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New Member with biting question

T

ttg_4

New member
Hello, I am sooo glad to find this forum. I am a 34 year old mother of 2 boys (ages 6 and 4) and also the proud owner of a corn snake. Actually, he belongs to my boys but, I am quite attatched to him.
I have a question about our snake that I hope soneone can answer. We have had our snake for alittle over 2 and a half years and he has been very dosile. He has never tried to bite. He is such a good tempered snake that we take him to my sons school and to our local library and talk with kids about snakes. A few weeks ago I went to get him out of his cage and to my SHOCK he bit me. He let go as soon as he bit but, I couldn't believe what had happened. Now i am scared of him. I have gotten him out since then (with gloves on) he hasn't tried to bite since but, he still scares me. It was time for him to be fed I don't know if he was hungry or what.
Anyway, is this something that is normal and eventually happens if you have a snake. Just wondering. Any advice would be appreciated.

I hope to get some pics of our snake up soon so everyone can see him. I have some really great pics of my sons and Cane (thats his name, cause he is a Candy Cane)

Thanks,
TC
 
My guess is you somehow startled or scared him and he reacted by biting. Maybe he was going into a shed cycle. Or something you did could have confused him into striking as if you were prey- a quick movement. If he hadn't bitten you for the previous two years, it's unlikely he'd just start up now. I think the only thing for you to do is handle him even more frequently- using gloves or a snake hook to get him out if you have to, but then switching to your bare hands. It's normal to be nervous after a bite; you just have to regain your confidence handling him, and that can only be done by putting in more handling time. If for some reason he _does_ strike at you again, it's not a good idea to give up and leave him in his viv, or put him away if you have him out. This teaches him that biting is a way to avoid coming out. Good luck!
 
Nanci pretty much summed it up right there for ya! although, if it was also feeding day, that might have confused him a bit, too.
 
Ok I feel somewhat better. All I need to do know is handle him more and hope for the best. He is a beautiful snake and I enjoy having him. My boys love him and, I have grown quite attached to him since we got him. Any more comments would be welcome.

Thanks,
ttg_4
 
You said it was feeding time, had you been handling his food and not washed your hands before you reached in for him? As they see heat, if he saw your hand and smelled a mouse, ............

Also, I'm assuming since you said you were taking him out and it was feeding time that you do not feed him in his cage?
 
I hadn't touched his food at the time he bit me, and yes I don't feed him in him cage. I feed him in another cage. He hasn't offered to bite since. I still get him out with gloves but, he hasn't tried to bite since. I hope I just startled him. I don't handle him as much as I used too. Could this have something to do with him trying to bite. When you get him out he seems to likes being out and doesn't offer to bite.

Another question, how often should I feed him. He is 3-4 years old. Just wondering if I am feeding him enough

Thanks for all the input. I don't want to be scared of him, but I don't want to get bit every time I get him out either. I haven't let my kids hold him as much as I used to since he bit me. I don't want him to get them.

Thanks,
ttg_4
 
I feed my adult cornsnakes a medium adult mouse every seven days. Others feed every ten days. At 14 days, he's going to be plenty hungry when you go to get him out.

I would be willing to bet that if he hasn't bitten you upon taking him out, he isn't going to the rest of the time he's out, unless he's suddenly very starteled, which could happen with any snake.
 
I agree with Nanci - it was likely just a one-off.

I'm a great believer in using gloves to build or regain confidence when handling. As long as he's happy with gloves, then you should be too. Don't worry - in a few weeks I'm betting you'll be keen to pick him up without. Maybe one day you'll just feel so good about him, that you'll forget to put them on. It'll just take you a little time to get back to where you were with him.

As long as he's relaxed and eating, you're doing the right things.
 
I might prescribe a Snake Movie Night. Hold him for an entire move- by the end, you'll both be quite relaxed.
 
Snakes are really good a picking up a routine. When I walk into the snake room to clean, my snakes all ignore me. When I walk in to feed, they know it and are all at the front of their cages waiting their turn. I do not put my hand in cages on feeding day.

The point of my story is that you should establish a “picking up routine”. Don’t sing God Save The Queen because he can’t hear you. If you were to tap you knuckle on the cage every time before you picked him up, he would learn that and know when it was picking up time.
 
Ahh, A snake movie night. Never thought of that but, I like it. I feel better now knowing it was probably something that I did. I just need to suck-it-up and handle him. I really appreciate all the input on my question. I am ashamed to admit that I seriously considered getting rid of him after this happened. I can't wait to get some pics of him up so everyone can see how georgous he is, (at least I think he is georgous!!) I have some really good pics of my boys holding him.

I also think I need to feed him more. I have been feeding him every 10-14 days. I am going to start feeding him every 7 days and see how that goes. The only reason I was feeding him at 10-14 days is cause that is what they told me when I bought him.

Thanks,
ttg_4
 
I feed my Tiaga(a 500plus gram) an adult mouse every 7 days. Rogue who has ALWAYS been a finicky eater since I got him a year and a half ago get a medium mouse every 7 days. So depending on large your snake is I'd go with either med or large, but would definitely go at a 7 day cycle. Good luck to you and hope to see pics soon.
 
I feed my adults one large mouse every 14 days, but it does depend on the individual Corn. There are probably as many routines as there are Corn/owner combos! Some of mine run to fat even on 14 day feeds, especially the non-breeding males.

You'll find the right one for you as you go along. If he gets tubby after a few months (beware of this - it creeps up. I know, I've been there!), then reduce the size of the food or the frequency of the feeds.

Remember that just because he might seem to "act hungry", doesn't mean a) he's on the verge of starvation, or b) you ought to feed him. Nature programmes them to be hunting all the time, and instincts don't take account of food being reliable in captivity.

Sounds like you're well on your way to a happy partnership.
 
A belated welcome. You've gotten good advice about the biting issue. One other thought that crossed my mind about it, I've noticed that my corns are really interested in tongue-sniffing my hands if I've been handling raw poultry. Of course I don't go straight from drumstick to corn snake; I wash my hands. They can still tell. They've never eated anything but mice, but I think from their reaction to the scent that they'd happily chow down on some chicken. That's a bit of a ramble, but the point was that the snake may have smelled "food" that you didn't think of as food for him. Anyway, welcome!
 
Welcome to the forums! I hope that you enjoy your time here as much as I am!

As for the "biting" issue. I don't think anyone has said it yet, and maybe I shouldn't... but I put it into my mind long ago that if you handle animals long enough, eventually, something will bite you. It is just a harsh reality. Even pet dogs and cats bite.

I know that corns are usually docile and placid, however, even corns have been known to make mistakes (or should I say their keepers have made mistakes) and have bitten out in confusion, fear, hunger, etc. One of the things I have made a mistake about is checking to see if they're hungry by running my finger by the glass to see if they'll chase it. Well, it shouldn't have been a surprise when, while I was trying to clean out the tank and change the water, that the interested corn latched onto my finger. My ooops and I acknowledge it. Didn't hurt much anyway because as soon as the snake knew I wasn't prey, it let go and kind of sulked away. LOL. Still, it was my fault.

I certainly hope you never get bit again. However, animals being as they are - unpredictable and certainly NOT tame - don't be surprised if they do bite every once in a while.

I know that there will be those who disagree and who have "never" been bitten... but I think that they're few and far between.
 
Thanks, so much for all the feedback. I have enjoyed all the great advice

As for me having something on my hand that he could have smelled other than a mouse. This is possible. There is no telling if I had been handling some sort of meat that day and didn't wash my hands good.

Also, I totally agree that if you handle snakes or, dogs for that matter, you have a greater potential for getting bit. The guy I got my snake from told me that very thing.

I also thing I could feed him more than every 2 weeks. Maybe he want be as hungry when I do get him out of his cage to handle him.

Thanks,
ttg_4
 
Feeding him a little more often (we don't want him to get obese!), might indeed solve the problem.

Also, I didn't mention it, but it would be GREAT to see some pics!

Take it easy!

Fred
 
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