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agressive baby snake (shedding?)

H

holes_in_me

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I just bought my very own corn snake and i do love it.. The first day i got it it was very friendly and relaxed and the very next day it became aggressive. I can't even put my hand in the tank with it without it striking at me! I noticed today that it's eyes look blue and it has a scale on the top of it's head that looks like it may be falling off... Is my snake getting ready to shed? It also wouldn't eat about 2 days ago.. can someone please help me.. all the ones that i took care of at the zoo were nice and now i have a pet i can't even get close to :(
 
Yes, your snake is shedding. Snakes can become agitated or agressive during shedding cycles. Your snake may also be overly stressed. When you brought your snake home, you placed him into an entirely new enviroment for which he was not familiar. This is stressful on a snake. Instead of leaving him alone to adjust, you began handling him the next day. You should have left him alone so that he could adjust to his new surroundings. He will be fine if you leave him alone for a week and allow him to finish shedding and adjusting to his new home.

Larry D. Stassin
 
Larry is exactly right, but I would suggest leaving it alone a bit longer than a week. If your snake's eyes just turned blue, it may be that long before it actually sheds. Your snake will also probably not eat until after it sheds, and I would recommend that you allow your snake to have a few meals in it's new home before handling it. A stressed snake in a new home may not eat until it settles in, and if you handle it before it eats, you may be just adding stress and create a snowball effect.
 
Some snakes just get very high strung when they are going opaque. They become very vulnerable to predators when their eyes go blue, simply because they just can't see very well. Most will just hide out somewhere until it is over with and they can shed the skin, but in a captive environment with the owner wanting to constantly look at their new animal, they feel insecure and threatened by that situation.

The first step to calming a snake down is to make it feel unthreatened by the environment. The second step is to get the snake to recognize that YOU are the one bringing it good things to eat, have a nice warm hand and arm to sit on, and are not a threat to it.

Of course, there are some individuals who never get with the program, but fortunately this is not too common with corn snakes.
 
thanks

thanks for your advice.. the snake still isn't showing any other signs of shedding.... should i try to handle it or feed it? I have left it alone since my last post other then to change it's water and to mist the snake.. and if i should handle it what is the best way? It strikes at me as soon as my hand enters the cage and if i try to touch it it freaks out..... thanks for trying to help me
 
Sarah,

You need to read the responses to your post. All of the answers to your questions are there. You only submitted your post on the 4th, today is the 6th. Just leave the snake alone for a week or two he will be fine and by that time he will have shed and will be ready to eat. Snakes are not like dogs, that do not need to be held or petted all the time. You might want to go out and buy the Cornsnake Manual by Kathy Love, it will answer most if not all of your questions and provide you with the background to properly care for your snake.

Larry D. Stassin
 
I agree with all of the above, the best thing would be to let him have some alone time for the next week or until he finishes shedding.

Most of the snakes I have worked with can become slightly aggressive when they are in thier shed cycle.

Let us know it went when he is done shedding.
 
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