Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I own a very mean cornsnake. i cant even change the water with out making several attempts because she will come flying across the cage at me. i am pretty shure she is gravid. so maybe that has to do with her mean streak lately? shes not dulled or eyes clouded as if she was shedding. i got her a few months ago im not shure of her temperment with the lady who owned her before but as of right now she is down right nasty. she is fed properly. she is over 4 feet long. so you can imagine how much space i gotta give her to clean her cage with out getting bitten.

It's very unlikely that the snake is gravid, as most corns are done with egglaying and are now about to go into (or are already in) hibernation. I've seen very few (if any) gravid snakes that become mean simply because they are gravid. Being gravid usually slows a snake down and makes it more subdued.

I've seen some extraordinarily mean corn snakes that stayed that way their entire life. It would have been useful to get some information from the snake's previous owner as to its temperament. Although for the most part they are docile, all corn snakes are different and are subject to having their own "personalities."

On the other hand the snake may be uncomfoartable with it's current living situation and may feel threatened and therefore defensive. I'd make sure the cage is in an area that doesn't get a lot of human traffic and that there are hiding areas in the enclosure, so the snake feels secure.

Tim

Third Eye

As said. unlikely being gravid would cause it. The only time my tame Corns get a little nasty is if I disturb them during the laying of there eggs. How much time do you spend handling the snake? It may just need to be handled more. I know it sounds bad but I always recommend to just get bit and get it over with lol. You will see its not as bad as you think, furthermore if you are going to keep snakes its just a matter of time before you get bit by one of them so I just recommend to get it over with and move on.
Foot Hill Reptiles

i second that motion.
every time it strikes and you stop doing what your doing, you reinforce its defensive behavior. i had a snake that i used to let it bite me then put a qtip with vodka on it in the snakes mouth. after 5 or so times it stopped trying to bite. just to be clear the snake only got a drop or so of vodka each time. literally less than 10 minutes 5 bites a cap of vodka and it never bit again
adam
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" a.k.a. farfrumugen "
When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.

Adam you got it drunk! lol Just kidding.

The alcohol thing does work wonders.
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Thanks for reading.
Big Tom

www.HerpZillA.com

Do you have a pic of this meanie?lol! Jeff

one of my males was nasty from a hatchling the only time he is calm is buring breeding season. i can actually touch him to remove him from the females cages.. lol but you walk past the cage and he strikes at anything that moves.
Tom

My oldest (about 17 years old) used to be real nasty.... my brother never held her... and she was just left to die so i got her... sh3es now in a 55 gallon tank all by herself.. and shes calmed down alot...i guess from old age.... i guess humans get mean as they age and snakes calm down
~kin
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~Sober Serpents~
www.freewebs.com/soberserpents
Tons of Corns, A Trio of Creamsicles, A Black Rat, A pair of Leucistic Black Rat X Leucistic Texas Rat Intergrades, Thayeri, Cal Kings, A Jungle Corn, Ball Pythons, A Pair of Albino Nelsons Milksnakes, A Rescue RTB, Leopard Geckos, Green Anoles, 2 Snapping Turtles, an Eastern Box Turtle, a Bearded Dragon, an Adult Rescue Iguana

lol im a wus so i put on a sweat shirt, so she didnt bite my arms and gently pulled her out of her cage all while shes thrashing her head about trying to get me. but once she was out of the cage she was fine? maybe just territorial. i dunno. she was unshure about me and had to explore mae and even wound around my arm/sleeve so tight i would have swore she was trying to kill me. but then settled down. i have a few pictures of the beast, lol. a really good one the previous owner took for me and a few of my crappy web cam/digital camera, so you can see if u think she looks gravid or not?

I'm embarrassed to say that the hide picture in my book is not a good one. Well, not a good example of what you need. The open ends of half logs are not "hides" at all. Snakes are not comfortable in hides that do not "hide" them. Hence, your snake may want to hide, but cannot. A serial box with an opening twice the girth of the snake will tell you if this is the problem, B U T i suspectd the snake's body temperature is wrong. Lay a thermometer on the snake, and check it ten minutes later. Also, lay that thermometer INSIDE the hide on the warm side of the cage. I believe that if you provide the snake with a true HIDE that is 80F-84F, the aggression to humans will cease. Oh,yeah. Where is the family cat?

Don
South Mountain Reptiles

well one that was a picture of the thing when she was not in my care. in my care now they have nice little hide boxes ect ect. unless im cleaning tanks. i dont have a cat, just a 1 yr old. lol. but since she was very nice to me after i took her out to the cage, well at least tolerated me holding her im going to continue to do so several times of the day.

The only time I saw a snake that simply could not be tamed turned out to be one that was inadvertantly left a hide that was too close to the heat source.

The animal had to choose between being exposed, or being too hot. When I had the guy move the hide...his snake got an amazing attitude adjustment.

I'd be willing to bet big money that this is what's going on!
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Darin Chappell
Hillbilly Herps
PO Box 254
Rogersville, MO 65742

How the heck are you? It's been too long. Mark your calendar because I expect an email from you each week for the next four weeks. If you're not addicted to it by then, I may need to extend your punishment.
South Mountain Reptiles

Hey Don...

I'm good, but down to just six snakes, if you can believe that. I'll send you the emails, but feel free to send one my way, if I'm late...lol.

Here in a decade or so, when things calm down, I'll be ready to get back into the swing of "corndom" completely, and I'll be calling you. For now, though, I'll have my nose struck in a few hundred books while I finish my schooling.

I'll pop in here every once in a while to keep my interest up, and my corn membership current, though.
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Darin Chappell
Hillbilly Herps
PO Box 254
Rogersville, MO 65742

< < I'll pop in here every once in a while to keep my interest up, and my corn membership current, though. > >

Great to hear (read) from ya, Darin. See (read) ya here in the forum.

Don
South Mountain Reptiles