Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've had my snake for a little over a year now. She's about three feet long and she's a hypolucistic black corn snake. When I first got her, she was very calm and only a little head shy. After working with her for a while, she stopped being head shy too.

Lately, she's been acting very strangely. When you try to pick her up she flails around and flips her tail in a way that reminds me of a rattle snake because it makes a little buzzing sound when it's hitting the glass of her cage. When you actually get a hold of her, she tries to get away from you even more. She slides around and darts toward the nearest object that isn't you. I'm worried she might start biting or being agressive with the younger kids in the house.

Does anyone here know what might be causing her to act this way? Is there any way to fix this problem?

If anyone has any ideas, I'd be very grateful for your input.

~~Elaana

When was the last time you handled it? Even if it was tame before but if it has been several weeks since you last handled it, it may be spooked. Or it could be some smell on your hands it instinctively feels threatened by. Try washing your hands before you handle the snake.

Thanks, I'll try that. ; )

~elaana

You'll want to make sure you don't condition your snake to continue to respond this way.

If you let it's behaviour desuade you from handling it then it will have been sucessful and continue to act this way.

I guess you need to think about how, when and where you've been handling and if anything (aside form the snakes behaviour) has changed.

Make sure the snake feels secure in it's cage. Snug dark hides are important for many snakes.

There's no real cut and dry answer, sorry.

Clint

Hmm...she has a hide log... nice and big with a small pit under it. I thought this would be enough. Does she need more? Her cage isn't very big either...I was planning on getting a bigger one soon though.

I'm already picking her up more and handling her. But I wanted to make sure she wasn't in snake heat or something.

~~elaana

It could be a few things why the snake is acting this way. If you handle them too often, they will become stressed. How often are you handling the snake? How long after the snake has eaten do you handle it? The snake needs at least 24 to 48 hours after its eaten until being handled again. Waiting 48 hours would be better. Also, is your snake wild caught or captive bred? If it is wild caught it could very well be stressed and very afraid of people. What size is your cage? You might need a larger cage now for the snake. Look into these things and I look forward to hearing back from you how things are going. Good luck.

I have no idea if my snake is wild or captivity bred. I rescued her from the Humane Society where I work. My mom and I were the only people there with any experience with snakes.

As for handling her after she eats, I make sure to wait the full 48 hours before handling her. I once had a snake throw up on me from too much handling right after they had eaten (it was my uncle's snake and he didn't know the handling rule). I have no urge to ever experience THAT again.

Before she got so unruley, I used to handle her at leats once every day or so for about an hour or so. I also made sure to have other people handle her so she didn't get people shy.

Howver, I recently had to move, and during the cleaning and packing process I had less time to handle her. I noticed her odd behavior a little after the move, when she was being agressive more agressive but I thought it was just a reaction from the move. So I didn't handle her much while unpacking either. But that was months ago.

I know the tank she's in is kinda small, I was planning on buying her a new one after I get my next pay. However, it's around 2' by 1' and it's 1 and 1/2' tall.

Does anyone have any idea how big a tank should be for a 3 foot snake?

~~Elaana

The cage is a bit small for the snake. It will do for a 3 foot snake, but a bit larger is better. It is a corn snake, so it will probably still grow a bit bigger yet. When you get a bigger tank, try a 50 gallon tank or an enclosure about 4 feet by 2 feet by 2 feet. This would be perfect for an adult corn snake. Of you can't get a hold of this, a 40 gallon tank or a little bit smaller will do, but I recommend you get at least a 50 gallon or so. Generally, the main thing you have to look at with most snakes and the size of their cage is take the length of the snake and make the width and the length of the cage about that same length. This is the basic size the enclosure should be for most snakes. So, for example, if you have a 6 foot snake, the length of your cage could be 4 feet, and the width could be 2 feet. Good luck with it. I hope your snake gets better with you handling him.

Thanks! Now I know what to look for tank-wise. She's starting to be a bit calmer when I pick her up for short bursts. I try to pick her up everytime I go past her cage. I plan on picking up the tank sometime this week and possibly a new hide-hole and water dish. Her current one is too small.

I've also started washing my hands like it was first suggested. I forgot to mention that my family has two ferrets in our possession as well. Me and my snake live downstairs in the basement and the ferrets live in the attic in the attic bedroom with my mother, but they're allowed to roam all over the main floor. Their smell pretty much gets all over everything.

I'm also going to up her feeding ratio from one mouse to two again because that seems to keep her happy. We tried it for a while, but thought we might be gorging her so we went back down. However, I think two mice is probably perfect for her right now.

Thanks a lot to all you guys- you've helped a lot.

~~Elaana

I'm really glad to hear it's going better. That's great.

The snake is an Anery, and your in Southern Ont.. Not going to be wild caught or at least it is very, highly unlikely.. Is the snake getting ready to shed?? A 20USG long is a decent size for an adult Corn, don't buy more than you really need, as the Canadian prices on tanks are freaking outrageous.. You might even consider a clear steralite container, many avid corn enthusists in the US use them for houseing their critters..

Regards..

Hmm...well, if I ever live in Ontario I'll keep that in mind. As it is, I live in the fat part of Idaho. (That's about two thirds of the way down)

I made a mistake regarding what my snake is. Unfortunately, I was kinda rushed when I first wrote that- I had a busy day ahead of me and I was REALLY worried about my snake. She's a plain black corn. >

...oh wow... sorry, but I just realized that this was the CANADIAN forum... >