Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My corn just ate for the first time in 2 weeks. It's been so long because he was shedding and I didint want to stress him out.

Anyway

Maybe it was because he was so hungry, but his tail was whipping around so fast that it made a humming sound similar to a rattling noise. I was afraid to touch it because I'm sure he would have jumped but it was totaly weird.

Has anyone else experienced this with a corn snake?

Cornsnakes often will vibrate their tail tips which, when against dry leaves etc, often sounds much like a rattlesnake's rattle. My corns do this when they are feeling particularly cranky, startled, or sometimes when feeding, if they are really excited or worried I may try and take their food away LOL.

It's perfectly normal and a good warning if they are feeling nervous about something.

Glad to hear you've seen it too. I thought he was just very happy to be eating because he was so hungry, But maybe he was actually stressed out for some reason. I'll pay more attention if he does it again. THanks for the post.

My Ratsnake does this too..more when he was new and I was trying to take him out. Now he doesn't do it at all..I haven't seen him do it in a long time. My friend's king snake does the same thing from time to time.

He is probably rattling his tail while feeding because you are looking at him and he is saying "STAY AWAY, I am Big and Mean and poisonous" as he is busy with swollowing and because of that, more volunerable (and hence, more nervious). Once my corns take their meal and constrict it, I leave them alone for a good 20-30mins, only peaking in to ensure they did eat their food, instead of killing (or going through the motions, as I feed nearly exclusively fresh killed or frozen thawed). A few times I had snakes grab, constrict and then fail to eat the food, either because it was too big or it just didn't want to....only to realize a few days later, when I kept noticing a very foul stench....trust me, better to avoid that at all costs LOL. Hence now I take a quick peak after 30 minutes to a few hours...(sometimes I forget or get distracted and forget to check sooner LOL) to make sure no sign of the prey is still in the cage.