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My corn twitches when touched

J

Jigsaw

New member
Hi guys

I've just joined this site.

I have a corn snake that's about 10 years old now and i've had him since he was a hatchling.

Most of the time when I handle him he's fine, but sometimes he goes twitchy, as if he's really scared. Is this normal and is there anything I should do at those times to help him feel safe?

Thanks in advance.

Keith
 
Is he spooked by noise or if you move too fast? He could also be in breeding mode I hear they can vibrate...seriously:)
 
Sounds like he really "likes" you, to me! I can get any of my snakes to twitch, if I pet them just right!
 
I could just be moving too fast sometimes, coz it happens when I attempt to pick him up.

I always pick him up in the same way and most of the time he doesn't twitch.

And to Nanci, I laughed out loud when you said that! I'm pretty sure it's not him reacting in THAT kind of way, lol. Although, he does squirm a lot when I rub his tummy Lol
 
If it's twitching like when you touch a horse really lightly, like when they are trying to get a fly off- that's how snakes communicate with each other.
 
The twitching is very heavy, like he's spasming, and he does it repeatedly until I let him go.

This only happens now and then though
 
That's the way a male acts when he's feeling romantic. You aren't by chance spinning any Barry White records while this is happening, are you?:dgrin:
 
Oh, well I guess I don't need to worry then. That's a relief. Lol.

Also, i've been doing a lot of reading about wheezing and i'm a bit concerned that he may have a respiratory problem.

I've only heard him wheeze about 5 times in the last few years though. I never thought anything of it coz I thought it was simply hissing, but from what i've been reading about wheezing i'm a bit worried now.

He acts perfectly normal though, he's active and eating normally and has no other signs of an infection, it's just the very, very occasional wheezing. Could it be non-respiratory related?
 
I dont think there is any reason to worry about the wheezing either. Snakes will do that, and its more of a snake sneeze (although I'm not sure what they are actually doing when they make the noise). If hes not doing it regularly theres no need to worry.
 
I've found that females do that " dancing jig" in a much more pronounced manner. Is there a chance you have a female? Who sexed the snake and how did they do it? Popping or probing?
 
I agree with Kyle. It's the zekzy dance. The herky-jerky. I've seen males and females do it, but females seem to do it more amorously and ardently.
My humble opinion, since I first noticed it back in the 1970's.
 
Awww! You're snakey loves you! My amel girl loves on Matt all the time! It's cause he's so smexy!
 
You guys haven't seen Zee do it. I thought he was going to- you know...Want to talk about whatever came up. Or out, as the case may be.
 
Funny/interesting story,...and...on topic!
I had an adult female Texas Rat Snake given to me, in 1977 or 1978, by a college grad student friend at the time. And her hatched clutch of about 10 or 12 hatchlings. Boy did I enjoy taking care of and watching these snakes, and others I brought home.
Long story short, I soon learned that Hannibal (yes I named her Hannibal) reacted in two different ways to other Texas Rats or Black Rat Snakes when I put them in her aquarium.
She either 1) did the herky-jerky dance...and a lesser herk-jerky dance response was often, but not always, reciprocated, or...2) did minimal sniffing then fled in indifference.
I have a fire female now, who does something very similar. If I handle a male and don't wash my hands....I get a big hot & heavy herky-jerky dance from her, quite...amorous(?). Ohh Myy......... :laugh:
Handle a female, don't wash hands, handle Rosamund, no herky-jerky.

I have not tested the converse of this with a known herky-jerky male, but I hope to do so.

Am I advocating this type of experimentation as an accurate procedure to sex your snake? Hmmm........Nnoooo.........
But it sure is fun. Yes I am weird.
 
ForkedTung said:
I've found that females do that " dancing jig" in a much more pronounced manner. Is there a chance you have a female? Who sexed the snake and how did they do it? Popping or probing?
Click to expand...



Actually, I havn't had it sexed, I just always refer to it as a him.

Are there any videos of snakes doing this 'dancing jig' thing? If that's how it looks then maybe it's not doing that - coz there's nothing graceful about it when he does it, it's just a violent spasm
 
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