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Please Help! My Snake has gone crazy!

l2edemption
05-02-2003, 03:45 AM
I have had my pet snake, Atreyu, for about 5 months. He had grown to be about a foot and a half long. He has always been a very active pet and a pure pleasure. I had been holding my snake about 4-5 days a week and he seemed to enjoy the attention. However I had worked a lot of overtime about a week ago and regretfully didn't hold him for several days... I kept up with his regular feeding schedule. Last Sunday, (4 days ago) I noticed him (or her, I haven't gotten it sexed yet) to be extremely agitated and very defensive... He was laying out in the open and I went to pick him up and he jumped and bit me... To be quite honest it scared the crap outta me.. I figured he was hungry, even though I fed him 2 days prior. So I immediatly fed and watered him.. Ever since then he has been restless in his cage. constantly moving around and whenever anyone would come near the cage he would get extremely defensive, curl up and seem to enter attack mode... I fed him once again yesterday (Wednesday.) I am not sure if he got a "bad" batch of pinkies (I bought new ones the same time this started) I don't know if they are not filling him up anymore, as he is getting bigger and the pinkies are the same size... It also has gotten quite a bit warmer here the last few days and the hot side of his tank is roughly 85F. I don't know if that is it.. He also has been burrowing quite a bit more than usual... I really enjoy my snake but I don't know what is wrong with hime... Is he upset with me? Any advice would be greatly appreciated...

l2edemption
05-02-2003, 04:07 AM
BTW: I have read a lot about the breeding season.. and I wouldn't have wrote this post if I thought it was merely that.. The reaon I'm not sure about the breeding season is that he/she still has a very strong appetite.... Wanting to eat more than normal actually... Thank you

bmm
05-02-2003, 09:58 AM
It could be a few things.

1. Something is hurting or bothering him. Mites, an injury, etc. This can make them "lash out"

2. All of my snakes have gone through a "terrible teens" phase. My calm loving 3 month old hatchlings have turned into wild crazy "I dont like to be held or touched" 6 month olds. Not saying this is a for sure thing, but I have certainly seen this happen more than once.

3. Could be breeding season although a 5 month old is a little young.

4. Could just be a personality change. These are still wild animals and that does happen. :)

If nothing seems medically wrong then I would continue your handling schedual. Also if he can eat two pinkies at one sitting then move him up to fuzzies

bmm

CAV
05-02-2003, 10:14 AM
Just curious, but when was the last shed? I have several that become hell-bent and pissy right around shed time.

CowBoyWay
05-02-2003, 10:39 AM
It also has gotten quite a bit warmer here the last few days and the hot side of his tank is roughly 85F

Do you have an accurate thermometer for that tank?
If it feels "hot" to you, it's probably too warm.
Keep a close eye on those warm end temps. this time of year in the U.S., as the season changes, tank temps fluctuate up to possibly dangerous levels if its not adjusted and corrected, as in the summer, the ambient room temerature will most likely increase.


He was laying out in the open and I went to pick him up and he jumped and bit me... To be quite honest it scared the crap outta me...

Do you often feed in his Tank, by chance?
Handling of mice prior to the event?

A "hell bent and pissy" corn snake going through a "terrible teen" puberty thing...
gettin' mouthy with ya, typical teenager for ya'. hehe :)
Naughty little corn :)

With any luck at all , "he'll grow out of it",
and settle down and be a fine young man once again ;)

Maybe if you describe your "setup", we could politely Critique any environmental factors that may be a factor in your "snake going crazy".,
Warm/ cool end temps, substrate your using, hides, that kind of thing...

The guys that brought us the "girls gone wild" videos are busy working on the new video
" Cornsnakes gone wild"...
:D

l2edemption
05-02-2003, 12:04 PM
Thank you for all of the feedback thus far.. I wanted to clear a couple things up... My corn is older than 5 months, I have had him for 5 months... He is probably closer to 10-12 months old.. Even at night when the tank tempature is quite a bit lower he is still very angry..

The last time he shed was roughly a month ago... At this point however he isn't showing any of the tell tale signs of shedding..

The only time I handle the pinkies is when I feed him.. He eats directly out of my hand... I hang the pinkie down from the top of the cage and he goes after it.... This is one reason I thought he tried to bite me because he may have thought I was a pinkie.. But I didn't have the scent on my hand... and the behavior has remained, even increased since that day...

He may not be too pleased with his enviroment... He currently is in a 10 gallon tank.. It is "carpeted" with shredded aspen bedding, which was suggested by the pet store owner... On the warm side of the tank I keep a lamp and a heating pad under the tank... On the other side is his water bowl.. I have one plastic "cave" that runs the length of the aquarium.. It sets in the back.. He sometimes lays on the top, but likes to hide out underneath of it as well.... I have an old 55 gallon tank that I use to keep exotic fish in, and was planning on shortly to transfer him into that...

I clean his cage once every week or two.. and as stated earlier keep regular holdings and feedings... Since the incident I haven't held him though.. I figured it would be best to give him a little space... He has made it abundantly clear he wants nothing to do with me.. In the past 16 days he has eaten 6 pinkies and still seems to be quite hungry... I believe that I may move up to fuzzies, he has grown quite a bit in the past several months...

bmm
05-02-2003, 12:23 PM
Well snakes can't just eat whenever. Feeding them every two days, or every other day and what not won't work out for the best. Not say this is what you are doing but people should stick with giving them at least 4 days between meals.

Moving him to a 55 gallon is going to make his issue worse. He is going to feel even less secure, and he will flee from you even worse.

I would personally keep him in the ten gallon, fed him a fuzzy every five days, and handle him 3-4 times per week. He will out grow this stage but it can take time. I would move him to the ten gallon when he starts out on large weanling mice/small adults. Smaller cage=more security, more security=less defensiveness in a lot of cases. And less stress.

Good luck
bmm

CowBoyWay
05-02-2003, 12:53 PM
Handling before feeding also helps avoid this feeding response by establishing the opening of the cage door as a time to be handled.

By handling ones snake on a consistent basis, and not feeding out of ones hand, one will avoid conditioning a Pavlovian feeding response to the opening of the cage.

He eats directly out of my hand... I hang the pinkie down from the top of the cage and he goes after it.... This is one reason I thought he tried to bite me because he may have thought I was a pinkie..

Dangling pinkys with your hand has confused the guy, I suspect...Don't do dat. Changing ones feeding ritual is probably the likely answer. Get a rubbermaid style tub (or some such thing), and use that as "the" feeding tub, After handling a bit, dinner can be served/ waiting.

Be sure to wash ones hands well after handling mice.
Good snakes have been known to "get naughty" when ones hands reeks of the "mouse du jour".

Disposible latex gloves could be a possible idea at mouse handling time, to help keep that smell off of ones own skin.. :) imho.