I am sick of my Corn Snake

peep_827 said:

By any chance is your bitey baby an okeetee? Mine tried to tag my nose when I had to stop and check out his beautiful little self while transferring him to his deli cup the 1st time I fed him. Kathy had mentioned to me at some point that her okeetees tend to be a little wild at first but usually settle down, so I'm not too worried it.

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LOL- I've also heard that, but surprisingly enough it's the Crimson that's bitey. The Okeetee got the S position thing going but didn't follow through.

I'm sure the FedEx trip from FL to NY is the main culprit. I'd come out of that box looking to tag somebody too

"IMHO I think this kid isn't going to listen to us, he/she will only hear/read what they want to hear and ignore everything else."

I think thats a bit harsh.

I suspect it was the way he/she chose to title the thread that got my hackles up first~ it sounded immature and got on my nerves. BUT~ actually read through the thread. He/She has not ignored our advise. At least not in this thread. On 7/8 he/she posted that the snake was biting him/her. We explained why (I suggested he/she get a pet rock because I was in a foul mood) and we gave suggestions on how to deal with the bitey problem.

A week later (A WEEK like we told him/her) on 7/15 he/she posted again that he/she had fed the snake and attempted to handle it. This is what we told Him/her to do! GOOD.

We followed that with a bit more advise~ and then the board seems to have commenced to ripping him/her a new *******

This is probably a kid. Asking for advice. Following the advise he/she was given~ then then when he/she asked for more advice on the same subject (After following our initial advise) He/she gets treated to:
"IMHO I think this kid isn't going to listen to us, he/she will only hear/read what they want to hear and ignore everything else."

He/she doesn't deserve that. I'm guessing the poster is a fairly young person~ but even at my age~ that would really insult me.

Just my two cents.

What JM ) said covered my thoughts really....

Ocelot any progress ??

One thing I would comment about is your nervousness, when I started handling my snake I was nervous to the point that I got clammy hands, which made it difficult for her to move around on which I know for a fact she didnt like !!
Now I am more confident my hands stay dry, and yes she still goes all defensive especially when I go to pick her up after a couple of days of not handling after feeding, she loves to rattle her tail and I swear she hissed at me the other day but that could have been a rattle also ( sounded like a hiss )

Also are you maybe restricting movement by gripping, or are you letting it move freely around your hands ?

Kudos Cheryl and good advice Jnky. Everyone can get a little nervous around a particular snake. I just got my Green Tree Python, and I was very nervous picking her up for the first time. After hearing all the stories about how much they bite, and worrying that I might injure her etc. I was pretty much as nervous as I could get.
Fortunately, she's a very mellow snake, and so I've gotten much better with her now. I also realize that she's not going to be injured by me if I take reasonable care. They aren't as fragile as we suspect! I suspect that some of the nervousness comes from the worry that you'll drop it, or hurt it in some way while it's fighting to run off. Hang in there Ocelot, and I suspect as time goes on, that your snake will calm all on her own and you'll have a great pet. It might take some time, but it will come.

MegF. said:

Kudos Cheryl and good advice Jnky. Everyone can get a little nervous around a particular snake. I just got my Green Tree Python, and I was very nervous picking her up for the first time. After hearing all the stories about how much they bite, and worrying that I might injure her etc. I was pretty much as nervous as I could get.
Fortunately, she's a very mellow snake, and so I've gotten much better with her now. I also realize that she's not going to be injured by me if I take reasonable care. They aren't as fragile as we suspect! I suspect that some of the nervousness comes from the worry that you'll drop it, or hurt it in some way while it's fighting to run off. Hang in there Ocelot, and I suspect as time goes on, that your snake will calm all on her own and you'll have a great pet. It might take some time, but it will come.

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In addition to this Ocelot, I'm with you too. Don't give up, and don't listen to the posts telling you to choose another pet. We were all there once. :cheers:

No kidding. I just got 2 adult corns, and no they are not huge, however the first time I picked them up I was a bit nervous. They were fine tho. My new hatchlings are a different story, they go crazy when I pick them up! I'm not nearly as worried about getting bit as hurting one of them by accident while they are thrashing around and/or striking. I don't think I should give up snakes just cause that makes me a little nervous. I just suck it up and pick up the snake anyway. I think Ocelet will be fine . . . he just needs to remember that the only thing to fear is fear itself. LOL

another thing you could try (we did this with our first snake, who also bit) is put one of your socks on your hands, get your scent on it, then put it in your snakes cage. this way he gets used to your smell, so when your near him he is familiar with the scent of YOU.


i had a similar situation with my baby, just take the advice of these folks, and try to get your hands on Kathy Love's book.

Good Luck bud

Well I have been trying to lift him now with a pair of rubber gloves, he still bites but it doesn't bother much as much. Today I lifted him and he crapped and peed on my hands! Is normal!

Oh and how long do you take a snake out for a time for him to get used to you?

At first start taking him out for 5 mins, and as he and yourself get used to each other add a couple of minutes on each time. Thats what I did anyway.

That's great news, very good job.
My still craps on me now and then. I agree with the above, this will workout. Don't give up.

Good Luck and keep us posted. :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

Good! it sounds like you are making some progress! I wouldn't worry about the pooping thing. One of mine (Melony) goes to the bathroom immediately after coming out of her viv almost every time. Shes a lazy one though, and even at night only makes 1 or two laps around the viv before going back to bed. I think that when she comes out she starts moving around more than usual and that kind of "loosens her up," so to speak. Anyway, we just usually make sure we have a paper towel handy to catch her little mess as soon as she starts making the motions to "go." We're hoping she'll outgrow this, lol.

I'm glad things are starting to work out for you, Ocelot. Just keep working at it, I'm sure you and your little snake will be buddies in no time!