Inherited Temperament?

[questionableintent]

So, a funny thing happened to me today. I was talking to a guy I work with about my new baby, and where I got him from, etc. And apparently, after passing some information back and forth, we realized that his two corn snakes are my Fen's mommy and daddy! Pretty cool! .. until we started talking further and he told me that both of his corns were extremely aggressive, and bit him constantly, from hatchlings to adults. This worried me a little bit .. this might be a silly question, but do snakes inherit their parent's temperaments at all? So far my little one seems perfectly docile. He's never struck at me, and although he makes an S every time I go to handle him, he mellows out as soon as I have him. So do snakes just develop their own, completely unique temperaments, or is there a possbility that Fen's might change as he gets older?

 

[Caryl]

We-el-ll-lll....

Fen is highly unlikely to become aggressive. The usual behaviour changes are from more flighty/nervous/nippy as a baby to calmer/gentler/easier to handle as an adult. That's because little ones instinctively know that a whole lot of things would be happy to eat them, and they're just trying to stay alive. If Fen already understands that he's safe with you and doesn't react defensively or aggressively, there's no reason to worry that he will do so in the future.

I don't know about any scientific studies, but it's logical that temperament can be inherited, at least to a certain degree. Certain bloodlines have well-earned reputations for being docile or aggressive. It's logical that this is at least partially inherited.

I'm curious about Fen's parents. It's highly unusual to have extremely aggressive, constantly biting corn snakes. Is it possible that the owner is causing the aggression in some way? Without knowing more about the situation, I confess that is the first thing that comes to mind.

 

[questionableintent]

I'm not too sure exactly. I'll have to ask him the next time I see him, which will be Thursday I think. Other than hand feeding (I've heard this can turn out a bitey adult?), what other owner behavious would have produced an aggressive adult? .. nothing too horrible I hope! :uhoh:

 

[EsotericForest]

I imagine that some "personality traits" if you will, can be passed on to a certain extent. That being said, if you handle the snake consistently, he will begin to trust you and everything will be fine. I wouldn't be very worried, your snake should be fine

 

[Caryl]

I'm not too sure exactly. I'll have to ask him the next time I see him, which will be Thursday I think. Other than hand feeding (I've heard this can turn out a bitey adult?), what other owner behavious would have produced an aggressive adult? .. nothing too horrible I hope! :uhoh:

You're right about hand feeding being a bad idea. Generally speaking, any situation that's stressful for the snake can cause aggressive/"bitey" behavior. This is particularly true for long-term stressors. These situations aren't necessarily all "horrible" owner behavior; sometimes they're just due to lack of information. Here are few.
1. Cohabbing; corns live alone in nature and can become aggressive due to the stress of this situation.
2. High temperatures in the viv.
3. Having a scent of food on one's hands. This can be anything from mice to chicken to tuna to lunchmeat.
4. Having a scent of a predator on one's hands. Cats, dogs, and king snakes are among the possibilities here.
5. Lack of hides; not feeling safe can cause nippiness.
6. Lack of handling; again, this leads to a snake feeling threatened by being handled.
7. Rough handling.

That's an off-the-cuff list, and not intended to be all-inclusive. There are also a few rare individuals who are just nippy no matter what. Attitude does seem to run in bloodlines to some extent. Usually even an adult corn can be gentled with time and patience and proper handling. You should encourage your friend to start fresh; make sure the conditions are as they should be and take time for regular, gentle handling sessions. In time he might be pleasantly surprised at the results.

 

[questionableintent]

Alright, so just to clarify, the guy I work with doesn't actually own the snakes anymore, he donated them to a local exotic pet store so they could breed some normals. I guess they were "extra" pretty or something? Haha.
So, after talking to him again, and putting on my detective hat, I've discovered that there was both co-habitating, hand feeding inside the viv, and a general lack of handling. Yikes .. I'm thinking maybe this was more of a learned behaviour thing than an inborn thing. My little guy is sweet as pie, and if I don't give him a reason to change, I don't foresee a little monster in my future
Thanks for all the input!

 

[SnakeAround]

I actually bred a girl from a pretty grumpy mail, which is as grumpy as a 2-year old as he is Her brother at the other is a darling, though he took a little longer then average to loose his hateling behaviour.

 

[omni]

There is that whole nature vs. nurture thing. I feel offspring from defensive/aggressive parents are only more likely to have the same behaviors if triggered by their environment. Poorly kept, mistreated or stressful habitat, those sort of things I think would bring out some bad behaviors.
I gave up trying to get my 2yr old Amel to be handleable. She came from an owner who fed live in viv and didn't handle since a hatchling. Active, very motion-oriented and strikes at me, but at least I got her to eat F/T now. Got me real good one time, full wrap :crying:
I'll still try breeding her in a year or two, because only that she is pretty outweighs possible passing on agressiveness(which I think think came from her upbringing)