Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I've got a little 2 ft snow corn, and she had a reputation where i got her from for being "such a sweet snake." I've always been able to handle her without her doing much more than trying to hide, but never anything like trying to strike. Now when I try to pick her up, she aims at my hand and she hasn't struck yet but she acts like she wants to. I think this could be from feeding her in the tank for the first time last week. I'm REALLY kicking myself for it, but I was in such a hurry and I couldn't feed her again for 3 days. Maybe I should've just waited the 3 days Anyway, now she's acting snotty and it makes me nervous to try and pick her up, and of course, being an animal, I'm sure she can sense it. I want to break this habit right away. Anyone have any suggestions?
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purrhisschirpmeowwoofblubsqueak

Is it possible that she is in shed? Some snakes become ever so fearful when undergoing a shed no matter how tame and comfortable with handling they are. I can't imagine that a one time feeding in the cage has turned her into a difficult to handle snake. I feed all of mine in their rack and have yet to see a problem caused by it. Snows can be hard to spot when in shed so double check to see if this is her condition. I'll bet in a week or so she will be her old self again.

i'd say it is most likely her being in shed. I feed all my snakes in their cages and they never get agressive towards me...well one time it happened but that was my own fault. I was defrosting a couple fuzzies under the lamp on top of the cage and he was smelling it getting hungry and he saw my pinky in front of the cave thought it was food and did a closed mouth strike...kinda funny though.

but yeah give her time...how often do you handle her? I'll say my most strange experience was with my black rat snake. i would handle him for 3 days straight and he was getting calm by the third day...then i fed him and picked him up and it was like he had totally regressed back to being afraid of me again. just give her time. she'll come around. but DO NOT stop handling her. If they dont have a lot of human contact, they will regress.
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The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

A fool doesn't learn. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Which one are you?

My Website
Rat/Corn snake care sheet I wrote

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Neonate Black Rat (het for Lic Stk's) (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds (Jose and Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)

HOORAY! She's back to her old self! She didn't care at all when I picked her up.
I did think about it more. I think I was playing with the horse beforehand, and maybe I just didn't wash my hands well enough to get the smell off. She probably went "WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?!??!?!" Hooray! SO happy...

but out of curiosity, what can you do when a snake bites and doesn't let go? I know usually it's just a strike, even a bump, but what can you do if they don't let go without accidentally breaking them to pieces?
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purrhisswoofmeowblubsqueakneigh

I've never tried it, but my vet says alcohol or cold water will cause them to withdraw.

First no matter how docile...when you reach in to pick up your snake be it hatchling,juvie, or adult...keep in mind that you are a 1000 times their size and a potential predator in their eyes.
Even the "tamest" snake can have an off day and be cranky...
we do.
When a hatchling or juvie poses defensively most of the time they "bluff strike"..mouth is not even open..they just bump you..you want to see a ornery baby try a texas rat or black rat.LOL They strike mouth wide open.
Take a hit and find out...it doesn't hurt at all..more damage occurs from a kitten. Startling is a better description.
If you have one no doubt in the future you will have more...just the way it goes. Get used to aggression.. you will see it again.
Feeding in racks does not bring this about..just think about it could the professional who raises 3,000-4,000 snakes a year possibly take each one out and feed it in a different container?
The hatchlings they sell are fine.
Just my opinion
Nancy
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Some of my best friends are snakes
Snakes Rule

I recently had the same situation with my baby female suboc. She has been the sweetest little snake from the day I bought her. I could even carry her around in my shirt pocket and show her to people at the pet store. Then, one day, I went to pick her up, and she was a totally different animal. It was like a baby TX Rat rather than Trans-Pecos. She would strike wildly, mouth wide open. I couldn't even get near the cage without her striking at the glass. It was weird. But, I gave her a week to get over whatever she was going through, and she seems to be back to her old self. Snakes have attitudes and personalities just as any other animal.

If you are really averse to being bitten, you can fashion a "snake hook" out of an old coat hanger and use that to pick her up. Just make sure the ends are covered with something so you don't cut your snake. After you pick her up with the hook, you should then be able to place your hand underneath her with no problem. Sometimes they just freak out at seeing a hand trying to grab them. If they don't see it coming directly down on them, it seems to take some of the stress off of them. Of course, there is nothing wrong with being bitten. It happens to all of us sooner or later. Take care...
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-JH

1.0 Amel Corn
1.0 Dot-Dash Cal King
0.1 50/50 Cal King
1.1 Trans-Pecos Rat Snakes
3.4 Baby Corns (Assorted Flavors)
0.0.1 Ball Python
0.0.1 Bullsnake
0.0.1 Texas Long-nose
1.1 Bearded Dragons

They truly do have their "off" days and each has such a different personality. My corn is the best natured snake of all the different species I have.

So you don't have to worry about hurting your snake as much you can also use one of the plastic coat hangers as a snake hook, which is what I use for my ball python, who is not a good natured snake at all. I use a glove for my ball and once I still had the glove on and went to pick up my corn and lo and behold he coiled and rattled his tail at me. Not what he was used to at all.

I agree with everyone else, he probably is going into shed and is just scared.

Tracy

I caught one last summer. That was about the coolest thing I have ever done. After about 50 strikes (the air, not my hand) and musking everthing in sight he finally calmed down. By the way I did release it after checking it out.
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1,0 snow
1,0 amel
1,0 kisatchie
1,0 aney stripe motley
0,1 normal
0,1 charcoal
0,1 motley
1,1 oketee
0,1 tx rat
4,5 ball python
1,1 dumerils boa
1,1 columbian red tail boa
1,1 green iguana
1,0 leopard gecko
1,2 dogs
freezer full of mice & rats