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tail rattling question

Amanda E

Amanda E

Snake Addict!
I have a yearling snake that every once in a while will rattle his tail at me when I try to get him out of his cage. I know to expect this when I deal with him, but yesterday I got him out and no rattling. Then I set him down and put two f/t fuzzies in the cage. He grabbed the one and started rattling and continued to rattle his tail the entire time I was in the room while he was eating the mouse. When he was done with the one he stopped rattling but when he started to eat the second mouse he started rattling again.

This is the first time he has done this rattling while eating. Do you think it was because he was scared I would "attack" him while eating or was it his way of claiming the mouse for himself and no one else?

I figured it was the former, but my husband suggested the latter reason.

Just figured I'd ask to see what you all thought.

And while I'm at it, do you think he'll always be so nervous/jumpy? I've had him for a year and I hold him more than any of my other snakes, but he doesn't seem to have calmed down any since he was a hatchling.
 
I would go with the former they are defenseless while eating and he wanted to make you think twice about trying to "eat" him ;)

He should calm down but I have an adult that is still vicious and strikes at me constantly
 
Hey

For the first time ever one of my corns hissed and rattled its tail at me. He is 3ft and was in a feeding container. I feed him about 30min before he hissed and rattled at me. Why would he do this???:confused:

I have had him for about 1 month.

Thanks

Alex
 
Snakes are quite vulnerable while they're swallowing their prey and also for a day or two after they've eating (all that weight makes them sluggish), so yes, the assumption that it's afraid something might happen while it's swallowing is probably the correct one.

Also, anything that startles the snake may also induce tail rattling. I was giving my amel some water the other day and poured the water in from a cup instead of filling the bowl and putting the bowl in and the sound of the water dropping down made him rattle his tail at me.

-Lemur 6
 
Actually...when I got my corn snake in July 2003, I was HOPING that I might get to witness the behavior of rattling the tail. That is one of those behaviors which is a trademark characteristic of rat snakes, bull snakes, and pine snakes. (In case u didnt know :) ) I wanted my new pet snake to exhibit normal behavior...and there's NOTHING MORE NORMAL than rattling of the tail, hissing, and striking in rat snakes. So, maybe I WISH I had your problem, Amanda



:p


P.S. The tail rattling is a defensive posture which rat snakes use to try to ward off an attacker...in addition to this...they also will hiss, and try to strike at their attacker....(even when there is no threat :) ) I would suggest that being nervous and jumpy and rattling the tail go hand in hand. The snake probably still perceives you as a threat to him, which would explain all of that stuff.
 
Greetings,

One of my hatchlings, who happens to be an Okeetee, has rattled her little tail at me before. She's generally somewhat nervous and one time I had to 'chase her down' for a feeding, and that put her in a rather defensive "don't eat me you giant SOB" kind of mood. She rattled like crazy, even after I picked her up, and I could hear the sound of her tail buzzing loudly. It was kind of interrersting to tell you the truth. She kept buzzing for a minute or two and then calmed down.

Since then she's calmed down rather nicely overall even though she's still a bit nervous at times. I regard rattling as a warning sign that they just want to be left alone and not that they are going to strike necessarily. But they all have their own personalities so your mileage may vary. ;)


Cheers,
Jason
 
My corn often rattles at me - usually when i first disturb him to pick him up. It seems that once he realises it's only me then he stops. He's never rattled his tail at my wide though.

I believe that many a corn snake has been mistaken for a rattlesnake in the wild by people who don't know the difference and wasted pest control officers time!! lol
 
got the answer

:D i catch many of my snakes out in the wild mostly rat snakes, when i got to catch them they will start flikn there tale around like crazy for a warning. when your snake is eating and the food is half way in his mouth he is completly defensless. so he is scared ur gona eat em. this is probly another sign of why he is so jumpy when u handle him. for some reason he is still not so sure about humans handling him. ur snake is just more aggressive then some , thats all, u need to just keep handling him and more often forlonger periods of time so he has enoutime to adjust and feel comfterable in your hand. GOOD LUCK;)
 
i actually noticed mine tail rattle for the first time about 10 min ago. But when i looked closer, i also noticed it was about to shed so i'm assuming it couldnt see as well thru the clouded eye caps and was on extra caution. Such a cute lil thing.
 
In the year that I have had my three corn snakes.. I have yet to witness a rattling of the tail. When I first purchased my crimson female yearling, she was a little precautious, naturally.. but the worse she did was hiss at the glass, when I walked by. However, two weeks later, she turned out to be the sweetest snake of them all.. Hopefully I don't run into the rattling tail problems.
 
The only time mine has ever rattled her tail, was after feeding her, and I went to transfer her to her viv. I had unfortunately not checked the size of the fuzzies that the pet store had picked out for me. I had called ahead to have them get me some since I was running late, and they were about to close. The mice were really small, and my snake was still hungry. When I went to get her out of the feeding box, she was still striking at things. She sure wasn't satisfied with the minimal snack she just had! Once she figured out that there wasn't any more coming.....she mellowed out.
 
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