Evil Garter Snake

[xStatic]

My two year old female albino checkered garter snake has suddenly morphed into an unrelenting vicious little yellow snake! http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/images/smilies/no01.gifIt's been happening for the past 5 or 6 weeks now.

I don't know what to do with her! Even when I reach my hand into the tank to change her water bowl she shoots out from where ever she was hiding and tries to bite the crap out of my hand, haha. She looks like a little cobra because she flattens out her head and body and flips around trying everything she can to get her teeth into my skin.

Her feeding response is still strong as ever. I have her on mice and she gets fed once a week, but she usually tries to bite the tongs a few times before she gets ahold of the mouse. I use to feed her out of her enclosure in a separate bin but I can't even get her out of her tank anymore because she's too fast and flighty and way too nippy. I get worried she's going to end up ingesting aspen since she's use to being fed out of her cage. I'm dreading the day (coming very soon) when I really am going to need to do a deep clean on her cage and take out all of her furniture/aspen.

I just don't know what to do. I can't handle her anymore because she's way too flighty and gets away easily, bites me constantly, and flings musk all over the place! http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/images/smilies/bawling.gif Nothing about her environment has been changed except the fact that I've gone to University a few miles away, but I still come home at least once or twice a week to care for my snakes. I guess maybe she's gotten use to the absolute quiet and calm of my empty room, and when I come home she's just really angry about it?

Has anyone else ever dealt with an extremely flighty and aggressive small colubrid? Suggestions for what I can try to do to tame her again? She use to be so sweet http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/images/smilies/frown.gif

[CrazyHedgehog]

use rubber gloves, you don't tend to feel the bite through them, and they don't like the taste so stop after a while

[guidofatherof5]

Sounds like separation anxiety disorder (SAD):D

[d_virginiana]

Do you feed anything but mice? You could try feeding worms and fish as well. Sometimes mine get cranky if they decide they want another food source for a bit. :rolleyes:

What kind of lighting is she exposed to? I have two albinos and two that aren't, and both my albinos go nuts and have horrible aim whenever there is food around. They can clearly see, but I think their vision is more sensitive than non-albinos. Try putting your hand on the outside of the tank and tapping and see if you get the same crazy response to just your presence, or if she's reacting to your smell or the fact you're on the inside of the tank.

[xStatic]

Do you feed anything but mice? You could try feeding worms and fish as well. Sometimes mine get cranky if they decide they want another food source for a bit. :rolleyes:

What kind of lighting is she exposed to? I have two albinos and two that aren't, and both my albinos go nuts and have horrible aim whenever there is food around. They can clearly see, but I think their vision is more sensitive than non-albinos. Try putting your hand on the outside of the tank and tapping and see if you get the same crazy response to just your presence, or if she's reacting to your smell or the fact you're on the inside of the tank.

She definitely tries to attack me from both the outside and inside, haha. But she just has a regular incandescent light bulb on a timer. I would wonder if maybe the lighting was bothering her, but she's had the same type of bulb for nearly 2 years and just started acting like this a few weeks ago.

I will try the rubber gloves thing too!

[BLUESIRTALIS]

Sometimes it's not aggression, but a feeding response! How do you feed her? For instance is it in her same cage off of forceps or do you put her in another tub for feeding? I did a study and found that if i took my snakes out of their actual cage and fed them in a empty separate container they became less inerested in biting me. When i fed them in their cage they always thought i was coming to feed them and would nip at me! Just a thought! Also you may need to add more hides for her!

[chris-uk]

Has anyone else ever dealt with an extremely flighty and aggressive small colubrid? Suggestions for what I can try to do to tame her again? She use to be so sweet http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/images/smilies/frown.gif

Seems like she's got used to not being disturbed.

My mental checkered has been mental from the moment I got her. She's constantly posturing to bite me, false strikes at me, but doesn't musk. If there's the smell of food in the air she'll bite and won't let go. I'm sure that hyper-aggression is a behaviour that can be learned and unlearned, although in your case there doesn't appear to be a significant trigger.
It's difficult, but confident handling is what will get them accustomed to being held. Difficult to be confident handling when every quick move makes you think you're going to bleed.

[EKS56]

I can speak for myself when I say that feeding them in the same enclosure they live in promotes getting bit.

[d_virginiana]

I only have one that's really crazy and flighty. When I handle him I usually start by getting a couple fingers up under his chin, and then kind of getting the rest of his body into my hands without touching his back at all. The second I touch his back he freaks out. But I always let him run away whenever he starts freaking out, I just don't let the entire handling session end until he's calm and I let him crawl away on a good note.
Apparently the conditioning has been working, because I had to hold him for about ten minutes this week to remove a retained eyecap and he didn't bite or musk once.


I can speak for myself when I say that feeding them in the same enclosure they live in promotes getting bit.

I think it has to do with how much you handle them. If your hand goes in there 10 times a week to pick them up, and only once a week with food they expect to get picked up. If the only time your hand goes in there is with food, then all they expect is food.

[Mommy2many]

I have one that I have had since he was born. He likes to come out and try to strike, gets all in that cobra/viper pose. I look at him and say Really? After 4 years, you're gonna still try and bite me? He hasn't but he still likes to show off that he is all big and bad. :)

[xStatic]

Good news! I've been using rubber gloves as suggested and she's calmed down completely! I have been doing 20 minute handling sessions with her every other day and although she's still a little bit skiddish (as she's always been) she no longer tries to bite me, and usually doesn't even musk :) thanks for helping me get my pet snake back to her good ol' self!!

[Selkielass]

Yaaaaaaay!
im so glad one if our suggestions seems to have helped- it can be soooo frustrating Shen a pets temperament changes for no reason we can identify.

[guidofatherof5]

Glad it's working out.

[EKS56]

When you say rubber gloves are you talking about the thin latex type or the thicker dish washing gloves?

[aquamentus_11]

i like it when they posture and flatten out......is that wrong?:D

[ConcinusMan]

Be very sure of your temperatures. Make sure you're not overheating. A basking area around 85F is plenty high enough but be sure the air temperature stays in the 70's and that the snake can cool down to low 70's if they choose to. Better to error a bit on the cool side than too warm. If it's constantly just a bit too warm with no cool-down period at night snakes can get very grouchy and it also stresses their immune system making them vulnerable to R.I.'s. Most cases of bacterial R.I. are actually caused by lack of a wide enough gradient (inability to choose a body temp as low as 70 or as high as 88 at any given time) and keeping them too warm or the enclosure uniformly warm.


Put lights and heat on a timer and/or thermostat so the day/night cycle is regular. Cool the entire enclosure down to 65-70 at night for around 8 hours of regularly timed uninterrupted darkness. During the day one end should be low 70's air temp and your basking spot should be highly localized low to upper 80's.

The behavior you described can be caused by the snake being a bit too warm. Cooling down a bit at night is important too so they rest better.

[xStatic]

Be very sure of your temperatures. Make sure you're not overheating. A basking area around 85F is plenty high enough but be sure the air temperature stays in the 70's and that the snake can cool down to low 70's if they choose to. Better to error a bit on the cool side than too warm. If it's constantly just a bit too warm with no cool-down period at night snakes can get very grouchy and it also stresses their immune system making them vulnerable to R.I.'s. Most cases of bacterial R.I. are actually caused by lack of a wide enough gradient (inability to choose a body temp as low as 70 or as high as 88 at any given time) and keeping them too warm or the enclosure uniformly warm.


Put lights and heat on a timer and/or thermostat so the day/night cycle is regular. Cool the entire enclosure down to 65-70 at night for around 8 hours of regularly timed uninterrupted darkness. During the day one end should be low 70's air temp and your basking spot should be highly localized low to upper 80's.

The behavior you described can be caused by the snake being a bit too warm. Cooling down a bit at night is important too so they rest better.

Thanks! Luckily her tank is set up so that it goes through a cycle very similar to the one you described. I use a heat emitting light during the day and the basking temp stays around 82*F. The light is on a 12 hour on/off cycle and my room temperature is usually 68-70*F. We do usually turn the central heat off at night so the ambient temp at night might drop a few degrees lower than 68.

She's doing much better now though! So I have a feeling she was just skittish/grouchy because she got accustomed to being left alone all of the time, and now that I'm back and messing around in my room more she's adjusted to my presence and isn't quite as startled or angry at me.

[aquamentus_11]

If it's constantly just a bit too warm with no cool-down period at night snakes can get very grouchy and it also stresses their immune system making them vulnerable to R.I.'s. Most cases of bacterial R.I. are actually caused by lack of a wide enough gradient and keeping them too warm or the enclosure uniformly warm.

nice, new this. thanks

[Hans]

Most of my Nerodia fasciata will try to bite, but with gloves it's not much of a problem. A few Thamnophis will strike (male Thamnophis melanogaster canescens. male Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis, female Thamnophis atratus stratus); it doesn't bother me. Snake room cools down at night (60*F); I can handle my snakes best in the morning when they're not so active.