another overactive question

[insomniac]

Ok, a few weeks ago I said my corn was overactive. I think she might be a he and looking for a mate? but, She shed the day after and then I fed her and she was busy digesting for 2 days. She pooped yesterday and now is going crazy again. It's only 11am and she tipped her water dish over twice already, and pushed aspen into it right after I refilled it. Do any of you guys have any tricks to get a water dish to stay put? What she does is burrow underneath it and lift it up and over. I'm not here all the time and am getting worried shes going to break the glass on the bottom of the tank. I was thinking about hot gluing it to the bottom but that might be too hard to get out to clean the dish then. Is 'she' is a 'he' this behavior will last over a month right? This is getting rather ridiculous...

BTW here is the water dish I use...
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://cdn2.iofferphoto.com/img2/item/132/479/163/r0e9.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.ioffer.com/si/water%2Bdish&usg=__YJTDfbegpfqociSI-Zdc5wp3GZ0=&h=567&w=932&sz=328&hl=en&start=24&sig2=jzMgvUbT4EDoNdJ0yUC8FA&zoom=1&tbnid=X3bwYwoOP3GbaM:&tbnh=120&tbnw=198&ei=DRtUTdz7AYSgtwe69t2hCQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dzoo%2Bmed%2Bwater%2Bdish%2Blarge%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D800%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C511&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=835&vpy=467&dur=1698&hovh=175&hovw=288&tx=208&ty=102&oei=BhtUTYHvJ8q4tgeChtnzCg&esq=2&page=2&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:10,s:24&biw=1280&bih=800

 

[Nanci]

How old is the snake? It's not uncommon for a snake of any age or sex to like to burrow under the water bowl. I use heavy ceramic dog bowls, or lately, for hatchlings, ramekins, large enough for the snake to get into. Which doesn't stop them from plowing around in the aspen and sometimes filling up their bowls with it, but they can't tip them. I like deeper sides, too.

And it's also perfectly normal for a young snake to be very active one or two days after feeding, when a large adult would still be digesting. A pink doesn't have much to it in terms of skeleton and hair, so it goes through rather quickly.

 

[insomniac]

How old is the snake? It's not uncommon for a snake of any age or sex to like to burrow under the water bowl. I use heavy ceramic dog bowls, or lately, for hatchlings, ramekins, large enough for the snake to get into. Which doesn't stop them from plowing around in the aspen and sometimes filling up their bowls with it, but they can't tip them. I like deeper sides, too.

And it's also perfectly normal for a young snake to be very active one or two days after feeding, when a large adult would still be digesting. A pink doesn't have much to it in terms of skeleton and hair, so it goes through rather quickly.

She's almost 2 and a half years old and 260 grams. She's on about weaned mice (15-23grams) each feeding, so I'm pretty sure she's getting enough food nutrients and such.. It's just weird out of nowhere one day she is constantly going nuts unless she's digesting or in blue. She was never like that before, which is why i think she might be a he. I didn't have her last year this time of year, since I got her in the start of March.. I think I might take her to my local reptile vet and get her sexed because now I'm just curious heh..

 

[Nanci]

Hmmm. Do you have a tail pic, like looking straight down at her tail, from the belly side, and looking at her tail from the side, with the tail and snake straight?

 

[insomniac]

Hmmm. Do you have a tail pic, like looking straight down at her tail, from the belly side, and looking at her tail from the side, with the tail and snake straight?

I just took these now... It's the best I could do, she didn't really want to cooperate...

 

[K. Rene]

Yeah looks like a female shaped tail to me. Guess she could be ovulating and wanting to mate. Wish my girls were, they are playing hard to get lol. Sometimes if there are like ants or bugs in the cage the snakes can go crazy. Also about the water dish, try getting a ceramic dog food/water bowl, I got some from the dollar tree, she won't be knocking something that heavy over.

 

[tinkerbella]

interesting, you can guess the sex by looking at the tail shape?!?! Ill have to upload some pics of mine. I have two that i dont know the sex of. One of wich has been more active lately as well = )

 

[Naagas]

I agree that the tail looks female. It tapers quickly after the vent. I wouldn't do the super glue thing. Maybe blue tack, like you use for posters?

 

[insomniac]

Yeah looks like a female shaped tail to me. Guess she could be ovulating and wanting to mate. Wish my girls were, they are playing hard to get lol. Sometimes if there are like ants or bugs in the cage the snakes can go crazy. Also about the water dish, try getting a ceramic dog food/water bowl, I got some from the dollar tree, she won't be knocking something that heavy over.

If she was ovulating and wanting to mate would that make her really really not want to be held also? She's usually very chill and relaxed in your hands and on your arms but when I got her out last night and just now to take pics she absolutely did not want to be touched or held it seemed like. very flighty like a baby almost, just kind of like it might have been uncomfortable. I'm hoping it's just because springtime is coming and wanting to mate and there is not anything wrong with her...

 

[bitsy]

Try giving her a humid hide as though she was about to lay. One of my females behaves like that when she's ovulating and only settling in a humid hide stops the incessant hunting around. She never lays, but if yours is looking for a place to drop a clutch of infertile eggs, it might help her.

If "she" is a "he" looking for luurve, then the hide will make no difference to the behaviour and might give you another indication of the sex.

 

[TheJadeReptile]

Can't help you with the gender. But...

Is that a repti rock dish? If so, it is not heavy enough. I suggest a ceramic bowl or a heavy one from a pet store like the Exo Terra bowls. How big is the bowl and the snake? Sorry just wondering.

 

[Nanci]

Yeah, I don't want to commit on the tail shape, although my first impression, from the first picture only, was male, because the tail, after the cloaca, is very broad.

Tinkerbella, sexing snakes by tail shape is just a guess. Not worth a whole lot. Especially from pictures, not in person. But I thought it might be very obvious, one way or the other! To me, it was not.

 

[insomniac]

Yeah, I don't want to commit on the tail shape, although my first impression, from the first picture only, was male, because the tail, after the cloaca, is very broad.

Tinkerbella, sexing snakes by tail shape is just a guess. Not worth a whole lot. Especially from pictures, not in person. But I thought it might be very obvious, one way or the other! To me, it was not.

Ok thanks I'll try to look up some pics on the net on tails male vs. female. I took her to the vet about 6 months ago for a small eye problem and the first thing the vet asked me when she saw the snake was "are you sure she's really a she?" But at the time it didn't really matter to me. Now I'm just downright curios

 

[Dreamsnake]

I know how it is to be curious about the gender. I was sold a male snow, but I now think I have a female. I counted the rows of ventral scales on the tail of the last shed skin and got 62. I'm thinking your snake is a female; since I don't know the gender of mine own serpent, feel free not to trust me.

 

[tinkerbella]

Yeah, I don't want to commit on the tail shape, although my first impression, from the first picture only, was male, because the tail, after the cloaca, is very broad.

Tinkerbella, sexing snakes by tail shape is just a guess. Not worth a whole lot. Especially from pictures, not in person. But I thought it might be very obvious, one way or the other! To me, it was not.

You learn something new every day right =) I'm gonna make my own post with my pictures and see what the majority think...if i can figure out how to post lol

 

[JP93]

Hi - I have what i was told were two male corns and then all of a sudden they appear to be attempting to mate. Can't tell which is female - one is 4ft long and 4yrs old (so I was told) and one is 3yrs old and smaller. The larger snake has been very very restless and when mating starts is jerking wildly in the viv - with its tail lashing around. The smaller snake then slithers over the larger snake and puts its head on top of the other. No sign of a hemipenes! Have tried putting a nesting box in and the larger snake has spent ages in there - but then comes out and gets all restless again. Removed smaller snake for a day - and reintroduced and they tried to mate again. No idea if they were successful. Weren't planning on breeding - but need to know which snake to move to smaller viv and leave female with large viv and nesting box? PLease help - am new to snakes and was told by pet shop these snakes always housed together and both males!!!!

 

[bitsy]

In a pair of males, that's a dominance display. You should definitely separate them as fighting and actual physical harm could happen next.

Move the smaller snake to the smaller viv.

You may have a male/female pair, but either way, they need to be separated fast. A mature male and female will inevitably mate and try to breed, regardless of whether you plan to or not.

 

[JP93]

Thanks - no sign of aggression at present but will put smaller snake back in small viv - is only temp solution though as it's not properly heated (wasn't expecting this to happen)and is too small. Snakes are my daughters and can't bear to part with either of them - so guess I'll have to purchase new viv. asap.

 

[bitsy]

Sounds like the best plan. Good luck!