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Baby corn snake has become really aggressive

J

jollyroger

New member
So I had an albino baby corn for about 2 years but then it had some health issues and died :/. So in December I got a new baby, not sure how old but pretty young. It was a little jumpy from time to time, false striking sometimes. However in the last 2 weeks or so I can barely put my hand in his cage. He gets into that S form and tries to bite me. Sometimes he just runs around the cage until he can hide. This is really new and weird. I don't know why he's doing this and I am a bit worried. I don't know how to make him more relaxed. I've tried holding him but its a fight to even pick him up. I've read a bunch of other stuff but none of the stuff I read really matched my situation. Please help!
 
If he "runs around the cage until he can hide," I have to wonder if you have enough places for your baby to feel safe and comfortable. Babies aren't like adults. A hide on each end of the cage isn't enough. The babies come into the world defensive of everything, because in the wild, everything wants to eat them.

Try gently getting the baby used to you and comfortable. The first step to doing that is making him comfortable in his own space, and then maybe he might accept trying out yours.

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kayladewi said:
If he "runs around the cage until he can hide," I have to wonder if you have enough places for your baby to feel safe and comfortable. Babies aren't like adults. A hide on each end of the cage isn't enough.

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How big is his enclosure? Maybe its too big. For my baby I keep a hide of some sort about every 7 inches apart from one another
 
If he's a really small baby, then a plastic shoebox-sized container might make it feel more secure. You can't stick a baby corn in an adult sized cage.
 
Just a question, how did your other snake pass away? I am just curious if somewhere along the line you were presented with misinformation. It is best to get previous 'mistakes' (can't think of the proper word right now) taken care of before getting another pet. If that makes sense?

I don't know anything about your previous snake so I apologize if I am out of line.

But I agree with Michelle (AliCat37); check temps! Are you using a UTH with thermostat? Are you using another heat source? If you are also using an overhead heat bulb... REMOVE IT! There are few situations when that is needed for a corn snake!
 
JentherophisGuttatus said:
If he's a really small baby, then a plastic shoebox-sized container might make it feel more secure. You can't stick a baby corn in an adult sized cage.
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Sure you can! I typically don't, since keeping up with feeds/poops/shed is more difficult, but I've seen no evidence that a snake feels any less secure in a larger viv than a shoebox as long as they have hides.
 
Yeah, you can put a baby cornsnake in as big a viv as you want. You just have to make sure there is adequate substrate for burrowing, and hides and most important for a large space, lots of leafy cover to hide in.
 
Honestly, if it's a baby baby, you're best bet would be provide it with plenty of clutter and cover, make sure those temps are spot on, and probably leave it alone for a while. As Nanci said, that's not "aggressive" behavior, it's "terrified" behavior.

You should definitely double, triple, and quadruple check those temperatures. Overheated snakes tend to get more "aggressive" (which isn't really aggressive, it's just active and stressed with no place to cool off). Also, make sure you wash your hands before going in... sometimes they'll respond to residual scents they don't like.
 
Nythain said:
Also, make sure you wash your hands before going in... sometimes they'll respond to residual scents they don't like.
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Good point! I think that's one we often forget to mention, maybe because it seems to automatic.
 
Nythain said:
Also, make sure you wash your hands before going in... sometimes they'll respond to residual scents they don't like.
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For instance, don't handle dead rodents and then try to pick up your snake. Made that mistake with one of my pythons once...ouch! ;)

When I advised against a baby in an adult sized cage, I meant that it's a heck of a lot harder and more of a pain to be cleaning all kinds of clutter. You can stick a baby in an adult sized viv, but it can be more difficult to keep everything sanitized. Cages more in proportion to the snake's size are easier to clean, at least in my experience. Babies tend to poop more than adults.
 
JentherophisGuttatus said:
I meant that it's a heck of a lot harder and more of a pain to be cleaning all kinds of clutter.
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This is no joke. I had little Plissken set up in a 20L to grow into... and cleaning days were quite a chore. If I ever do something that young again, it's going into a tiny tub.
 
As for heating I have one of those pads you stick to the bottom of the cage underneath his main hiding place. So the right side is always really warm but the middle of the 10 gallon tank is a lot cooler, while the left side is cold. So he has plenty of different places to go for different temperatures. I might need to get him another thing to hide in on for the cooler part of the cage. Any recommendations on what to get for him?
 
I'm not real sure how a pinkie could puncture anything, they are pretty squishy.

Anyhoo, I do believe the problem is that you have an unregulated heat mat. You need a thermoSTAT pronto, your baby is getting too much heat.

Anything small and clean will work for a hide on the cooler side. An empty squished tp roll, small box, empty butter tub, etc...

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
 
You were feeding pinkies to a 2 year old snake?

Guy on campus: You know that thing can't love you. It has no frontal lobe!
Me: Your dog eats poop and licks your face.
 
kayladewi said:
You were feeding pinkies to a 2 year old snake?
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I have to agree with ya there; a 2 year old snake should be on medium mice by now, not pinkies. One of my corns is three years old, and she eats large mice no problem. That could actually be another cause of 'aggression;' if the snake is hungry, it's looking for food, and that's why it's all jumpy.
 
No the snake that they had before that died. Had it for two years and they said it died supposedly when a pinky he ate might have punctured his lung.

Guy on campus: You know that thing can't love you. It has no frontal lobe!
Me: Your dog eats poop and licks your face.
 
I really don't think a pinky would puncture anything on a 2 year old snake. I don't even think it would notice it going down.

Guy on campus: You know that thing can't love you. It has no frontal lobe!
Me: Your dog eats poop and licks your face.
 
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