Is my snake broken?

Hello everyone,
I have a fairly young snake, not sure what age but just got it eating the hopper mice if that helps with size indication. Had him about 2 months now and he is still terrified of me. And lately it seems to be getting worse to the point where if he is roaming around his tank and he sees me get out of bed or get anywhere near the tank he instantly rushes under his log or buries himself in his substrate. When feeding I always use a hook because he is extremely quick and "runs" away when I try to pick him up. Once on the hook I do put him in my hands and when I switch grips as he moves he recoils very quickly as to try and get away. Very very squirmy. Once in his feeding tank he calms down (sometimes rattles a bit).

Any ideas, suggestions, concerns about my scaredy snake? Lol I just want him to be comfortable and not fear me because feeding, cleaning his tank, and general handling has become quite the chore with this guy.

Thank You!!!

edit*** Not eating hopper mice!!! Eating fuzzies***

I'll give my half a cent and then let the experts chime in. If you are nervous, he'll be nervous. One of the things I do is that when I pick my little one up, I keep her bundled and cupped in my hands, just like as if she was still in her hide. That way it gives her time to adjust, wake up, and get used to the idea some giant just picked her up. (then again she's pretty small still)

I've heard that if they are nervous or flighty, you can use tricks to get them used to your scent. like, take a piece of cloth you've had on you all day and leave it in the tank over night. (put a rag/bandana in your pocket) also, any time you reach in the tank, mess with stuff. run your fingers through the substrate, touch the leaves of the plants.

I've been blessed with a very calm little hatchling that is for sure. She likes to nestle up in my shirt and just ride along with me for the day/afternoon but those are some of the things I started doing as soon as I could.

Hi. I have a couple of tips (and questions). First, do you handle him regularly? Because that is really the only way to get them used to you. When you do, I will recommend not grabbing them from above but trying to "scoop" them from the sides so that they can see what you are doing and they don't think you are a giant hawk or something plucking them into the sky.

I will agree that young corn snakes are very squirmy, so trying to handle them by just letting them run through your hands is the best way to calm them down. I would recommend sitting down while you do this in a safe spot in case you drop snakey they do not fall too far and if they do fall they cannot run away too far.

I have also read that some people rub the substrate with their hands or leave a piece of worn clothing near the viv to get the snake used to the smell. So the next time you change the water you could try touching the substrate. I don't know if that actually works but I doubt it would hurt anything.

Hopefully people with more experience handling these types of snakes will reply. Good luck!

Good suggestions ^^^^^^^^^ try those....

Sounds like natural behavior to me. Some snakes stay on the wild side longer than others, even captive bred corn snakes.

Two things come to mind right off...
I'm assuming it is a corn snake? Is it ?
Are the temps correct ? A snake kept to hot will be more apt to act that way.

Thank you guys for the suggestions. I wouldn't mind hearing more. I will give those all a try. To answer some of your questions...

-I try to hold him for at least 3-5 minutes(3-4x per week) but usually doesn't reach the 3 minutes because of how squirmy he gets so I feel it stresses him out a lot(am I wrong in thinking that?).

-He is a corn snake and his tank hovers anywhere between 80-90*F I usually have to keep his lamps off because San Diego tends to be really warm.

I'll try to post a video on youtube to show his behavior because honestly I don't feel that it is normal. Lol

try going to a lower temp.the 80-90 should be the hot side only, not the whole tank. so cooling it off should help a lot.

How cool should the tank be? I read between 75 and 85. And its really hard to get this temperature gradient that people are talking about because its warm in my house. Suggestions for cooling down the entire tank or even just one side of the tank? I usually leave his lights off but still stays a consistent 80*F (I have two lamps, 1 daytime on the side of his hide log, and 1 nighttime light on the side of his water dish).

so far, from what I've been told basically, err on the side of cooler. if you can't have a gradient, the snake will be happier over all around high 70's. do you use anything in addition to the lamps? (cornsnakes really don't need lamps unless the room is dark. its for day/night only not for heat or UV) If you have any kind of heating pad, turn it off. what is the normal ambient temp or your house, like.. what do you have your AC set to?

I only use the lamps because i live in a warmer climate I didn't see much need for it. And usually my avg. house temp is 75-80 depending on the weather. We mostly rely on fans to keep the house cool since I'm not home most of the day. So first things first try and keep the lights off? He's in a pretty well lit room. I was under the impression they did need the UVs so that's why I would periodically turn them on and off.

No they don't need UV, only daylight. lamps are only needed if it is a dark room. Which you could just move the lamp away so it still sheds light but not heat. fans cool the air but don't work on snakes. So you can only go by ambient temps. I've heard people using frozen water bottles, but this seems risky due to excessive moisture/mold. the ambient temp of the home should be good though, the 75-80.

They actually don't *need* daylight either. Corn snakes are crepuscular, meaning that they are mostly active in the evening and very early morning. During the daylight hours, they are usually hiding. I don't think having daylight will hurt them, but if your lamp is causing excessive heat, I wouldn't use it.

Your ambient temp of 75-80 is fine, but you should have one end of the tank that's a bit warmer, around 87. An under tank heater works well for this.

One of my babies is exactly like this. She did slowly become more relaxed, and after a couple of months I learned to relax and just not let it worry me. Now around a year old she still hides right away if I come into the room, and when I go to pick her up she "runs" until I have her in my hands, and then she curves up into an "S" as if she's ready to strike at me (but has never actually struck). But I now feel like this is just her personality and her habit. I don't think she's panicking anymore. Out of 5, she's the only one that is this way, and it's just the way she is. They are all different, I don't think yours is broken. It will just take you guys a little longer to be friends. Keep working at it just like you are. A few minutes at a time.
Edit: I should mention that this doesn't mean I enjoy her any less. She's actually my favorite. I didn't want you to feel like holding your snake will never be enjoyable. It will be.

The cool thing about corn snakes is that they are one of the most prevalent snakes in the wild throughout the USA. They are very abundant in my area, (the southeast), and I remember as a kid running through the woods and catching them and playing with them long before I ever considered keeping one for a pet.

I've handled hundreds of corn snakes in my 58 years, most of them "Wild" and only a few of them pets, and I bet I can count on one hand the number of times I've been bitten.

Now that's not to say a corn snake won't bite or you won't get bitten. Nobody can make that promise, but corn snakes are naturally "Curious, Explorative, and Wiggly." I mean by that, that they don't just coil around your arm or neck like a Ball python or Boa Constrictor. Corn snakes are always on the move. They can be quite squirmy, especially when babies. They will mellow out some as they get bigger, but they will never be a "Lap Dog" kind of snake.

The key to a "Happy" corn snake is Handle him/her every day if you can, except for a couple of days after they've eaten, and maintain their proper temperature. If a corn snakes temperature is not right, he/she will be cranky. Most of the times when i encounter somebody with a cranky corn snake it's usually because the snake is a baby and not used to them yet, or they don't have the proper temperature set up in their habitat.