My snake keeps biting me!

[Guadalupe]

I got my baby (yearling) cornsnake, Guadalupe, last September, and I love her! It took her a fairly short time to warm up to me, which I was pleasantly surprised at because I've never had any experience with snakes before. A couple of months ago, however, she started this new thing where she bites me...like, constantly. I try to take her out and handle her as much as possible, which is every day except for the two days after I feed her. I called the vet, and she gave me a long list of possible reasons why Lupe would be biting me, but none of them seemed to fit. I thought that maybe she was really hungry, and I wasn't feeding her enough, as she is growing at a pretty good rate. So now she eats 2 large pinkies every three days, and I'm going to get larger prey as soon as I run out of these. She always eats very easily and never regurgitates. Everything I've read about cornsnakes says they are very friendly and almost never bite...then how come she bites me all the time!? I don't think it has anything to do with her shedding cycle, as it happens no matter what point in the cycle she's at. It doesn't have anything to do with my menstrual cycle because she does it no matter what point in the cycle I'm in. It shouldn't have anything to do with her being sick because she's very active and eats normally. It shouldn't have anything to do with her home, as she has a fairly enormous home for her tiny self (35 gallon tank), and her temps are always good. I try to mist the tank at least once a day to keep her humidity up because she hates water and never drinks it. The only thing I can think of is that she's hungry because that's what it seems like when she's biting me, like, she tries to constrict around my hand and everything. I yell at her, but it does no good. Sometimes blowing on her helps, though. Is it possible that she's actually dumb enough to think she can eat me? And why is she trying to? I though snakes could go a lot longer than 3 days without eating...Sorry this post is so long, but I hope someone can give me some advice...

Sarah (y Lupe)

 

[Maize411]

I'm very new to snakes myself...but maybe..

You might want to get her checked by the vet..if you claim she hasn't been drinking and also saying she is eatting every three days..that just sounds odd to me..your right when you say they can go longer then that without eatting..It might have to do with something going on inside her..she might not be getting the nutrients she needs or her digestive system might have something wrong..hence her constant desire to eat...like I said I'm very new to snakes myself and I'm no vet...but it's a thought to check into..ya know..to make sure you cover all possibilities.. :shrugs:

 

[lefty_mussolini]

If she is biting, not letting go, and trying to constrict, it sounds like a feeding response.

You say that she is a yearling but she is still on Pinks. Even two pinks every three days is not enough for most yearlings. You have to consider that pinkies are digested VERY quickly. If the lump from the previous feeding is already gone the next day, then it's a good indicator that she needs to move up in food size. I understand wanting to use up the last of the pinks, but your snake, at a year old, should probably be eating at least fuzzies or even hoppers.

But then again, I haven't seen the size of her. I'm just basing that on the fact that you said that she is a yearling and you also said that she is growing at a pretty good rate.

 

[Guadalupe]

She's never really liked water since the time I got her, which I can understand. I don't like drinking water either...I did take her to the vet in the beginning and had a full check-up w/ fecal culture and everything, and she was fine then.

Yeah, I'm going to get her some larger food soon. I definitely don't think these are big enough for her. While waitiShe'sng for responses, I looked over past posts about biting and got some good information. It's definitely a feeding response. When I take her out, she chills with me for a while and crawls around. Then after she's found the exact spot she wants to attempt to ingest, that's when she starts biting. Usually it's a finger or my ear; those are her favourites. She often tries to bite my arm as well, but she definitely can't get her arm around that, and I have some time to blow on her face and yell at her before she gets her teeth in me.

Tonight instead of putting her back in her cage as punishment, I kept her out, and she's calmed down now...sleeping in her favourite place (in my shirt).

I'll try larger prey. Any suggestions on what size and how often. Everything I've read is so variable. She's probably close to 2 feet long, but still pretty skinny, and her head is tiny.

 

[desertanimal]

You should go by two rules of thumb.

1) The width of the prey item should be no larger than 1.5 times the width of the widest point of the snake.

2) You should see a lump from the food for 24-48 hours. More than 48 hours is too long, less than 24 means the snake could use some bigger/more food.

Don't worry about the size of her head. Go by the body width.

 

[SnakeNbake]

I think it's a feeding problem too but in the opposite way everyone else is saying so far. If you're feeding her every three days, she's eating a lot more often than the norm and I get the feeling she's associating you with food. My snakes have been known to bite when it's feeding time because they get so worked up over the food. Ears and fingers can easily pass for a pinky in the eyes of a hungry snake. My advice is to get her on fuzzies instead of pinkies and to feed her every 5 days instead of three. I think a regular and more satisfying routine is what will make the difference for her.

I'd also recommend not yelling at her if she bites you. I find corns get spooked easily and when they're stressed, they will attempt to bite even more because they're terrified of you. Try to understand that she just thinks you're going to feed her because you've taught her over time that you will. If you feed her more food but less often, I'll bet the biting will stop.

Good luck

 

[Velvet]

Hi There,

Just wanted to ask, do you feed by hand? Meaning, does she see the pink in your hand before you put it down for her? If so, she is definitely associating your hand with food. When you feed her, try working out a system (maybe blocking her in a hide for a few minutes) so that when she is fed, she doesn't see your hand (or preferrably you) at all.

Also, try feeding her in a completely separate container, maybe she will then associate the other container with food rather than your hand.

Also, be careful when you shift her up to bigger food items. Because she has been fed small meals very often, her stomach may not be used to stretching that much for a bigger item. This can lead to regurging (trust me, I found this out the hard way!). I would suggest taking things slowly and build her up to the size she should be eating.

My yearling is on 2 BIG fuzzies a week and will be moving onto hoppers fairly soon. He's also almost 3 feet now, your girl sounds very small for her age.

Anyway, wishing you the very best! I am sure your girl will come right!!! :santa:

 

[tyflier]

Most of the bases have been covered, so I only have one thing to add.

You mentioned in your last post that you normally put her back in her cage when she bites, if I'm not mistaken. This action alone can reinforce the act of biting. As much as we like to think they do, most snakes don't really enjoy being handled. They will tolerate it, but it's not their first choice. When she bites you, and you put her back in her cage, you are actually rewarding her by giving her what she would prefer.

I would recommend holding her at least until she calms down after she bites. Then she will learn to relax.

 

[Velvet]

Very good point!!! :santa:

 

[Nanci]

I have a snake that is a feeding response biter. He thinks he is always going to be fed whenever he is taken out. I think how it got started was I never washed my hands when I handled him, but after I thawed his mice, I would wash my hands, and then go get him to put him in his feeding container. So when my hands smelled like Ivory dish soap, he was always fed. Fine.

Then I got a turtle who had pneumonia, and I started washing my hands before and after every time I handled anyone for any reason. So now my hands smelled like Ivory every time I handled Zee, and that is when he started biting me. He'd be just fine, and then just open his mouth and latch on- not aggressively, but hungrily.

So I started washing my hands with Purel gel hand cleaner, which smells very alcohol-y, every time I handled him except when I was going to feed him, when I would wash with Ivory. That worked for a while, but he's lately gotten worse, even though I have increased his feeds from every seven days to every five days, and he's gone from one fuzzy to two. He still thinks he's starving all the time, and as soon as I lift up his hide and stroke his back to let him know I am going to pick him up, he opens his mouth, and I just have to stay out of his way. He'll even bite the floor of his feeding container. I'm hoping that larger meals and more frequent feedings will calm him down.

When Zee bites, I just detach him and continue handling, trying to keep his head away from fingers, which are what he likes to go for. I don't yell at him- his pea brain wouldn't understand. I don't put him back, either, till he's gone a while without biting. Usually, though, it only happens in the first few minutes of handling, while he still thinks there's a chance he might be fed.

Nanci