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Get used to bite
- Thread starter SLAYER85
- Start date
If you're talking about a hatchling, which do tend to nip when frightened, then the best way to "get used to being bitten" is to rub your finger quickly but lightly over a piece of velcro. 'Cause that's what it feels like.
Corn snakes usually aren't real agressive once they get used to you. You gotta remember that biting is really a snake's last-defense weapon. In the wild, biting something (even food items!) always runs a risk of ripping out teeth, splitting delicate mouth tissues, or even breaking a snake's fragile jaws. And snakes with mouth injuries in the wild are usually as good as dead.
That being said, you'll probably get bitten if you've just rubbed your fingers all over a mouse, and your snake is hungry. So don't rub your fingers all over mice. If you're feeding frozen/thawed mice, sometimes the snakes don't actually "strike" anyway -- they kind of nuzzle the mouse and work their jaws over it. So if you feel a tickle and look down to find that your overly-optimistic serpent is becoming inappropriately attached to your thumb, I'd suggest moving said digit.
If you have a larger snake, and the snake is hungry, and you rub mouse all over your fingers, and you wave those fingers in front of your snake, you'll probably get bit. It might even draw a tiny bit of blood. Even if you were "trying to get bit," and are ready for it, you'll probably jerk back. Your snake will probably lose teeth. And what if you don't jerk, and your snake decides it really is lunch time? You'll have to pry him off your finger, likely costing your snake a tooth or two. All of which probably could have been prevented by not rubbing mouse all over your fingers.
I really just don't think its worth it.
Thanks, and best of luck,
TS
*****
In the beginning the Universe was created... This made a lot of people angry and was widely regarded as a bad move.
-- Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Corn snakes usually aren't real agressive once they get used to you. You gotta remember that biting is really a snake's last-defense weapon. In the wild, biting something (even food items!) always runs a risk of ripping out teeth, splitting delicate mouth tissues, or even breaking a snake's fragile jaws. And snakes with mouth injuries in the wild are usually as good as dead.
That being said, you'll probably get bitten if you've just rubbed your fingers all over a mouse, and your snake is hungry. So don't rub your fingers all over mice. If you're feeding frozen/thawed mice, sometimes the snakes don't actually "strike" anyway -- they kind of nuzzle the mouse and work their jaws over it. So if you feel a tickle and look down to find that your overly-optimistic serpent is becoming inappropriately attached to your thumb, I'd suggest moving said digit.
If you have a larger snake, and the snake is hungry, and you rub mouse all over your fingers, and you wave those fingers in front of your snake, you'll probably get bit. It might even draw a tiny bit of blood. Even if you were "trying to get bit," and are ready for it, you'll probably jerk back. Your snake will probably lose teeth. And what if you don't jerk, and your snake decides it really is lunch time? You'll have to pry him off your finger, likely costing your snake a tooth or two. All of which probably could have been prevented by not rubbing mouse all over your fingers.
I really just don't think its worth it.
Thanks, and best of luck,
TS
*****
In the beginning the Universe was created... This made a lot of people angry and was widely regarded as a bad move.
-- Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
kenalotia
New member
I handle my snakes with my bare hands, both babies and adults. I've never had any problem at all. Corn snakes are NOT aggressive. I've been careful never to let my hands smell like mice, which probably accounts for why I've never been bitten.
If you found yourself with a particularly aggressive corn who did bite you, then you might try wearing gloves until it was accustomed to being held. I see absolutely no reason to use tongs or anything of that sort to hold your corn snake. If you're going to do that, there's no point in handling at all.
If you found yourself with a particularly aggressive corn who did bite you, then you might try wearing gloves until it was accustomed to being held. I see absolutely no reason to use tongs or anything of that sort to hold your corn snake. If you're going to do that, there's no point in handling at all.
Matt L
New member
Just bare hands! I guess I don't even think about being bitten any more....with 50+ snakes most corns and some kings etc. If I don't get bit at least once a week, I'm doing something wrong. Please don't missunderstand I don't antagonize them, but some are just biters. I have a 10 month old leusistic texas rat snake I would swear is part mamba---what an attitude! In most cases the bite can be much more harmful to the snake then you. The more you handle your snake the more comfortable the snake will become with you. Give it some time to adjust.
Best of Luck!
Best of Luck!
Bare hands! The point is that as long as your hands don't smell like mouse, you can maybe, maybe expect to be bitten once or twice a year by an average adult snake. Maybe more by a snake like Matt's Texas Rat (She sounds like a delightful animal, btw, Matt!) and probably much less by a snake you've raised since it was a tiny wee hatchling.
But just like abell82 said, if you go around harassing your snake to make it bite, and poking it with tongs, and squeezing it with big thick gloves, you're probably going to end up with a pretty mean animal after a while. In which case, you can also expect to get bitten more often.
So just be nice to your snake! And don't stick your fingers near him if they smell like mouse. And if -- when -- you do get bitten... well, you can burn that bridge when you come to it. Till then, I really just wouldn't worry. It'd be different if we were talking about taipan or cobras, but think about it -- the absolute worst bite a cornsnake can give you is equivalent to a thorn's scratch. You'd get worse pulling weeds in the garden.
Cheers and thanks,
TS
*****
Insisting on perfect safety is for people who don't have the balls to live in the real world.
--Mary Shafer, NASA Ames Dryden Flight Research Facility
But just like abell82 said, if you go around harassing your snake to make it bite, and poking it with tongs, and squeezing it with big thick gloves, you're probably going to end up with a pretty mean animal after a while. In which case, you can also expect to get bitten more often.
So just be nice to your snake! And don't stick your fingers near him if they smell like mouse. And if -- when -- you do get bitten... well, you can burn that bridge when you come to it. Till then, I really just wouldn't worry. It'd be different if we were talking about taipan or cobras, but think about it -- the absolute worst bite a cornsnake can give you is equivalent to a thorn's scratch. You'd get worse pulling weeds in the garden.
Cheers and thanks,
TS
*****
Insisting on perfect safety is for people who don't have the balls to live in the real world.
--Mary Shafer, NASA Ames Dryden Flight Research Facility
CornsnakeKeeper
Addicted Member
Take everyone's advice. Don't try to make it bite you. No reason. You may not have to get used to it because it may never bite. 3 out of 4 of mine have never bitten me and they are getting older.
what i do when i want to pick any of my snakes up is....
first, have my wife stand at the other end of the cage waving her arms and making funny faces... when the snake seems distracted i quickly slip on some chain-mail gloves and make a quick grab for said fully distracted serpent. next before it is fully coiled and ready to strike at my unprotected face i don a fire helmet with a plexiglass face-shield. i've yet to be bitten by any of my vicious corn snakes using this approach. i think this makes them feel more at home since in the wild they have to deal with large predators.. .....
---------------------------------------------sorry for the interruption but jim has just been yanked back to reality by a large thug wearing imported italian leather and sunglasses... we now resume this post already in progress... ---------------------------------------------
seriously slayer the best thing i think you can do is just relax around your snake and take it slow. they will become accustomed to you very quickly and mellow out as they mature. even with the very feisty ones after awhile you won't even notice their little bites. my cal kings are especially nippy (gluttonous) and will ride around on my hand desperately trying to kill my pinkie finger while i walk around dropping food in bins for the other hatchlings. probably be hard to find a corn this "bad" though. good luck with the snake. ---jim
first, have my wife stand at the other end of the cage waving her arms and making funny faces... when the snake seems distracted i quickly slip on some chain-mail gloves and make a quick grab for said fully distracted serpent. next before it is fully coiled and ready to strike at my unprotected face i don a fire helmet with a plexiglass face-shield. i've yet to be bitten by any of my vicious corn snakes using this approach. i think this makes them feel more at home since in the wild they have to deal with large predators.. .....
---------------------------------------------sorry for the interruption but jim has just been yanked back to reality by a large thug wearing imported italian leather and sunglasses... we now resume this post already in progress... ---------------------------------------------
seriously slayer the best thing i think you can do is just relax around your snake and take it slow. they will become accustomed to you very quickly and mellow out as they mature. even with the very feisty ones after awhile you won't even notice their little bites. my cal kings are especially nippy (gluttonous) and will ride around on my hand desperately trying to kill my pinkie finger while i walk around dropping food in bins for the other hatchlings. probably be hard to find a corn this "bad" though. good luck with the snake. ---jim
kellyjones
Addicted but happy
I knew I was doing something wrong !!!! I am not using the funny face routine.
Seriously, why make your snake strike. Corns are not aggressive. Let him/her get used to your smell. Dont wear gloves and relax
Seriously, why make your snake strike. Corns are not aggressive. Let him/her get used to your smell. Dont wear gloves and relax
Congrats, Jim -- you just made milk come out my nose. 
Matt, What a sweetheart! Love that half-translucent coloring... and the superb muscle tone. She (he?) looks like she'd gladly take off the tip of your nose if you'd let her. Is it true that the Leucistics have sky-blue eyes?
Matt, What a sweetheart! Love that half-translucent coloring... and the superb muscle tone. She (he?) looks like she'd gladly take off the tip of your nose if you'd let her. Is it true that the Leucistics have sky-blue eyes?
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