I thought using a feed tank was supposed to REDUCE aggression!

[jebbewocky]

So, I have an eight year old corn snake, who is a retired class pet.
I fed him in his feeder tub yesterday, and everything went OK, except my cat barged into the room and had to approach the tub. Snake got angry.

I shooed the kitty out of the room, and the snake ate, but he kept trying to bite me when I tried to put him back in his tank! I haven't been handling him much lately, maybe once a week, but he used to be dog tame! Am I not handling him enough, or was he just angry because of my cat?

 

[Leora22]

He might be still hungry after you take him out of the feeding bin or still be in feeding mode or like you said your not handling him enough .....best thing to do is just take the bites and tame him back down and thats to say if he starts showing aggression again it might have just been a bad day for him ..with that cat in all :/ *shrug*

 

[KeithY]

He was still in hunting mode. Mine do this all the time. I don't use feed tanks either. It is bad to handle after eating. Just feed them in their home. As long as you get them out occasionally to play with, they will not develop a feeding response. Feeding response is where this whole theory came from I believe. I handle mine like 1 a month, if that and they are squirmy but tame. My herps are kind of like my T's, just to look at. None of them bite and I have some species that are supposed to be aggressive (P. reticulatus, E. murinus, etc.)

 

[jebbewocky]

I use a feeding tank so he doesn't ingest substate--and I've heard if they feed in a seperate tank then when you reach into their regular tank to handle them or do maintenance, there is less of a chance of being bit. He calmed down significantly once in the tank. I feed him 1 mouse a week--could he still have been hungry after having a mouse? I'll give him a few days to settle down and try handling him. Maybe I should start daily handling.

I wasn't handling after he ate, just trying to get him back in the tank.
EDIT: I really do think it was probably the kitty though--that's the second time he's done that!

 

[TomM]

If you put a nice flat stone or tile in the tank you can put its food on that. We would feed my brother's corn snake like that any have never had any feeding or handling problems.

 

[jebbewocky]

He takes readily from tongs, but has to adjust it as he eats--I don't think a stone would help. Maybe I should use smaller mice?

 

[Shrike]

I feed my snake in a separate container to avoid the possibility of him ingesting substrate. I believe your snake was simply still in "feeding mode."

 

[jebbewocky]

Meaning he was still hungry? Or should I just give him more time to calm down post-feeding?

 

[TomM]

Possibly both.

 

[jebbewocky]

Possibly both.

Could he really be hungry after a large mouse? He's just a corn snake--nowhere near big enough to have an adult rat--I'm actually a little worried about the rat pinkie I got for him.

 

[TomM]

You can always feed more smaller servings (i.e. - two smaller mice). Also, are you feeding live mice or frozen-thawed?

 

[jebbewocky]

F/T mice=easier.

 

[TomM]

Did you ever handle the mouse with your bare hand and possibly get the smell on your hand? Maybe that's what the snake was reacting to... just a theory.

 

[Shrike]

Could he really be hungry after a large mouse? He's just a corn snake--nowhere near big enough to have an adult rat--I'm actually a little worried about the rat pinkie I got for him.

The snake was probably still reacting to stimuli such as the smell of the prey item. If my Andean milk so much as catches the smell of mouse he'll strike at anything that moves.

 

[jebbewocky]

I tong-feed and washed my hands before and after.

 

[jebbewocky]

Even if they aren't hungry? I don't want to be underfeeding him! D:

 

[Shrike]

I always wash my hands as well. Nonetheless, your snake can still smell traces of the mouse it just ingested. When your snake finished the first mouse, did it behave as if it was looking for another one? That's exactly what mine does. At that point, any form of movement from hands, tongs, etc, attracts its attention. If you don't want to get bitten, maybe you could use a small hook to aid in the transfer back to the enclosure. Like I said before, my sole reason for feeding in a second container is to avoid substrate ingestion.

 

[jebbewocky]

I always wash my hands as well. Nonetheless, your snake can still smell traces of the mouse it just ingested. When your snake finished the first mouse, did it behave as if it was looking for another one? That's exactly what mine does. At that point, any form of movement from hands, tongs, etc, attracts its attention. If you don't want to get bitten, maybe you could use a small hook to aid in the transfer back to the enclosure. Like I said before, my sole reason for feeding in a second container is to avoid substrate ingestion.

Yeah, he did kinda look like he was looking for another mousie.
Getting a snake hook might not be a bad idea. I also mainly do it to avoid substate ingestion--my leos had compaction issues, and I am NOT allowing that with the snakey-take. :3

 

[R McP]

How big is the snake? My 3 1/2 foot ball python feeding schedule is 1 small rat two weeks in row then 1 week off. I think the snake may still be hungry or as others have said, still in feeding mode.

 

[jebbewocky]

Like 5 feet. He's been fed 1 mice/week for a long time--it's what the last owner did.