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Change of Behavior

S

SoccerGod

New member
Hey guys,

I got a corn snake about 2 months ago. So far everything's been fine. I feed him three days ago and had no problems. Yesterday he was crawling around the screen roof of his cage and he fell. Subsequently I was going to pivk him up a few minutes later and he literally snapped at me. I gave him some time to cool off in case he was startled at his small fall, but he's been freaking out ever since. He snapped at me today whenever I got my hand in the cage and when I finally was able to pick him up he bolted outta my hands twice before I was able to put him back in his cage. He's never acted like this before and I'm worried. He's got water and was just fed....cage is about 78 degrees. Looks to be some very knowledgable corn snake people here....Any thoughts on what could be wrong?

Brett
 
Hi Brett

It would be my guess that nothing is wrong, but first a few questions: Is your snake very young? Have you been handling it a lot? How do you approach him when you go to pick him up?

I think most young snakes are prone to behave just as your snake is, that is rather skittish, snappish at times, and they move like lightening in your hands! Sometimes my 4 month old snake will seen scared to death when I reach in to pick her up, and it's like she's making a mad dash for it in my hands, but other times she will settle down as I'm holding her. My older snake is no where near as hyper and is now very calm whenever I pick her up. So I really think it may be perfectly normal if you have a young one.

When you pick him up, try not to come down on him from above with your hand, especially toward his head. (You'll look like a big eagle ready to eat him!) Instead, pick him up more towards his middle area, and get your other hand under his "neck" area as you lift him. Young snakes can be snappish when being picked up. He will calm down as he gets bigger and as he gets used to you handling him.

My baby likes to climb on her tank top too, and also falls once in a while, but I really don't think it hurts them. Hope this helps! :)
 
I know this isn't addressing the entire problem but you say that your cage temp is 78...do you have a temperature gradient? Meaning do you have a cool side around 75, and a warm side of about 85 degrees?

Im only asking b/c 78 degrees would be around the cool side and corns need a warm side to properly digest.

Anyway, if your corn is a hatchling i would say that was pretty normal behavior from what I heard around this forum. Don't worry, they calm down as they get older and as they get used to their new surroundings.

Hope this helps :)
 
I got him (it...not sure if it's male or female) 2 months ago as a gift from my girlfriend. He's quite young as far as I know....approximately 12-14 inches and a little thicker than a pen. I've never had problems handling him before (always pick him up from the middle) but recently I have been neglecting the time spent handling him which I know is not great. The main problem was that he was fine on Sunday when I picked him up and 2 days later (Tuesday night) he tweaked out when I put my hand in the cage. I know it won't hurt when he bites but when he lunged it scared the crap outta me and by reflect i shot my hand away from him. As for the cage temperature 76-78 is the cool side away from the heat lamp. I'm just tryng to find a reason for the quick turnaround. Thanks for all of the advice thusfar though!!!

Brett
 
Could your snake be getting ready to shed?? That sometimes can cause a big change in behavior. I swear my snow just plain hates shedding! She looks and acts miserable for a whole week before. I've also seen posts on this forum where young snakes just go through a grumpy "phase" after being docile, and then get over it. Kind of like the terrible twos??
(Maybe he was just having a bad day.)
 
I sure hope it's just a short phase....Phoenix is still getting defensive and curling up when I reach my hand in to handle him.
 
keep at it

I have had a similar problem with my male corn some months ago. I let him bee for a couple of days and then started handling him with more frequence and he is now as calm and docile as he can be.
It IS frightning when they strike at you the first time though :D
Lisa ^_^
 
i am sorry i don't think anything is wrong with him other than he just changed his temperment. good luck.



p.s. this is my 100th post, YAAAAAA!!
 
I'm feeding him a pinkie per week...he's always been fine up until a few days ago....he was just fed today so hopefully he'll calm down now that he has a full stomach :)
 
you cud try just more gentle handing say for ten min at a time ,sort of short but regular handling to see if that improve him
as ginnyo mention cud be coming to a shed ??:D
 
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