Aggressive behavior

Hello I have a 9 month old corn that has become aggressive and staying in hide. Never used to be like this. I have had him since February.
We started with a 10gl moved to a 55 now finally in a 20 tall. Won't come out at all..may come out at night but we are asleep.
I have to use a snake hook to find him but he comes out fighting.
His temp is 75 to 80 humidity at 40.
Thank you.

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"Aggressive and Staying in his hide" are on the opposite ends of the spectrum.

"Aggressive" means it chases you around the house like an aggressive Pit Bull.

Something that hides all the time is not aggressive, it's either sick, scared, or not comfortable.

The fact your snake may "Strike at you" does not mean he's aggressive, after all, "You" are invading his space. You are the aggressor, he's obviously scared and wants to be left alone. So the question is, Why?

1. It's a known fact snakes like to hide a lot coming in to a shed. They don't like to be bothered during this time.

2. You stated temps were 75 to 80. Those are not ideal temps for a corn snake. I have found many cranky snakes change their attitudes when the temps are adjusted. The cool side of the cage should be around 70 to 75, the warm side around 82 to 88. (Optimum numbers would be 73 & 85.)

3. You are using a snake hook to get him out. That probably freaks him out too. I might be inclined to use a snake hook on a 5 foot long rattle snake, but there really is no need for a snake hook on a baby corn snake.

I'm going to suggest, either your snake is scared to death of you, it's about to shed, or it's uncomfortable.

Perhaps you can start there.

Thanks I'll give a try. I'm thinking of using a heat pad..my sand boas had one under there original tank..there 55 does not. The picture on the left is the corns tank..the right boas.

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What about putting one or 2 more hides in and removing some of the bedding?

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May use a glove for a while...may be a phase he is going through. Time will tell.
How should I get the heat where you suggest?

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When we first got him never an issue picking him up.

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with a thermostat. Every heat source should have a thermostat. Otherwise it just gets hotter and hotter and hotter. You have a thermostat on your household A/C don't you?

Yes we will invest in two.thank you

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Sometimes it is just hard to understand what is going through a snakes's mind. I remember a time when I wanted to put hideboxes in with all the snakes I had. So I was using everything I could think of. Cardboard boxes, paper towel roll inserts, you name it. But an odd thing happened. I found that a LOT of the normally good feeders I had suddenly went off feed. This went on for a couple of weeks, and just on a hunch, I removed the hide boxes from their cages. They immediately started feeding again. They gave no other outward appearance of being uncomfortable or agitated, they just stopped feeding because of that hide box being in their cage.

And remember that every single snake has it's own personality, just like people have. There are always some that are just not going to tolerate being around humans very well, no matter what you do. No, it is not common, but it IS real. I had a few of them myself and they just went elsewhere to live.

Rich Z said:

Sometimes it is just hard to understand what is going through a snakes's mind. I remember a time when I wanted to put hideboxes in with all the snakes I had. So I was using everything I could think of. Cardboard boxes, paper towel roll inserts, you name it. But an odd thing happened. I found that a LOT of the normally good feeders I had suddenly went off feed. This went on for a couple of weeks, and just on a hunch, I removed the hide boxes from their cages. They immediately started feeding again. They gave no other outward appearance of being uncomfortable or agitated, they just stopped feeding because of that hide box being in their cage.

And remember that every single snake has it's own personality, just like people have. There are always some that are just not going to tolerate being around humans very well, no matter what you do. No, it is not common, but it IS real. I had a few of them myself and they just went elsewhere to live.

Click to expand...

I think if you keep corns long enough you will see things that don't make sense. I sold a nice sub-adult corn to a lady and she said it refused to eat and didn't want to be handled. She said the female corn was losing weight as she hadn't eaten for several weeks. I checked out her vivarium and temperatures and all seemed fine, but once the corn saw me it coiled on my hand as if to say " take me home." I took her home and gave the lady a different one that liked her vivarium. The female ate the first day back home, and definitely loved to be handled. Call it recognition, or a familiar scent, but some corns do know their keeper.

Thanks.
I'm the only one that handles him. I did notice yesterday his eyes were clouded over like he was going to shed. He was coiled up in a corner and I missed him with a spray bottle. Seemed to like that?

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I would put some thing around the viv on the outside and only three sides. I do it with mine and they all seem happy. But what works for me might not work for you everyone and everything is different


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This is my first snake. She is 6 mo old, I've had her for 12 days. She has been great with handling and even her first feeding went well. However, I went to pick her up, waiting 24 hours after feeding and she bit me and was making almost like a hissing sound
Did I just not wait long enough? Does she feel threatened? The bite definitely hurt my feeling more than anything.

I would wait several days after feeding before handling.
Sounds like he didn’t want to be messed with at the moment.

scared baby

Hi Jess and Lyra,

Baby snakes are scared. When I first got my Peach she was about 10 months and very hidey. She wouldn't come out of her hide much. She would let me handle her, but I did notice that she got braver as she grew. She's only bit me once by accident and let go immediately. She is quite brave now and we do a lot together. She trusts me. I adore her. It just takes time. Be patient but keep trying.

Good luck!
Wendy