Sudden behaviour change

[Ami & Jo]

We have two cornsnakes which we have recently put into the same viv, we took one out and put him in a separate resonably sized container to feed him where he ate normally, 12 hours later my partner opened the container went to pick him up to put him back into the viv and he striked her and bit her. Please bare in mind that at this time our cornsnake was shedding. After he bit we attempted to pick him up again but he seemed really nervy and still attempting to strike. We had to use a tea towel to pick him up and put him back into the viv, 12 hour later we tried to pick him up again to handle him, he was acting very aggressively coiled up and ready to strike again. The other corn snake however has not changed its behaviour at all. We have still tried to handle our now agressive corn, but he is still striking and we cant go anywhere near him. We where just wondering if this is normal behaviour or why he is behaving this way, will he be like this forever :( ...????

[Susielea]

Well I'm not going to say too much about the co-habitation issue, and you'll find a lot of members won't support cohabbing, as it's very stressful for the snakes. (You could do a search of the forum using the words cohab, cohabitaion, and cohabbing).

The aggression it seems to be showing after feeding is quite normal, they feel more vulnerable with a full belly, this is why it is advised that you don't handle a corn snake for 48 to 72 hours after feeding, doing so can sometimes result in the snake regurgitating it's meal, which can be very harmful to the snake.

They also feel more vulnerable and scared when getting ready to shed, as it is more difficult for them to see what's happening around them.

In future when you feed, wait until the snake has eaten and return it directly to it's tank once it's finished, trying to move it 12 hours after feeding could cause more stress and may result in regurgitation.

Having another snake in the same tank will also cause more stress while in shed and after eating, so if I were you I would seriously consider seperating them again, just my personal opinion.

Hope that helps some,

[doortech9]

hi

ive read/experienced enough to know that snakes can be more defensive when they are in shed as their vision becomes impaired, and its not a comfortable phase for them to go through. i tend to leave my boy alone while he is in shed, as he seems nervous and scared at times. it would also be a good idea to look up co-habbing using the search function found on the toolbar at the top of the forum pages. there are much more experienced keepers that can fill you in on anything i may have left out. have fun with your pets :)

[NFS07]

First why are you co habbing? Lack of space? Money? Planning?

If you snake just ate and is shedding then it has every right to strike at you. Come on you are this huge thing coming at it. It's stressed out from have just had food, being in blue, and having another snake nearby. Snake don't hang out with each other. They would rather be alone. They don't get lonely or sad. Just leave the snake alone until he sheds then get him into a viv of his own.

Oh and welcome to the site.

[rolandslf]

Hello There
I want to relate an incident to you which happened to me last weekend, I have a six year old female which I have had from a yearling.
She is the most docile of all my corns but last weekend she went moggie on me, I fed her the first mouse, no problem, when I went to feed her the second mouse she flattened her head viper style, rattled her tail and struck at me, luckily I saw all the signs and avoided the strike, when I went to put in the third mouse she was as docile as normal.
What went wrong?, I dont know. This weekend I handled her and she was her normal old self again.
Sorry to hijack the thread but any possible answers would be appreciated by both myself and the author of the thread.
This is how we get to know our snakes better.

Ciao

[Ami & Jo]

Well the help wqas great...thank you.
The only reason we are co-habbing is because our first snake escaped, and because we live in a mobile home, we have many of air vents. It was 4 months later and no sign of our snake, my fiancee was devistated, so i bought her another one, 2 weeks later the other one turned up on top of a door frame. So what were we suposed to do.
But the advice on co-habbing was very useful.
As for the shedding of the skin, and you saying they find it hard to see, he had already shed the first half, meaning head down wards.
These are our first pet snakes so any help would be great. But 2 days down the line our snake "Bazil" is still un approachable.

[Mysfitz]

is it the new snake or the escapee that is being unapproachable?
if it is the escapee they tend to be sour when first recaptured, sharing a viv is not helping, give him/her a few weeks of little/no handling etc to settle back into captivity and he/she should settle down again.

either way separate them as it is just stressing them both out.
rubbermaid/sterilite bins with air holes drilled in work great.

when you say shed half way down do you mean only half his shed has come off and there is still some old skin on him?
if part of him is still covered in old skin it needs to come off, put him in a bin with room temperature water and let him soak for 20 minutes or so, then let him crawl threw a damp paper towel or bath towel until the rest of the shed comes off.