Hello folks.

I'm new here and not sure where to post this, but since it's a newby kind of question I thought the kids forum might be the place.

I'm having some problems with an agressive female okatee corn snake. I got her as a hatchling, she was kind of flighty and shy as I'd expect a hatchling to be, but she was becoming more mellow and easier to handle as she grew, and with regular handling; then I got sick, and wasn't able to handle her with any kind of regularity for a few months. Now she's grown, and has become aggressive.

She hisses and strikes at me when I handle her, and recently even when I try to do anything around her cage, which is really frustrating. She strikes at the cage before I even open the enclosure. I'm not exactly terrified of being bitten - I've been bitten by bigger snakes and didn't think it was any kind of big deal - but her aggressive posturing works on me better than it should, I'm embarassed to say. It's taken all the fun out of playing with her, and I've lost confidence in my ability to help her learn to feel relaxed around people.

I guess I didn't realize how easy I had it with my last corn snake - I bought him as a nearly full grown adult, he was already very sweet, seemed to enjoy being handled, and never showed any hint of aggression, although I stupidly fed him nothing but live mice, not knowing any better. My current corn gets frozen mice only, every 14 days, in a plastic container, but she still goes after the hand that brings in the container.

Thanks in advance for any advice, and your for patience.
Carolyn

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