Greetings,

I just brought a baby okeetee corn. I already have a bp and he is very gentle. My corn on the other hand is very aggressive. He runs every time I put my hand in the cage. When I pick him up he lashes me everytime and rattles his tail.

My question is how should I deal with this. I let him settle in his cage for a week, should I wait longer. He is just a baby only about 4 weeks. He eats great. and temps are fine.

I heard that these snakes can become freakishly tame. How do I get to that point? Do I just keep holding him and let him bite me? Plus it couldnt hurt but so bad with such a little mouth right?

Some one please help, how do I deal with this aggressive snake?

Let him settle in for a week at least. He is 'rattling' his tail because he trying to scare you away. Babies can be nippy.

okay, so after I give him another week, how should I go about handling him if he still rattling his tail and lunging at me?

I'd just keep on handling him regularly. Take him out of his cage for a few minutes at a time several times a day. Hatchlings are naturally skittish; he'll setlle down eventually. A bite from a snake that young wouldn't hurt at all, you'd barely notice it. My largest female bit a 12 year old kid when she was 2 and the kid didn't even notice that he'd been bite until he started to bleed. And even when he started to bleed, he only had 4 holes in his hand that were the size of pins.

I have 2 hatchlings right now and both are skittish and try to escape until I have them in my hands, once I'm holding them for a few seconds, the calm right down. Just give it time.

Yeah, wait longer, like Janice says, sometimes they can take a while to settle into their new homes, especially if the difference environment is dramatic (eg, going from a rack in a heated room, to a nice big tank with all the trimmings in an AC'd room & heat lights/pads/etc).

Also, some are just naturally nutty. Best thing to do is just hold him, and let him get used to being held (after he's had some more settling in time, of course, and never within 48hrs after feeding). If he bites while you're holding him, don't put him down, just keep hold.

If you put him down each time he bites, he'll soon learn that whenever he wants to be put down, all he's gotta do is bite you, and soon every time you pick him up, he'll bite you in order to get put back down, heh. If you let him get used to the fact that biting isn't going to help his situation, he'll soon get bored and learn that it'll get him nowhere.

kwali, part of your problem could be that it is an okeetee morph to begin with. I sent a few e-mails to Kathy Love last week, and one of the things she said was this:



Just thought that might be usefull/interesting to you.

Baby Corns in general can be quite nippy and it should be a given. They are still in that stage when they think that anything and everything is a predator. Imagine how you would react if you were that size and you saw a giant hand that greatly resembles a raptor talon bearing down on you and there's no place to go but a corner. Just give them some time...they should come around with age. All of our hatchlings are skittish and some even downright bitey, but they all pretty much calm down when they get a little older. It just takes time for them to get more comfortable.

Okay, i have had the same problem.... my snake when i first got mine bit me once or twice after the first 2 or 3 weeks that i let him settle in but once he noticed that i wasnt ganna put him down JUST cause he bit me, he got bored and just calmed down,
But my brother on the other hand has a VERY skittish Strawberry/Creamsicle corn mixed snake and my brother put him down everytime he was bittin because my brother was only 12 at the time, and he brought i to me one night while i was sittin in my room and asked me why hiz snake was doing this and asked me to make it stop, i thought this was very cute, he said that i had made mine stop and to make hiz, i simply just left ziggy in hiz cage for 3 weeks and started to hold him after and he bit me a couple of times and got bored with it...
So, i agree with anyone who tells you to let them settle down for 2-3weeks and then DONT put him down even if he bites you... it doesnt hurt, i would know :-) :-)!!!!! :mrgreen: 8)

i do agree with letting them settle in,but i've never left mine alone that long,2-3 wks...i actually have always tried to get mine used to being handled right away...usually after a couple of days...and yes i have been bit by a couple of my females when they were babies because they were scared,but after letting them they stopped immediately...a papercut hurts more than they do....but like right now i have a baby anery and he can still get kinda crazy @ 1st when i try and take him out of his tank,but once i have him he's fine and hasn't tried to bite yet...but like i said, i don't believe in waiting so long to get them used to being handled. [/list]

i do agree with letting them settle in,but i've never left mine alone that long,2-3 wks...i actually have always tried to get mine used to being handled right away...usually after a couple of days...and yes i have been bit by a couple of my females when they were babies because they were scared,but after letting them they stopped immediately...a papercut hurts more than they do....but like right now i have a baby anery and he can still get kinda crazy @ 1st when i try and take him out of his tank,but once i have him he's fine and hasn't tried to bite yet...but like i said, i don't believe in waiting so long to get them used to being handled.

Sometimes its coz they're hungry and need more food.