Frenzied behaviour

My 2 year old corn has just exhibited very unusual behaviour.

For the first time that I have seen, she started writhing, moving rapidly around the viv, her body waving up and down and her head reaching up for the top. She seemed to dart after something (like the biggest strike I have ever seen) and then banged her snout on the glass, which seemed to stop her in her tracks.

We had been cooking steak in the kitchen (where the viv is) but cooking hasn't set her off before. We have had mice in the house recently and I wonder whether she may have seen one scuttling past the viv! (Not that she has ever been exposed to live mice before).

She is not about to shed and has been feeding and otherwise behaving normally.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

Tony.

Have you checked the temps of your viv?

Do you think it could be too warm? The viv is not at a different temperature to usual. It is big (approx. 3' x 2' x 2').

I don't have a thermometer in there at the moment. The setup is that one long side is next to a radiator and has a heating mat underneath a part of it; the other long side faces the room. Sometimes she is stretched out along the radiator side, sometimes along the cooler side, so I think she can thermoregulate OK.

I will get a new thermometer in there tomorrow and give a definite answer about temps.

Thanks.

Not having a thermostat to control the heating is not good, but a thermometre is ESSENTIAL!! Get one now!!!

With the combo of no themostat, and one side next to the radiator. I would think that there is too much heat. Get a thermostat asap and find a spot to move her away from the rad.

Or it's trying to find a rough place to shed with?

Thanks for the advice and suggestions.

The lack of thermometer, which seemed to exercise some of you a lot, was a temporary lapse, now remedied. The temperatures are consistently 83 deg F on the radiator side and 75 deg F on the room side.

She is feeding fine and seems completely healthy, which is why the behaviour was so surprising. There may have been a temperature spike when we were cooking, and I will keep a close eye on things over the next few days. I have seen some posts suggesting that corns can go wild over cooking smells. I still think she may have seen a mouse scuttling past.

Glad she's O.k.

Very nice snake in the pic there. I must get a new one of mine. She seems really fine - has just had a good meal.