# newbie, corn snake striking :( HELP!



## XxLauraxX (Apr 17, 2012)

Hiya,

i got a 4 month old carolina corn snake and i was feeding it 1 pinkie a week. A few days before it needed a feed its behaviour changed and it started going into strike position every time i went to take it out. I started feeding it 2 pinkies a week which it handled fine and it doesn't strike as much now. 

As i am new to owning snakes i don't know whats the best thing to do when it starts striking? i just panic but i know if i back down it will take advantage so at the moment im just gritting my teeth and picking it up. Once it is out of its enclosure and im handling it, it calms down and were both happy.

I had moved it into a bigger vivarium (3ft by 1&half foot by 1&half foot) even though i was told i had to wait a year before moving it from its plastic tub but i just felt sorry for it as it was always climbing up on the sides and i felt i didnt have much space to move about. (im alsovery impatient and worry a lot!! )

However it never came out of its hide when it was in the bigger enclosure so i have since moved it back into its tub and its coming out of its hide again and exploring its surroundings.

what do i do?


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## marcel27 (Apr 10, 2012)

Could be the large enclosure, Too much space is not always best, it's like they don't know what to do with themselves, work him up to the 3 foot viv gradually. Also he will just get used to you in his own time, my corn took a while to get used to me, just keep in mind that they are wild animals, baby corns can be especially defensive.


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## telphilpott (Mar 28, 2012)

XxLauraxX said:


> Hiya,
> 
> i got a 4 month old carolina corn snake and i was feeding it 1 pinkie a week. A few days before it needed a feed its behaviour changed and it started going into strike position every time i went to take it out. I started feeding it 2 pinkies a week which it handled fine and it doesn't strike as much now.
> 
> ...


hi i got a corn at end of march, i have a small viv for it that it came in... she tends to hide in her hide... but when i get her out she loves it!  i have ended up naming her stumpy due to previous owner not caring for her and alowing her tail to be very badly damaged with dry shed tightening round it and causing it to fall off! how big is your snake? mines aparently 7 months but a friend of mine who has hundreds of snakes says she is very small if she is... its the snake in my picture....


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## snakekeeperteznemz (Dec 20, 2009)

you need to learn patience hehe
be calm and allow the snake to settle. giving a small snake a massive (compared to the snakes size) enclosure is likely to cause the snake some stress, where he/she will probably hide out of view and when confronted he/she will strike out.
Try leaving the snake alone. Keep noise down for a while (if possible) so he/she has proper time to adjust.
When you do decide its time to handle him/her, keep it to a minimum for the time being, and work up to long periods. Try 5/10 minutes at most for now. We have some adults that have never come round to being handled, some snakes just dont like it. The worst thing u can do is force yourself upon the snake. Be fair and respect the snake. You will find most will settle down, in time, you just have to give the snake that time :2thumb:


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## Damowhite (Aug 26, 2011)

*corn snake "fun"*

Hi have you checked your temperatures ? if he's too hot he could be getting grumpy. Also do you handle him often or is he getting used to being fed every time you open the viv .


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## byno1615 (Apr 15, 2012)

Im new as well and my first corn started in a 3ft viv and i suffered similar symptoms. He's now in a large plastic tub about 16inch long and loves it. The more we read or advise we were given confirmed its scared in the vast space of a large viv. Mine are active and social now but after patients. It took a few weeks of taking them out for a short period every day except after feeding. Thats the only advice i can give because it worked for me and hopefully you'll find what works for you, Good luck:welcome:


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## XxLauraxX (Apr 17, 2012)

well i got told in the shop i got it from that even if it strikes or tries to bite me i just need to handle it in order to think that i wont get anywhere by biting me. I am trying to handle it every day for about 5-10 mins and once it has been picked up and ive handled it a bit it does calm down and seems quite happy then. I feed it in a seperate tub so it knows when its being fed.

I have housed the plastic tub inside the vivarium nd the temp in the viv reads around 19 degrees, is that too cold? I have left one of the sliding doors half open for more ventilation and it does have a light inside the viv on a timer. The heat mat is also underneath the viv so im not sure if enough heat will come through?

Now its back in its tub it seems a lot happier now and it will come out, i think the viv obvs was the big for it and it just got scared! 

Thanx for your help everyone! :2thumb:


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## spidersnake (Dec 1, 2009)

I havnt read the whole thread but I dont think anyone suggested taking him out of his home & putting him into a small tub JUST for feeding. He might have got into the mindset of 'Everything that comes into my house from outside must be food'. To change that you get him out & put him into a small tub, add the mouse & leave him alone until he's eaten, then put him back into his usual tub. We do that with all the snakes we have owned except my 12ft burm, we cant find a 'feeding' tub big enough lol.
Another point is the shop might not have 'tamed' your corn properly. They need handling until the dont view you as a threat. More handling recommended.
Do you have any pet rodents like hamsters, rats/mice, guinea pigs, etc? If you handle those (or even his food) before handling him without washing your hands, he might smell the food on your hands, sense the heat & think your 'pinkies' are his dinner - I made that mistake with my burm & got tagged for it (I have pictures if you want to see them).
Last, how long did you give him to settle in your home? Re-homing will take some time......

p.s. 19 degrees IS too cold, put the heat mat IN the viv under half the tub.


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## XxLauraxX (Apr 17, 2012)

i have moved the heat mat inside the viv half under the tub now so hopefully that will help, i have noticed it doesnt come out of its hide as much as it used to, do you think this can be because it is too cold? when i took it out last night it was quite cold to touch.

I have a themometer the cold end of the viv that reads 18.5 degrees and another the warm end of the viv and that reads 19 degrees so hopefully now ive moved the heat mate inside the viv the tub that the snake is will warm up a bit more 

I do feed the snake in a seperate tub as i was told the same thing by the pet shop but i dont leave the mouse in t just wiggle it with the tongs i was given until it striked and takes it? is that ok?

I will upload some piccy's later!!


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## byno1615 (Apr 15, 2012)

With the hides its best to have two one thats at the warm end and one in the cooler end so the snake can choose its most comfortable temp. Dont worry about it not coming out much during the day because there nocturnal so if you stay up late with the lights out or just with the tv on you will see your corn roam around. I watched one of mine shed for the second time last night while i was watching tv in the dark. With the feeding using tongs and holding the mouse sounds good because there's less risk of any substrate getting eaten. Again this is advice handed on because it works for me. Looking after reptiles in the beginning is a massive learning curve and the information i've received from this site so far has helped me and in return i hope it helps you. Good luck and enjoy:2thumb:


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## webzdebs (Jun 21, 2010)

The best advice i could give you is to aim for around 27-29 degrees at the hot end and put your thermometer either on the mat or inside the tub on the hot side so you can get an accurate reading of how warm that is and adjust your thermostat accordingly. Some of my thermostats sit at about 27 degrees but the temp on the mat is 31 degrees so don't go solely on what the thermostat says.

Secondly I would agree with what everyone is saying about a "feeding tub" at least until you can feel more confident and know your snake that way the snake will not think it's just food coming in every time the lid opens. 

Finally, don't worry. My cornsnake Smith is a big scardey cat, he's quite viv defensive and will coil his neck and rattle his tail when i go in to get him sometimes but once he is out of the viv he's fine - some snakes are just viv defensive.

Any more questions let me know I am happy to help


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