Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Welcome to kingsnake.com's message board system. Here you may share and discuss information with others about your favorite reptile and amphibian related topics such as care and feeding, caging requirements, permits and licenses, and more. Launched in 1997, the kingsnake.com message board system is one of the oldest and largest systems on the internet.

Click for 65% off Shipping with Reptiles 2 You
Click for 65% off Shipping with Reptiles 2 You

Extremely Aggressive Corn

geckguy Jul 25, 2003 07:34 PM

I have 11 corns and lots of eggs incubating, but one of my holdbacks from last year is extremely aggressive, when I walk buy his tank he strikes at the sides. I've tried gloves and I've tried to hold him every day but he is just extremely agrressive and cleaning the tank is becoming harder and harder. What should I do I was contemplating releasing him in some woods he is a normal so his color wouldnt make him a easy target for predators. I have tried giving him to one of my friends who has a large collection of corns and the corn was even to mean for him. Can you guys help?

Replies (6)

Cuda Jul 25, 2003 07:42 PM

Never. . . Never let a captive born animal back into the wild. In most places it is against the law. Some things that MIGHT help are; make sure to feed pre killed food, handle a lot and depending on how big your corn is you can try is letting him bite you. The idea being that eventually he will realize that biting doesnt help. It worked with one of mine. Just be careful not to hurt his teeth.
Ben
-----
0.0.1 Black Rat
0.0.1 Normal Corn
0.1 Leucistic Texas Rat
0.0.1 Garden Phase ATB

patricia sherman Jul 25, 2003 10:02 PM

One thing I've found, is that aggressiveness is most often associated with hunger. It may be that he has a higher rate of metabolism than most corns, and is digesting his meals too fast. You could try feeding larger prey, and perhaps feeding a bit more often. If that is the problem, then you should see some improvement within a few weeks of instituting the new regimen for him.

Alternatively, you could try slowing his metabolism by providing him less supplemental heat (or none). Just keep him at high room temp (abt 75 deg.F). That should cause his digestion to slow down somewhat, and have a similar effect to increasing his meal-size/frequency.

If he doesn't calm down as a result of increased feeding, then you need to be able to cope with handling him without getting bitten. I have an old female that tends to be very "sharp," and I've found that the easiest way to pick her up is to use a small cloth to cover her head and neck before I capture her. Once she's "in hand," she calms down immediately.

>>I have 11 corns and lots of eggs incubating, but one of my holdbacks from last year is extremely aggressive, when I walk buy his tank he strikes at the sides. I've tried gloves and I've tried to hold him every day but he is just extremely agrressive and cleaning the tank is becoming harder and harder. What should I do I was contemplating releasing him in some woods he is a normal so his color wouldnt make him a easy target for predators. I have tried giving him to one of my friends who has a large collection of corns and the corn was even to mean for him. Can you guys help?

-----
tricia

Sybella Jul 26, 2003 01:16 AM

Wow! That's unheard of for a corn!

But, please, do not release him! Even if he wasn't a potential environmental threat, the "wild" is a huge threat to him. Being captive bred, he doesn't have the biological resistance that your native wild snakes do, nor does he have the know-how to survive that kind of change.

I'd be willing to give him a try. I tend to have good luck with ill-mannered snakes. I have purchased or have been given a couple snakes that bit their previous owners and these snakes have never bit me. I don't know what it is but snakes tend to like me.

geckguy Jul 26, 2003 09:01 AM

I wasnt going to release him but it was just getting frustrating, I'll try feeding him more. I'll also try to let him bite me so after a while he learns it doesnt get what he wants like being pu back in his cage. He was fine when he was in a glass tank bu then I moved him to a rack and he has been bad ever since do you think I should put him back in a tank?

duffy Jul 26, 2003 11:42 AM

I know you said you tried gloves...but as long as you are going to keep working with him, and going to let him bite you...go ahead and use some latex gloves each time until he calms down.
It should make biting you at least a little unpleasant for him, and it might make you less hesitant with him, which can help.
As for the glass tank. It seems like it's worth a try. Good luck with him. Duffy

silvano_06095 Jul 26, 2003 05:22 PM

something else i may as well add.. i have found that corns (and most other snakes) bite frequently when they're young. maybe all the baby to year old corns i've met are just nuts, but they seem to go through a phase during which they strike at just about everything. handling will help, but it seems to be a phase that passes in time, and they grow up to be fine.

what i would recommend along with everyone else's suggestions is just to give the snake time. i have a 1.5 year old anery corn who used to bite the heck out of me, until i got her up. just within the last month or so, she's calmed down incredibly.

just hold tight, i'd be willing to bet the stage will pass, and you'll left with a very pretty, and at least relatively tame snake.

Site Tools