Anyone else have a cornsnake with a bad attitude?

Ive got 8 tame cornsnakes and 1 real bad apple. My gorgeous extreme okeetee male just will not tame down. He is well over a year old but still poops on me every single time I get him out and occasionally still bites me too.Always in flight mode as well, probably the fastest cornsnake Ive ever seen.

Im just wondering if there are some corns that just stay this way? Ive not done anything different with him then with the others.

While you ask an interesting question, I guess it can't be pleasant to have a snake that just doesn't seem to calm down.

I once had a kingsnake who ALWAYS hissed when the cover of her cage was removed and NEVER liked to be handled. She was REALLY strong and would straighten her body out almost like a stick when I attempted to handle her and I always needed two hands. She used to try to flee and her tail rattled persistently until I placed her back in her bin where she would literally FLY to a corner of the cage and then look back at me and HISS! She was actually very SCARY! Her name was Olivia and I didn't have her long, but the guy who took her told me it might have been because her eggs were either too warm during incubation or were in direct sunlight?

I never did find out the exact reason but after years of handling different kinds of snakes, I would say that their individual personalities are as varied and nuanced as are humans'. I'm sure you will hear from others who have similar stories though.

Good luck with your sneaky ones!!

I have a 2 year old who still rattles her tail through every meal, and absolutely never relaxes when I'm holding her. She's not exactly fleeing, but she clearly does not want to be handled. She'll occasionally strike me when I reach into the cage for her too, but since her moods are pretty consistent, I'm learning how to deal with her quirks.
I find my moody male to be more difficult. Even though he's super sweet and calm some days, other days he's pretty much like you're describing (more biting, less pooping) and I find it more stressful to not know what to expect, than to know what's coming and just deal with it.
As for whether he may still tame out, I don't know the answer to that. But I am still seeing behavior changes at 2 years old with mine, so I wouldn't give up hope yet. I know there's people with a ton more experience here than me, though, so I'm going to watch this thread and see what other kinds of answers you get. It will be interesting for me too!

I think the pooping comes from being stressed or scared. My snakes have never done that when I am careful with them and don't do anything abruptly or quickly to shock or jar them. Thank goodness, because if that were a frequent part of their behavior, I doubt I'd be able to handle them as much as I do!

Are you sure there isn't something ELSE happening or going on in his surroundings when you're holding him?

I've never had an adult snake poop on me out of fear.
Virtually all of my snakes tail rattle while eating; it has nothing to do with how tolerant they are of handling.
I've only had two adult snakes out of hundreds that were so crabby and bitey and just unpleasant in general that they had to find new homes.
But I do have several that I take out with a hook, because they'll bite because they don't discriminate between my hand and food.

axis1 said:

Are you sure there isn't something ELSE happening or going on in his surroundings when you're holding him?

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I dont think so, like I said I dont treat him any different then the others and noone else is as obnoxious as him.

I guess I should clarify that by pooping I mean musking.There is never much residue just that musky smell he leaves me with.
He is my only petstore snake, but doubt that has much to do with it, Ive had him since he was very small.

Nanci said:

But I do have several that I take out with a hook, because they'll bite because they don't discriminate between my hand and food.

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Yes I do have a couple of greedy corns but I just let them know Im not food and they are fine after that.He is just such a nervous guy.

I had a female orchid that I re-homed to a fellow teacher who wanted her for breeding. She came out of the mailing container, still in snake bag, lunging and tail rattling. I felt so sorry for her. The other snake in the box was just fine, so I didn't think it was an overly rough trip. Anyway, I untied the bag and set it in my front access viv so she could debag at will. She came out like a tornado. After 10 undisturbed days, I wanted to feed her... Tried to lift her out, no flight, all fight, no rattle, just nailed my hand. I figured she must be very hungry, so I didn't take her out, just fed her in viv. She burrowed under the aspen, hid in the greenery, and attacked every time I tried to give her fresh water, spot clean, take her out. So I removed the hanging vines, then the plants to give her fewer places to lurk from. She'd tunnel through the aspen, come up biting, so I removed the aspen and gave her paper towels. I never saw her, just the wave of motion as she traveled between the layers. If she was in a hide, she'd hiss and rattle. Five others and never any aggression. She's still a total non-pet. Sigh

DLena said:

. . . Five others and never any aggression. She's still a total non-pet. Sigh

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So maybe there IS something to a snake being "overcooked" while in its egg during incubation? Besides for Olivia, the Kingsnake from HELL that I once tried to tame, unsuccessfully, I've never had any others in 45 plus years of keeping snakes. However, I've never kept the numbers that others in this forum have, so I'd be interested in their take on this.

BTW Joanna, that is one GORGEOUS snake! I would DEFINITELY make a hearty attempt at taming THAT little sneaky one!!!

axis1 said:

So maybe there IS something to a snake being "overcooked" while in its egg during incubation? Besides for Olivia, the Kingsnake from HELL that I once tried to tame, unsuccessfully, I've never had any others in 45 plus years of keeping snakes. However, I've never kept the numbers that others in this forum have, so I'd be interested in their take on this.

BTW Joanna, that is one GORGEOUS snake! I would DEFINITELY make a hearty attempt at taming THAT little sneaky one!!!

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Thanks that is why I bought him. He is my only petstore buy but when I saw him I had an idea he would be a good extreme okeetee and for 30.00 bucks it was worth the risk.

He's gorgeous. What if you did snake boot camp with him, and let him sit with you for an hour every evening, watching TV?

Nanci does that really work? (Bootcamp)
Ive noticed that if i handle her at night or early morning she is better at times...


Keya

I'm just following the conversation here. I'm a new snake owner and I'm trying to learn about snake behavior.

Is defecating while being held a sign of being unhappy, or scared? Or is it normal for small snakes and abnormal for older?


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I have a hatchling called Vimto who is very feisty and just wants to bite anything that goes near him. Once i'm holding him he soon calms down though.



Hope he grows out of it.

many of us "Wait until after our snakes Poop" before we handle them.

Having said that, None of my 5 snakes over the past 40+ years have ever pooped on me. But you are not alone, I've heard others talk about it.

Defecating can be a sign of nervousness but is not necessarily one.

Is double pooping like double clutching, lol? Mandy poops but often poops again a second time before her next feeding. She's never pooped while being held though, just sometimes when she is on her blanket. Exercise does and will bring on a poop. While it needs cleaning up it is not a bad thing.

I've found that just when I think all the poop is out I get fooled. So while I do wait for the first defection before handling, I just roll with it otherwise.

Jetset-- Vimto is super cute. What attitude in that pic. Glad he calms down for you!

jet_set_willy said:

I have a hatchling called Vimto who is very feisty and just wants to bite anything that goes near him. Once i'm holding him he soon calms down though.

Hope he grows out of it.

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Great pose!!!

I LOVE it when I catch one of mine like that for a picture!!

Nice looking snake, btw.

Yesterday morning I found fang marks on the top of one his hides. It really looked like he tried to sink his top "teeth" into the bark. Stress/fear/about to shed/? He was just fed the day before. We've had him just over one week. We adopted him (about 2 y/o) from people who didn't feel like they were giving him enough attention. We like him and want him to like us.