A change of attitude... corn snake gone wild.

[CopperNightShade]

Okay - the back story

I have a 2yr old female corn snake. She is in a 55gal with 4 hides, high temp is 85F and low is 75F. She has been kept in this manner for 1yr now without any issue. She eats once weekly and sheds every 6-8wks.

She had also never shown any aggression towards me before now.

The last two weeks have proven interesting, though. Twice now she has bitten me. Both times have been while I was trying to retrieve her from her cage, and both times have been the day before or the day of feeding.

Any ideas what has caused this change in her? Like I said, nothing about my routine or set up has changed in almost a year, so I think it unlikely that something is bothering her. Is this snake PMS? Do I need to increase her prey size or frequency?

Thanks in advance for the help!

[reptile65]

I am by no means a corn expert, but I can tell you that I've had a somewhat similar experience with my female corn. She gets VERY excited during feeding time and she was the first snake to ever bite me. In your case though, it seems strange for a snake to just all of a sudden decide to be a voracious feeder, but I guess it's possible.

Also, my female got very pissy when she laid a clutch of slugs a few months back. I have no idea if this is the case with your snake, but I'm just throwing that out there. Does she look at all like she might be gravid?

[razrbak]

women!

[AlmightyMoof]

What size meal are you feeding her? And how does she behave when you go to remove her from the tank? For example, is she coiling and actively striking at you as you attempt to pick her up? Is she swinging around and tagging you after you've already gotten hold of her? Or is she rushing out of her hide for your hand as soon as you remove the tank lid?

I've got an anery corn who tends to do the later, rushing my hand when I come in after him and following it about expectantly. I upped his prey size a couple of months ago and he's been much more laid back in the time since. That would probably be my recommendation, if her behavior's similar. I'm noticed my good feeders all get ridiculously excited when they smell mice thawing, but between establishing a feeding routine and adjusting when anyone seems especially jumpy, I haven't been tagged in years.

[CopperNightShade]

Both times she has tagged me have been immediately upon reaching for her in the cage, normally after removing her hide from her. She is currently on hoppers but needs to increase prey size anyway...

And I *really* hope she is not gravid.

[Daybreaker]

She's two years old and on mouse hoppers? How much does she weigh in grams? My '10 corn is ~160 grams and already stepped up to larger mouse weanlings/small adults. I believe he'd be larger than what he is but his previous owners weren't feeding him correctly. Perhaps your girl is just hungry.

[CopperNightShade]

She's two years old and on mouse hoppers? How much does she weigh in grams? My '10 corn is ~160 grams and already stepped up to larger mouse weanlings/small adults. I believe he'd be larger than what he is but his previous owners weren't feeding him correctly. Perhaps your girl is just hungry.

You are 100% correct! She is a tiny little thing, and always has been. She was a frail hatchling and would very often regurgitate any meal that was remotely appropriately sized. (And yes, her temperatures were correct. I reviewed her entire setup with my reptile vet.) Anyway... she has never gained the length or girth she should be at because of this. Hopefully this new nippiness is a sign that she is moving past that phase.