Tessera is a pattern morph that creates a distinct line along the length of the snake and large square patches along the sides. Albino corn snakes with this pattern usually have a white or pale orange base with orange spots and, of course, red eyes.
2. Albino Motley
Motley is another pattern morph found in corn snakes. These snakes have small circles along the length of their back, with lines along their sides. Albino motleys can range in shade from light orange to dark red, depending on any other mutations.
3. Albino Striped
As the name implies, the striped corn snake morph causes two distinct stripes that run down the length of a snake's back. Some have thin lines, whereas others can be bolder.
4. Albino Scaleless
Scaleless corn snakes are rare; some snakes with this mutation are scaleless in just specific areas of their body and may have scales on their head or down their back, but some are entirely scaleless. The absence of scales can impact a snake's colors or pattern. If you're able to find one, an albino scaleless corn snake can cost a lot.
5. Reverse Okeetee
The Okeetee morph is a popular pattern that features horizontal bands of red and orange with a thick black border throughout. Naturally, an albino snake can't have black coloring, so an albino Okeetee is referred to as a "reverse Okeetee." These snakes have the same orange and red bands with a white border around them instead.
6. Fire
At first glance, you might not believe snakes with this color morph are albinos, but they are. Fire corn snakes have a vibrant red coloring as well as red eyes.
7. Sunglow
Sunglow is a corn snake color morph that doesn't have any white. Instead, these snakes are combinations of bright orange and red in whatever pattern their genes produce.
8. Butter
A butter snake is an albino corn snake that has been crossed with a caramel morph, so the snake's coloring resembles a yellow buttery shade. Butters can come in various patterns, including motley, reverse okeetee, striped, and tessera.
9. Snow
As the name implies, corn snakes with this morph are white like snow, but they still have visible patterns. Snows lack the black pigment of the amelanistic morph and the red and orange pigment of the anerythristic morph, meaning they are essentially white snakes with translucent pink or beige patterns.
10. Blizzard
The blizzard corn snake morph is probably what you imagine an albino snake might look like because their coloring is pure white. These snakes have no visible pattern, though some owners report they can turn slightly yellow with age.
11. Creamsicle
The creamsicle snake is actually created through hybrid crossbreeding. Breeders crossed an albino corn snake with a rat snake to create a snake with a creamy orange coloration.
What Makes a Corn Snake Albino?
Just like humans and other species, corn snakes can experience albinism. This is an inherited genetic mutation that interferes with melanin production, so albino snakes lack the dark pigment from their traditional coloring. For this reason, albino snakes are sometimes referred to as amelanistic, or "amel" for short.
Instead of having a pattern with shades of brown, gray, orange, red, and tan, an albino corn snake will only have white, orange, and red pigments in their scales. All snakes with the albino morph have red eyes because their eyes lack pigmentation, too. Aside from their coloring, albino corn snakes have the same lifespan, diet, and habitat requirements of other corn snakes.
Cost of an Albino Corn Snake
How much does an albino corn snake cost? Depending on the exact morph, you can pay anywhere from $50 to $100 or more for a pet albino corn snake. However, some of the rare combinations of patterns may cost upwards of $300 or more. Do your research to find a reputable corn snake breeder to ensure your pet is healthy and priced appropriately.
Special Care for Albino Snakes
Albino corn snakes require much the same care as other colors or patterns of corn snakes. However, these special pets have sensitive skin and eyes due to their lack of pigmentation. Make sure your snake has plenty of shady places to hide away from their system's light, and be careful about taking them out in sunlight. With the right care, your pet albino corn snake can live a long, full life with you.
