Acting wierd, Is it old age?

[pickledstew]

My snake is about 7 years old, and I always fed him a few mice every few weeks... live, and he would have no problem killing them.

Now if i feed live ones to him, he wont stangled it right, the mouse will kick around and I have to grab it from his mouth, kill it, and then feed the mouse back to him again...

He sometimes snapes at shadows too, and with uncoordination.
He was always real agile, are his days numbered?

[Kaz]

According to 'The Cornsnake Manual' by Bill and Kathy Love, the documented longevity record in captivity for corns stands at 32 years and 3 months. But they do also say at 10 - 12 years of age, they've also seen specimens with geriatric symptoms, such as general loss of musculature, ridged backbones protruding on specimens otherwise in good weight, chronically gaping mouths, permanently cloudy eyes, and general reproductive failure "for no apparent reason." There must be an average age for a corn and I would imagine it to be around 15 - 20 years if healthy and correct nerturing.

I dont like feeding live because I have seen terrible sights of larger snakes having their scales scratched off, and holes ripped in their bodies, and I have heard of on single bite of a rodent killing a large snake before dying itself. Have you tried frozen/thawed then you wouldn't have to grab the mouse and then kill it, you could also end up being bitten too!

If you are truly bothered that your snake is unwell, maybe a visit by the doc would put your mind at rest.

Best of luck.