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Corn wrapped around neck

hexacolley

New member
My son (10yrs) was holding his snake, October last night, draped over his shoulders and apparently she very quickly looped across the front of his neck and actually tied herself into sort of a knot. My son didn't panic but came to me after a failed attempt to lift her tail and allow her to slide down his back. She tucked her tail into the knot and started to squeeze just a bit. He came to me and I could NOT find her tail or head at first. I finally found her head and tried to lift her but she tightened her grip around his neck and I admit I was beginning to freak out a little. My son's voice was different from the pressure but his breathing was normal if not rapid from the situation. He was crying and begging I not hurt her (which I was being incredibly careful not to do). I called for my older son and asked him to help me locate her tail because I knew I wouldn't be able to "untie" the end with her head. She started to squeeze harder, her body was triangle shaped and I tried to push my fingers between her and my kid's neck and it wasn't even remotely possible. At this point, her head is halfway down his back and I believe she was attempting to untie herself, so I let her go and she did slide off of him after another 15 seconds. Her behavior was fairly normal immediately after the incident.

She is 5ft long and after her adjustment period with us (where she was a bit shy), has been very easy to hold and does not attempt to get away when handled. My thoughts on what happened are simply to tell my son to keep his hand up by his shoulder when holding her like that in the case she does move to wrap around again -- he will be able to push her head back easily. I don't understand why she was tightening to begin with but afterwards, it seemed that the panicky atmosphere, though we did try to stay calm, made it a scary situation for her and she was panicking herself.

I wanted to post the story to see what more experienced corn snake owners might have to say. It's quite unnerving to have had this happen and I guess I'm looking for some reassurance. My son is not afraid to hold her - he believes she accidentally tied herself up and freaked out when he tried to remove her - so no fault of her own. Is that most probable in your opinions?

I very much appreciate your time and answers. Have a wonderful day.
 
My son (10yrs) was holding his snake, October last night, draped over his shoulders and apparently she very quickly looped across the front of his neck and actually tied herself into sort of a knot. My son didn't panic but came to me after a failed attempt to lift her tail and allow her to slide down his back. She tucked her tail into the knot and started to squeeze just a bit. He came to me and I could NOT find her tail or head at first. I finally found her head and tried to lift her but she tightened her grip around his neck and I admit I was beginning to freak out a little. My son's voice was different from the pressure but his breathing was normal if not rapid from the situation. He was crying and begging I not hurt her (which I was being incredibly careful not to do). I called for my older son and asked him to help me locate her tail because I knew I wouldn't be able to "untie" the end with her head. She started to squeeze harder, her body was triangle shaped and I tried to push my fingers between her and my kid's neck and it wasn't even remotely possible. At this point, her head is halfway down his back and I believe she was attempting to untie herself, so I let her go and she did slide off of him after another 15 seconds. Her behavior was fairly normal immediately after the incident.

She is 5ft long and after her adjustment period with us (where she was a bit shy), has been very easy to hold and does not attempt to get away when handled. My thoughts on what happened are simply to tell my son to keep his hand up by his shoulder when holding her like that in the case she does move to wrap around again -- he will be able to push her head back easily. I don't understand why she was tightening to begin with but afterwards, it seemed that the panicky atmosphere, though we did try to stay calm, made it a scary situation for her and she was panicking herself.

I wanted to post the story to see what more experienced corn snake owners might have to say. It's quite unnerving to have had this happen and I guess I'm looking for some reassurance. My son is not afraid to hold her - he believes she accidentally tied herself up and freaked out when he tried to remove her - so no fault of her own. Is that most probable in your opinions?

I very much appreciate your time and answers. Have a wonderful day.

My first thought is that she is a constrictor and that she's new to your home. How long did you give her to adjust? I realize she's in the same tank that she was from the previous owner but perhaps the physical moving from one home to another (the drive) may have stressed her?

Also, I read in your other post that she eats once every 6-8 weeks. There are people in here with much more knowledge than myself, but that seems like a long time for a pet CS to go between feedings...I could be wrong.
 
Okeetee Mom, sorry I edited my post to say she eats every 2 weeks.. I dont know where 6-8 weeks came from ?? (=
 
I don't think that she was trying to hurt your son. Mostly holding on for dear life. If she was already trying to go down his back then she was probably just using her tail for a strong grip but you coming over and giving her something else to hold on to let her relax her tail and I am sure she did get a little freak like everyone else.

Mine do this all the time. One in pedicular gets the death grip on my neck. I am more worried that she is going to fall then hurt me so I will go to my husband or a counter so that they have another avenue to go instead of hanging from your neck.
 
You can also teach him to always have his fingers or hand in between the snake and his neck. I _would_ say that a cornsnake is not strong enough to strangle a human, who has their fingers in between, but maybe your son is not strong enough to hold her off his neck. But that is what works the best for me to remove a tight cornsnake around my neck- slide my fingers and hand underneath and the snake will generally relax and move off.
 
I would advise that he just doesn't hold the snake by putting it around his neck. It's a longer way for the snake to fall if she does lose her grip. Much safer for both of them if he just has her in his hands or around his arms. If the snake feels safe, then you're unlikely to get this tightening - mine only seem to do that when they feel a bit nervous.
 
You can also teach him to always have his fingers or hand in between the snake and his neck. I _would_ say that a cornsnake is not strong enough to strangle a human, who has their fingers in between, but maybe your son is not strong enough to hold her off his neck. But that is what works the best for me to remove a tight cornsnake around my neck- slide my fingers and hand underneath and the snake will generally relax and move off.

I agree with this whole statement, especially the underlined part... the most important thing to do is not to panic. If the snake was planning on going somewhere (like down his back), she may try to hold on tight so she doesn't fall and after you tried "untying" her, she might of felt as if she didn't have as good of a grip and she thought she might fall, so she tightened up... It's also important to make sure that your son knows that she wasn't trying to hurt him. If for some reason, the snake wanted to "defend" itself, generally it's going to strike, not constrict... so don't feel as if this was trying to hurt him. just keep spending time with her and let her get to know you. Keep enjoying your new addiction!! :)
 
Great, thank you so much for all the replies. I do feel better about the situation. I didnt think she was intentionally trying to hurt him but I'm new to the snake world and wanted to make sure it wasn't some sign of bad things to come (=

We have had her about 2 weeks and her previous owner fed her the day we brought her home (which I thought was not a great idea but it was already done). So we waited 3 days before holding her. We have not changed any of her bedding yet -- just cleaned her water bowl a few times and have not attempted to feed her again. I hope this was a good way to get her to adjust?

I think I will insist that he only hold her below the neckline at this point, at least for a while. She is fairly heavy so maybe he can keep his hand between her and his neck as he takes her from one room to another. But then I think he should just sit with her and let her crawl around his waist.

Speaking of that, we were eating dinner last night and I thought my son was acting a bit strangely and couldn't figure it out until October peeked her up to the table! She was in his lap the whole time-haha. He would spend every moment of every day with her if possible. Very cute..and even more so now that I'm convinced she wasn't trying to murder him (= Thanks again for the replies everyone.
 
Great, thank you so much for all the replies. I do feel better about the situation. I didnt think she was intentionally trying to hurt him but I'm new to the snake world and wanted to make sure it wasn't some sign of bad things to come (=

We have had her about 2 weeks and her previous owner fed her the day we brought her home (which I thought was not a great idea but it was already done). So we waited 3 days before holding her. We have not changed any of her bedding yet -- just cleaned her water bowl a few times and have not attempted to feed her again. I hope this was a good way to get her to adjust?

I think I will insist that he only hold her below the neckline at this point, at least for a while. She is fairly heavy so maybe he can keep his hand between her and his neck as he takes her from one room to another. But then I think he should just sit with her and let her crawl around his waist.

Speaking of that, we were eating dinner last night and I thought my son was acting a bit strangely and couldn't figure it out until October peeked her up to the table! She was in his lap the whole time-haha. He would spend every moment of every day with her if possible. Very cute..and even more so now that I'm convinced she wasn't trying to murder him (= Thanks again for the replies everyone.

HAHA (the underlined part)

That's cute though, it's amazing how attached someone can get to a snake, we all know the feeling :)
 
Another vote for non-murderer ;) I'd agree with Haarstad, she thought she was going to drop to the floor and so gripped on tighter with her tail.

The suggestions given to preventing this happening again are great, and it's even better that your son isn't put off by the whole episode. Just one last thought; he probably likes the feeling of her weight round his neck.. if he is going to hold her this way (you know kids..) then he should sit down straight away while handling her. Then she won't have far to fall, there'll be more places for her to go, and both of them will feel less vulnerable :)
 
Another vote for non-murderer ;) I'd agree with Haarstad, she thought she was going to drop to the floor and so gripped on tighter with her tail.

The suggestions given to preventing this happening again are great, and it's even better that your son isn't put off by the whole episode. Just one last thought; he probably likes the feeling of her weight round his neck.. if he is going to hold her this way (you know kids..) then he should sit down straight away while handling her. Then she won't have far to fall, there'll be more places for her to go, and both of them will feel less vulnerable :)

One of the best ideas so far, eliminating the height factor gives her no reason to feel the need to grab on tighter... Just one more thing to try
 
One of the best ideas so far, eliminating the height factor gives her no reason to feel the need to grab on tighter... Just one more thing to try
Thanks. I did it automatically when my boy got ginormous and handling was difficult. It will work though :)
 
One of my smaller snakes does this to my wrist. It will keep wrapping itself tightly around my wrist, almost cutting off circulation. It mostly does this if I have a bracelet around my wrist too and likes the feeling of my silver bracelet against its skin that it will tighten and rub against it. I notice snakes love the feel of certain things on its skin or just rubbing against them and will encircle the object (or body part) tightly, like a hug. Only thing I can compare it to is a cat leaning into your hand when you pet it.
 
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