Normal corn behavior

[Ditto]

I feel the title might say it all, but what is normal corn snake behavior? I have a rough idea of how they act in my head buuuut I'm not sure if it's right, so I figured I'd ask haha
Thanks! <3

[Ditto]

Oh and something I just thought of, how do you tell when they're stressed?

[Bogertophis]

That's an awfully general question. They're more active in warmer months, but if kept warm enough year-round, they feed easily year-round on f/t prey.

They're moderately active when you handle them, & excellent climbers. Their disposition is excellent, ie. it takes a lot to upset them & please don't try.

So they eat, sleep, climb around their branches (if they have good snarents that provided them); if stressed, they'd hide, & if totally cornered & harassed
they'd probably strike out & may even vibrate their tails...but honestly, stressing my snakes is what I AVOID doing so I've nearly forgotten what it looks like.

Any snake that's continuously "stressed" would refuse to eat & not thrive, of course, but I'm hoping you're not planning any experiments?

[pretends2bnormal]

To add some...

Tiny baby corns will tend to do tail rattling more than an older snake when startled or going into shed and their vision is poor. It depends on individual temperament, and some may simply bolt away.

They seem to not stress as much as some species, so I can't think of any clear indicators... if you have one go off food, then that would mean something is wrong, but they will often eat under milder stress levels.

Here's a tiny baby corn, in blue/about to shed who was demonstrating defensive/stress signals. Tail was rattling and body held up in a clear strike pose. (I had startled him by lifting his hide and didn't know he had gone blue.. took a picture and put the hide back down right away to leave him be.)



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[Ditto]

Thank you both for your replies & I apologize for not being more specific!
I guess this is all just a bit confusing to me after researching bps for months and months and them being so sensitive
So they hide when they're stressed? They still use the hides for other reasons sometimes, right? Do they ever go on hunger strikes like bps or is it always stress/bad husbandry that causes them to stop eating?
Sorry for all the questions, I feel really dumb all of the sudden. Also, love the term snarents, that one made me laugh out loud haha

[pretends2bnormal]

Thank you both for your replies & I apologize for not being more specific!
I guess this is all just a bit confusing to me after researching bps for months and months and them being so sensitive
So they hide when they're stressed? They still use the hides for other reasons sometimes, right? Do they ever go on hunger strikes like bps or is it always stress/bad husbandry that causes them to stop eating?
Sorry for all the questions, I feel really dumb all of the sudden. Also, love the term snarents, that one made me laugh out loud haha

They will use hides most of the time, in my experience, except when exploring around or if they find what they think is a hidden perch somewhere. Just the exploring is more often than a BP. They often peek out when they feel you come into the room once they're older/more confident (I see it start around 6-12 months on mine so far).

Generally, much easier going snakes. Hunger strikes besides a single skipped meal or something due to a shed are fairly unusual if their temps are in a good range. They will fast as part of brumation if you do that, but it isn't needed unless you are breeding, so there shouldn't be a fast in winter.

Generally, even slightly off temps (within 5 degrees) don't seem to put mine off food, so I would guess that if you get a lot of rejections that something is wrong somewhere.


Don't feel dumb! It is good to check and after so much with BPs, it really does seem too good to be true. The super easy husbandry and tendency to be great eaters and hardy is what makes the corn snake the other most highly recommended beginner snake (the other being the ball python of course.)

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[Bogertophis]

Thank you both for your replies & I apologize for not being more specific!
I guess this is all just a bit confusing to me after researching bps for months and months and them being so sensitive
So they hide when they're stressed? They still use the hides for other reasons sometimes, right? Do they ever go on hunger strikes like bps or is it always stress/bad husbandry that causes them to stop eating?
Sorry for all the questions, I feel really dumb all of the sudden. Also, love the term snarents, that one made me laugh out loud haha

If you can get along with a ball python, you'll find corn snakes quite easy. A world apart...they do NOT go on hunger strikes ever, unless genuinely ill, though many
will refuse food in shed also. I avoid feeding snakes that are in blue. They happily eat f/t mice of appropriate size, & no, you don't have to warm them, just thaw.

In the wild they would brumate thru winter, but given reasonable temperatures in your house [& by extension, in their cages] they eat ALL winter, happily. The only
reason to cool them in winter would be for fertility to breed, & since their immune system functions very little if at all when they're cold, it's a health risk to avoid if
you aren't breeding them. IF your house is kept cooler than 70*, like if you lower the temps. at night only, a corn snake probably won't care either as long as the day
temperatures are where they should be (70-72* ambient plus UTH about 85*).

They do great with plenty of fresh air in their cage, & since the ambient temps in our houses are comfortable for them, this works out great. As I've said before, my
home heat is set to 70* in winter & summer a/c is set to come on at 80*. I use only UTH heat for corns & ONLY in one corner of their tank for them to use as needed.
A small overhead warming light can also be used over their branches during the day- it's optional & too much heat will repel them...these are NOT BPs. In the summer
it's really hot & humid here & I turn off their UTH at that time. They stay healthy much easier than BPs...they are not prone to RI for example.

Corn snakes use hides to sleep in, & like many other snakes, they often cannot resist peeking out. NO snake ever wants to miss a meal going by, lol. Have I mentioned
that they're adorable...? And so are most rat snakes...easy like corn snakes, good to handle & they don't stress out & refuse food because you handled them. They are
nosy & personable pets, with easier care than BPs. Corn & other rat snakes typically live to upper teens or early 20's.

One difference is that they don't have heat-sensing pits. And they are NOT "ambush-predators" like BPs, they ACTIVELY go after motion, so if you want, you can dangle
their f/t mouse from tongs & they'll chase it across their cage before you let them catch it. And you can communicate with rat/corn snakes that you aren't food: a
snake in it's cage seeing motion may start to chase it, even if it's you! but all you need to do is blow some air across your hand thru the screen for them to sniff...they'll
recognize your scent & back off. Easy. One of my Florida rat snakes was in her branches today when I went by...my motion made her do a double-take ("food?") until
I gave her my scent, ("yuk, not rodent!"), and then she caught sight of my dog walking by... (ever the optimist, LOL!) They were all fed a week ago, & for adults, I feed
them about every 2 weeks. Don't over-feed them...UNLIKE BPs, they'll always act hungry...much like a boa would. Hatchlings feed weekly at least, & gradually lengthen
time between feedings as their prey gets bigger & takes longer to digest.

Anything else?

[Dianne]

Peeking from hides and coming out with motion is common, especially once they are adults. This is Yang, my 16 year old normal male corn. He is ever the optimist that food is coming his way when the cage door opens, but is fine to just reach in and pick up when there is no scent of mouse. He usually gets 2 adult mice every 2 weeks and only refuses when he is in shed, if then. They make great pets and are very personable. I definitely see him way more than any of my bp's.

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[Bogertophis]

I was just thinking that corn snakes are as addicting as popcorn & I'm surprised that it never occurred to me to name one "Pop"?

[pretends2bnormal]

I was just thinking that corn snakes are as addicting as popcorn & I'm surprised that it never occurred to me to name one "Pop"?

Ironic! I've got a friend who just got a corn who they named Popsicle, Pop for short.

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