One pissed off corn snake

My snake is a very violent snake. Ever since he bit me he has never been the same. He never seems content when i try to handle him. When i do try to handle him he tries to squirm out of my hand and fall to the floor where he runs under my bed and quickly gets into his defensive position. Every time I try to get it out of its tank it cocks its head back ready to strike my hand at any moment. But recently i managed to piss off my snake really bad. It was feeding day for my snake, so i picked up the rock he hides under and tried to pick him up to get him to his separate tank with newspaper. But before i could pick him up he managed to get into strike position. I took a pencil to try to pick him up from underneath his body rather than my hand. He started to run but i managed to get him on to the snake and into his other tank. As soon as he got into the other tank he struck at the glass(most likely going for my hand). He then cocked his head back again, and started to rattle his tail just like a rattlesnake. Now i know he cant actually rattle his tail, but his tail was moving so quickly against the newspaper, that it sounded just like a rattlesnake. I have never seen this behavior in my snake. Is this normal for all newborn snakes? How do i get my snake to become more comfortable. Is there a proper way to pick up my snake, because it seems that when i use my finger to scoop up under his body it seems to startle him. If i cant use my hands to pick up my snake what should i use? I appreciate any advice or comments.

Yes, hatchlings can be rather testy until they grow a little and learn that you're no harm to it.

Things that can help are, leaving an old T-shirt in your snake tank so your snake can get familiar with your smell, use extremely slow and deliberate movements (don't be afraid of getting bit, because it doesn't hurt and it'll only fuel your snake's aggression), and just leave him alone when you don't need to bother him so he can calm down, wash your hands with the same exact kind of soap everytime before you handle your snake, so he can associate you with that smell.

Though I do have one snake who stayed aggressive even as an adult, but this is extremely rare for corns. My blizzard is now 2 years old and a heft 3 feet long, and not only does she bite me, but she coils and constricts me as well.

Also I my amel was extremely skittish and aggressive when it was a hatchling, and now he's the most mellow snake I have. The tail buzzing is pretty common in alot of hatchlings, so no worries.

Seems like you just need to let the lil guy some time to grow. Also, try to come from the side as to trying to grab him from above (I think that's what you were trying to do with the pencil). Also if it lessens your fears, wear cotton gloves when handling your snake, so if it bites you, you won't even know. Just be smooth and deliberate, no jerky motions, and go slow. Also the more you handle him, the more he'll get used to you, but don't do it too often as to stress him out (once a day should be good, and no handling for 2-3 days after feeding). Also, do you have enough places for the lil guy to hide? Sometimes they get real pissed off when they dont have a nice place to hide, makes them inscure.

-13mur 6

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Thanks for the advice. Will the t-shirt idea actually work? Ive heard that the hatchlings act this way but the wierd thing was, was that he used to be very calm and would have no problem with me handling him until he escaped one night, never to be the same snake again.

Its not the fear of getting bit with me because it really doesnt hurt it is only a little startling, but it is the fact that it seems that he continues to grow more and more aggressive with me. I dont know if I should leave him be except on feeding days, or if i should handle him every day, or if i should handle him just 2-3 times a week.

Would it help me to leave my hand by the snakes head so that he can catch my scent or would that aggitate him more. Also when i lift up his rock he is mostlikely sleeping, so should i pick him up right away or should i wait a few minutes to allow him to wake up and adjust to the light?

I have a 70 gallon tank with 7 large flat rocks for him to hide under, also he will bury himself in the mulch to conceal himself. Plus i have a hollowed out log for quick shelter.

One more question, i have never seen my snake on the warm side of the cage. He always seems to go to the rock that is 3/4 of the way away from the warm side. is this unusual or typical. I occasionally find my snake up against the glass all coiled up and my room gets somewhat cold at night due to my fan so is this ok for my snake or do you think it might endanger my snake due to the temperature?

Oh, now that makes a bit more sense.

Snakes after an escape are usually really pissed off for some reason or another. But the most probable cause is from stress and it was scared to heck when it was out on its own in your house where it could easily have been stomped or sat on by accident.

I guess one way to figure out how frequently to handle is with experimentation. Try handling everyday, and then once a week, and then 2-3 times a week, see if there's any change in behavior. Also, for how long do you handle? Do you continue to handle even after it tries to bite? Try letting it bite you and just don't do anything, let it hang and and figure out for itself (can be pretty funny sometimes too), or another thing you can do is get a towel and spread it out on a flat surface and let the snake on the towel and make a fence around it with your arms and guide the snake to prevent it from going away from you by placing your arms infront of it's movement, it usually gets their curiosity up once they figure out they can't run away.

Yes, let the snake know you're there before you pick him up, and when you lift the rock, do it real slow and gently. You'll often see the iris contract to adjust to the bright light, I usually wait until my snake perks up and starts looking around before I let it see my hand. One method is to simply freeze and let the snake "scope you out" before you pick him up. The shirt method works sometimes for real nervous snakes to calm down when you approach them, since your scent is so familiar to them already, doesn't work all the time, but sometimes it works.

Just as a side question how big is this snake? 70 gallon tank sounds huge for a hatchling. I guess this is simply a matter of personal preference but I tend to keep small snakes in smaller enclosures to keep a better eye on them (and it seems they feel a bit more secure in a smaller space too, for some reason or another, probably because they know every single corner in it in less time than in a big tank).

How hot is your warm side? Like directly on the floor of the cage? Most often people will find that it's way too hot (the air temps will read 80 deg F, but the ground temp in actuality is something like 105 deg F). But I wouldn't worry too much about your snake hanging around on the cool side, they seem to know better than us on what temps they need (or like).

-13mur 6

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I have heard that about escaped snakes. I used to handle the snake everyday and i would let it crawl around for a good 20 minutes. But ever since it got out i have only handled it every 3 or so days and only for 5-10 minutes depending on how mad he is that day.

I was thinking that i was going to fast with picking up the rock and the snake but i wasnt sure, thanks. when i see that he is biting i usually put his rock back and i leave him alone, but your actually suggesting to me to let him bite me whenever he is mad. Do you really think that is going to make the snake nicer?

My snake is only about 18-20 inches long but i just figured that he would like the space a little bit more, plus he seems to know the tank fairly well because he always seems to find that one rock and he is always going around the tank trying to find a way out(but thats never going to happen again, not after what happened the last time).

Im not really sure about the temperature, but it doesnt seem extremely hot and the snake probably knows where he needs to stay to keep warm but not cause harm. Also one last question, how often do snakes sleep. I usually never see my snake in the day, although my room is dark due to my room darkening shades, but i dont always see my snake out at night either. Really i see it the same amounts whether it be night or day.

dhs545 said:

but your actually suggesting to me to let him bite me whenever he is mad. Do you really think that is going to make the snake nicer?

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By letting the snake bite you , you are showing the snake that you are not afraid..Keep in mind most snakes strike to scare you away..If the snake strikes and you leave him alone, he'll think that by striking you he can be left alone..Try a little bit of reverse physcology and show him that you are not afraid of him striking..Constant handling and repeated bites are what calms down a mad snake and makes them "tame"..90% of the time anyways..Try it out for a few weeks..

Yep, dizzt_19 said exactly what I was getting at. Maybe handle for a little longer too, like 15 minutes, to give him time to figure things out instead of letting him get what he wants.

I don't think snakes quite "sleep", but rather "zone out". Sometimes when I handle my snakes they zone out on me and don't react to what's going on (I could grab their tails and look at their undersides etc, check for things on their scales and they simply won't respond to much of it unless I move them around alot). Sometimes I see my snakes awake in the morning (usually because they have to poo or take a drink of water), and sometimes don't see them for days at a time (after a big meal for example). New snakes seem to hide out for much longer periods of time, sometimes seemingly for months, but they do come out when you're not around.

I think adult snakes who are a bit more carefree roam around alot more, and they usually roam around at night compared to daytime. A couple of my snakes almost always come out at night and start kicking their hides around and make a ruckus (dunno, maybe they're bored ).

-13mur 6

Yesterday i was feeding Akasha and it was the first time i got her to strike at the food it startled me so much i just couldn't understand how my sweet little snake could become so violent!

Heehee, sometimes when I give my snakes their mice after a longer than usual time period between feedings I see them actually drool while they're eating. And sometimes they get really excited and start biting random things, as if they were in a feeding frenzy. But I don't think it's an "aggressive" thing, more like an excited thing, like when people are hungry, they're so engrossed in the eating that sometimes they bite their fork or their own tongues .

-13mur 6

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I gently turned the rock over this time and waited for him to come to his senses. It was kinda wierd because usually i turn over the rock quickly and i guess it startles the snake, but this time i dont think he reacted to the light. But anyway when he came to his senses i put my hand by my snake to let him get a whif of me but it seemed that he only smelled and got scared. So after about 7 minutes after i thought he had a good enough smell, i attempted to pick him up from the side by using a scooping action. I went very slow, making sure i wouldnt startle him, but apparently if i touch him at all he goes running and attempts to bury himself. What do i do. Do i pick him up while hes on the run, because that seems to be the time that he is aggitated the most. Or do i try to pick him up differently or let him get a better smell?

Also do you think my 70 gallon tank is too big for my snake?

If he's on the run just grab him, but gently, get your thumb and index finger on his midsection, and lift slightly while you slide your other hand under to support and pick him up.

Or if he's curled up in a ball cup both your hands around him and scoop him up. (Dija try the towel and fencing with your arm? On top of a bed is a perfect place).

I know it can be frustrating to have such a high wired snake, just keep trying and he'll learn sooner or later. Do you feed him in a separate container? Sometimes that's enough to associate you to a good thing.

But yeah, about the 70 gal tank, 70 gal is a huge tank even for an adult cornsnake. Most cornsnakes live their whole lives in 20 gallon tanks.

-13mur 6

Thanks for the handling instructions. I will try them. But as for the 70 gallon tank, he doesnt even use half of it. He stretches out occasionally along the glass, but he mainly hides under his favorite rock on the cold side. Also, if i would get another corn snake do you think this would stress him out more, or give him some nice company. Because when my brother first got his snake we had them both in the same tank and they would curl up on top of each other.

Dhs,
As long as this is a small snake you're talking about, believe me, it will not hurt you at all to be bitten. I know it's a scary proposition to pick up a defensive snake in a striking pose rattling its' tail, but you will so overcome this fear after a few tries. Read CowBoyWay's Pavlov bit, too. If you leave the bugger alone when he does that, you could have a beast of an adult on your hands.
Do you have any friends around who have kept lots of snakes? Maybe they can come over and get him out for you. Usually they calm down after a few minutes. I ocassionally have wild caught adults sent to me and I'll even wear long sleeves for some big nasty males at first. Honestly, 99% of corns will respond to frequent gentle handling.
As for the 70 gallon tank, great! He's living the good life. I would check the temps in the cage with a good digital thermometer. 78 to 82 is ideal. Much warmer can get them cranky too.

I would have to say not to get another snake. Doing so would probably cause stress to your hatchling snake as it's already aggitatated by your handling already. Though some snakes seem to curl up together, it's not because they "like" each other, but more that they decided to feel like being at the same temperature at the same time and can stand each other enough to curl up together. But then again, you have such a huge tank, they might totally not know the other is around until they happen to meet at say the water bowl one night. Also, beware of cannibalism.

Like I said about the 70 gal tank... it's on the big side. Snakes have very small territories, because there's so much of an abundance of food in even in small territories (mostly due to the huge territories mice have). But if your snake grows to be a 6 ft monster, then heck, 70 gal should give him plenty of playground space, maybe even space for a cage mate or two (if you do decide to keep multiple snakes in the 70 gal, make sure you have multiple hot spots, and not just one).

-13mur 6

For whatever its worth, if I want to play with my snakes, I wait until they're out of their hides & exploring before I take them out. I figure, as much as I love them, they are at my mercy & I want them to feel that they have a place they can get away from me! So if they're in their hides, I leave them alone, unless I have a really good reason to disturb them.

Also, my yearlings are so curious, that usually all I have to do is open the screen and tap on the rim & they'll come up to investigate - this has been true for most of the time I've had them. Once they've extended their length, I can gently get my fingers underneath them and lift them out. Occasionally, they'll shy away from my movements - if that happens, I just freeze for a few moments, to let them adjust, then try again.

Maybe try opening your snake's enclosure some evening and just watch to see if he'll get curious enough to explore? (Make sure you don't get distracted though, or you'll never see him again! i.e. open tank + unexpected phone call = bad mojo)

Kp

Thats great advice in all Kp&Co, but what if your snake never comes out. In the past week i have not seen him out once. When i picked up his rock to get him out he didnt want to crawl around. He just burrowed his way under the mulch until i left, then he made his way back to his rock. So what do i do in this situation. I feel that if i leave him alone until i actually see him, then he will feel that his rock is a safe place to go. So should i keep flipping over his rock and handling him to get him used to me, or should i leave him alone and only handle him when i see him?

he definitely crawls sometime....

Check when you first get up in the morning and in the evening. Surely when he's getting hungry he explores that 70 gallon mansion! BTW, not to disagree with the other posts, but I think a 48 by 18" tank is a great home. Most corns don't live in 20 gallon tanks their whole lives, they live in the great outdoors. I'd be hard pressed to guess how much a baby corn travels in the wild, but it's surely a lot more than 4 feet.
Unless he's digesting, you can wake him and handle him, it's just not optimal. He'll be more stressed and spooked. And it doesn't lend its self to ideal "training." I have 11 adult corns and several subadults; I have to clean their cages, change substrate, water bowls and what have you with no regard to their state of alertness. I do get the occasional tail rattle from a couple of them, but grab them anyway. They get the message. Only new wild caught snakes or snakes in the field have ever actually bitten me, and once you see how little even a big male can do, you'll be over the fear. I'd rather most corns bite me than poop all over me .

I just picked up my snake using the scoop method. He tried to get away again but i managed to get him up. He was not aggressive this time, but he was extremely squirmy. Im not sure if he was trying to get away from me, or if he was just exploring. About a month ago he did squirm his way out of my hands and fall to the ground. He then crawled under the bed and got into strike position. This is the only reason i am hesitant about letting him crawl anywhere besides my hands, because i am not sure if he will try to get away again.

Yep, corns are pretty squirmy things. Even as adults, they're not going to stay still (reason why they're so hard to photograph). They're generally very curious things, and will be constantly on the move when they're not hiding. The one way I got my corns to stop moving was to let them hide in a fold of my shirt (I wear overly large shirts, ). If you get the corn to weave in an out of your parted fingers, it'll give you more "security" when it comes to falling. I offer my parted fingers to my snakes when I handle them and they generally seem to like to weave through them.

It's good to hear you're making progress also, that was a pretty fast turn around on your snake's part IMHO.

-13mur 6

Thanks for all the advice 13mur6 i just wasnt sure if my snake was just overly aggressive compared to other snakes. But thanks to all the feedback from you and others i have found out that its just part of the nature of corn snakes. I guess i was just so used to seeing others snakes and they would always be calm. Thanks.