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Was that a HISS?!

Cassie16

Cassie16

New member
My 8 month old corn snake is (I think) in blue, or perhaps her eyes are about to clear, I don't have the slightest clue since she's been hiding away in the same spot for three days and I haven't gotten a better look. She's a snow corn, so it really wasn't obvious when her eyes clouded, and when I noticed them I put her right back as to not disturb her.

Anyway, today is the day I usually feed her, so I wanted to see if her eyes were cloudy/cleared to get a gauge of when I could feed her again. I moved the aspen from above her, and kind of tapped her softly (usually that will get her moving so I can see where her head is) and much to my surprise, she emitted a mean little hiss.

Or, at least, that's the only thing I can think it might be. It sounded more like a puff of quick air. Or a sneeze. Except not really a sneeze at all, just quick and forceful like that. I poked her again, and same noise. At this point, I was truly confused, so one little poke, followed by another little puff of air. I then decided to stop harrassing the poor thing, misted her cage a bit, and went on my way.

I've tried googling videos of corn snakes hissing, and nothing is coming up. I've always thought hisses were much longer, breathier sounding things. Not a puff of quick air. It was really cute, but weird.

I'm guessing I was right about her going into shed, if that was a hiss. It definitely is making her bitchy.
 
No, I think it has to do with her being in blue. I've heard of that. She isn't making that noise intentionally but some skin in or around her nose may be loose or something. Mango makes that noise all the time due to a snout injury caused by himself with his previous owner.
 
To me those powerful exhales seem a sign of a bit of distress/excitement, not defensiveness. When they are in blue they might exhale a bit noisy at times even when calm, some show a bit of a swollen throat when in blue. I guess it has something to do with the fluid build up in between the old and the new skin. So, when distressed/excited when in blue there might be a bigger chance an exhale is noisy.

Defensive hissing is usually done with an open mouth, while looking at you and s- shaping.
 
So corns really do hiss? I wish I could see a video of that. I'm sure every snake has the ability, I've just never seen corns or any colubrid do it.
 
It's usually a short hiss, followed/accompanied by a warning bite (bite and retreat). However, some actually might produce a somewhat longer hiss, but never on going like for example a gopher snake.
 
Oh wow, thanks guys. I feel better now knowing that she most likely is about to shed. I didn't see any part of her move when she did it, so I guess she's not striking. I could always have my boyfriend give her a poke and look under the viv to see what her head does, but I'm not going to bother her anymore to satisfy my own curiosity.

I wish she'd just shed and get it over with so I can stop being anxious about it. I've been giving her shedding waaaay too much thought over the past few days. lol.

What happened to his snout, Dan?
 
He rubbed it raw looking for an escape, probably male breeding behavior, which is why I assume he's male. In addition he is really big.

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It's not the worst but he breathes funny. He makes puffing/wheezing/whistling/hissing noises when exhaling (not all the time) just like you are describing. It doesn't seem to bother him in the least bit. It's only when I have him out which is a lot. He's fun.
 
He's really pretty! Mango is the perfect name for him.

She still hasn't moved. This shedding process is annoying. I want to play with her :(
 
Thanks. He's pretty funny, so active and always trying to give me "snake kisses."

Yeah, my favorite part of shedding is finding the skin! Means they are done.
 
My snakes sink their sheds, so everyone goes blue one after another. My anery gives me nose bumps as a warning if I try to pick her up. Last time she snorted exactly as you described. It was cute. It seems like my snow takes so much longer to shed.
 
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