Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone.

I have a 6 month old corn. He used to be very friendly and social; never scared when I brought my hand into the cage. A couple months ago, he suddenly became very skiddish. As soon I get near him, he freezes. If I touch him, he bolts across his cage to get away. This has lasted all the way through two shedding cycles. Now my concern is that I'm having trouble getting him out of the cage so I can feed him. When I do get him out, he has no trouble putting away a couple of pinkies. So he eats with no problem when I can get him out.

Does anyone have any suggestions for helping him relax a little bit? Any ideas as to why he may have suddenly become so jittery? Most importantly, I just want to make sure he doesn't end up going hungry because I can't get him out of the cage.

Thanks very much,
Michael
Chicago, IL

my usual suggestion is: check your temps with a good thermometer. Use a temperature gun or a digital thermometer. Put it directly on the bottom of the cage. Heat can definitely make snakes VERY hyper and aggressive.

Is he in a cage by himself? If not, perhaps his cagemate is stressing him out. Have you added any other animals to your house, perhaps a kingsnake that he can smell? Have you been keeping lights on him 24/7? They can stress out over all these things. Is it possible that he is hungry? Have you upped his food size or amount to compensate for his larger size?
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phflame
kingsnake.com host