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During the past two feedings of my two corns both have been "rattling" their tails. I have observed this behavior before but not while constricting their meal. My question is what is the purpose of this and does it indicate anything?

>>> "My question is what is the purpose of this and does it indicate anything?"

Yes,.....the purpose is to try to get you to leave them alone, and it indicates that they WANT you to leave them alone.

Many snakes do this, and it is typical behavior of many types of snakes. I have seen it performed probably thousands of times.

Nothing to worry about whatsoever.

~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

>>>>> "My question is what is the purpose of this and does it indicate anything?"
>>
>>
>> Yes,.....the purpose is to try to get you to leave them alone, and it indicates that they WANT you to leave them alone.
>>
>> Many snakes do this, and it is typical behavior of many types of snakes. I have seen it performed probably thousands of times.
>>
>> Nothing to worry about whatsoever.
>>
>>
>>
>>
That tail rattle helped me find an excapee.
It was under the bottom shelf of my rack, on top of a box, and while I was checking on snakes in the rack I heard a tail rattle and figured one of the snakes in the lower boxes was doing it.
As I leaned down to find out which one I noticed a head stick out from under the rack and there was my escaped okeetee.
I actually found another escapee in the same spot...not by a tail rattle but just figured that would be a good place to check since the other one was there.
Both of these escapees were due to someone....me....not making sure the lids of their feeding boxes were secure.
sorry to ramble....I was just reminded when I read about the tail rattle.
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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"Resistance is futile"
Jimmy Johnson
(Draybar)
Draybars Snakes

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>>That tail rattle helped me find an (excapee.)

Oops, that should be escapee
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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"Resistance is futile"
Jimmy Johnson
(Draybar)
Draybars Snakes

_____

LOL!,......glad you found them Jimmy!,......you sure got lucky!

~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

The theory I like best - many predators have motion based vision.
By rattling their tail, they attract the predator to the tail which is the least vulnerable part of the snake, allowing it to fight back.
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I decided my old sig was too big.

>>The theory I like best - many predators have motion based vision.
>>By rattling their tail, they attract the predator to the tail which is the least vulnerable part of the snake, allowing it to fight back.
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I see it more as a warning.
similar to a rattle snake.
"back off" there's a snake here...ssssssssssssssss
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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"Resistance is futile"
Jimmy Johnson
(Draybar)
Draybars Snakes

_____

Yeah Jimmy, I agree,....Rubber Boas, Ringnecks, certain Coral snakes, etc....have the behavior of showing-off their tails with different techniques to distract potential predators from their heads, many young vipers even attract prey to their vividly colored tail tips, wiggling the tip like a worm, but the tail rattling thing is STRICTLY for saying.."I'm here, stay the heck away from me!" in typical rattlesnake mimicry. Most wild animals get this message loud and clear!.....even us stupid humans!..LOL!

~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

believe it or not, i've had a few hatchling corns returned to me b/c the "rattling" was "scary" No matter how many times i explain to people, they think they have a rattle snake... UGH
~kin
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~Sober Serpents~
www.freewebs.com/soberserpents
Corns, Creamsicles, A Black Rat, Thayeri, Cal Kings, A Jungle Corn(Just A Pet), A Ball Python, A Bearded dragon, Leopard Geckos, Green Anoles, a Snapping turtle, and a white cheeked mud turtle

LOL!,...How ridiculous!,....but unfortunately, I can relate to what you're saying,...a large percentage of the human population just doesn't think rationally at all, snakes, or NO snakes!..LOL!

~Doug

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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"