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Seeking your opinion

Popeye

Popeye

New member
Hello fellow experts,

Today I found out by fluke the history of my pet "Jake" a 5 year old 6 foot corn. Pics are somewhere in the gallery)

I was surprised to hear why the previous owners of my snake gave him up, and Little Ray's Reptile zoo, picked him up.

I was told that the previous owners had Jake since he was a yearling, and was always docile. Jake then escaped his viv, and was lost in the house for over a month. He was found in the heating ducks of the house. After placing him in his viv, he became very aggressive, and bit the owners a few times, thus they gave him up.

I got him 10 days after being in the zoo, and has always been docile with me and my family ever since we got him. It took several weeks for him to feed, but now is eating like their is no tomorrow.

Is this normal behavior considering what he went through? Or is someone pulling my chain? I find it hard to believe that he was given up due to his aggressiveness??/ Any comments are welcome.
 
Don't worry about it. When they found him he was probably stressed out and hungry. If he's always been docile with you, I see no need for you concern yourself over him suddenly becoming aggressive.
 
Emily1188 said:
Don't worry about it. When they found him he was probably stressed out and hungry. If he's always been docile with you, I see no need for you concern yourself over him suddenly becoming aggressive.
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Ditto - He was stressed and hungry which makes sense. Sounds like he's doing better with you and I'd say as long as you keep handling him and taking care of him all should be good :)
 
I think it is sad that the owners would have given him up because of him probably being scared and hungry.
After all, who's fault is it that your snake gets out? Who's fault is it if your docile corn suddenly gets aggressive? Probably not the snake's.

However, I can see people getting rid of the snake after a few bites: a lot of people have a fear of snakes, even if they own one.

It sounds like the snake got a good deal- a more responsible pet owner who wonders why someone would give up a snake like him. :spinner:
 
Thanks for the nice comment. I also think the snake got a better deal, he has a nice big viv, with all his necesities thanks to the coaching of everyone on this forum...Thank you for that.

As for Jake, big as he may be, he is very docile, and glad he is at that!

Cheers and thank you again.
 
I have had sort of the same situation. I "rescued" Sangria mid march this year. 3ft Amel. (pictured avatar) The little boy who had him lost interest after a few bites. Then became known as "bites every time". Although I don't blame the snake. If you were kept in a tank 2times too small, with no warming element and only being fed half of what you should be fed, you would be cramped, cold and hungry too. After a week with warmth, space and food, he became active curious and I have not been bitten once. Proper handling and care. Wins every time.
 
I have an Amel corn, Kissy, who is very bitey. I sometimes think about finding her a new home, but she is a pleasure to look at and is always hungry, and likes to watch as I move around in the room. I've learned a few things with her, and just enjoy her being so active, altho I don't handle except very carefully when puttin her in a feeding tub, and its pour or let slide back into her tank after.
 
Some of my corns are bitey, some aren't, I don't really mind either way. I did at one point wonder if I'd be up to keeping my evil ratsnake because 5' of fast biting snake striking at me wasn't fun, but as I've got better at handling him he's mellowed a little. Really I'm more surprised that some snakes don't ever bite, I sort of think a few bites here and there come with owning a reptile with teeth!
 
I'm actually kinda upset my recently acquired Anery is no longer bitey! I thought it was kinda amusing. :crazy02: He bit me when I was getting him out of the viv at the old owner's place and another time at my place, but at under 3 feet, he doesn't even break the skin. He doesn't bite anymore, now that he's used to me, but I guess I might not have been so amused with the biting as he grew. LOL I wouldn't want to get rid of a biter though, unless I was pretty sure of the home he was going to, because he might be resigned to a life of either moving from owner to owner constantly or just languishing in a viv with no handling, both of which would only make the behavior worse. If he ends up with the wrong owner, who knows what might happen....release into the wild?
 
I would not worry about Jake's history too much. See how he is with you. Most corn snakes are pretty gentle. And since they are not venomous and have small teeth, not big venom fangs, it's not that scary. He may just have a really strong feeding response & hit at anything that might be food. In that case, if your hands smell like hand gel, not furry things, you probably will be fine. Or maybe he was just starving when they recovered him. I don't really know, but I would give him a chance to be a good pet snake. I think that's what he will be.
 
Popeye said:
Is this normal behavior considering what he went through? Or is someone pulling my chain? I find it hard to believe that he was given up due to his aggressiveness??/ Any comments are welcome.
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Its due to the fact that you are comfortable with him. Once they weren't, his level of uncomfortable-ness (lol) stayed high...I was given a snake by a neighbor some years ago because of aggression...they wouldnt go into the tank to get him without several false starts...all animals react to your level of calm or tension...bet he does just fine with you because you are fine with him :*)
 
Sounds like the previous owners just got timid when their little snake got too big. It is sad when people either get a pet they can't handle or just get bored with an animal and find an excuse to justify their actions. I had a friend who "stole" an abused snake. That snake loved him so much for saving her life.
 
Old Jake was in the wild hunting and defending himself like any wild snake so he would act a little different from a "domestic" animal.
He should settle down soon enough if not already.
 
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