Corn snake gone nuts?

[Mister Internet]

Hey all,

I have a healthy, HUGE male Okee corn, Kathy Love stock, who i've owned since he was a neonate... he's about 4 years old.

So, recently I got quite a surprise when I removed him from his cage for handling... he hung out on my arm for a bit and then slowly slid his head along my arm. He stopped about halfway down my lower arm, turned his head to place his nose on my arm, and then slowly opened his mouth and started walking his jaws onto my arm as if it was a friggin thawed rat.

No malice, no defense... it wasn't a "strike" at all. He just seemed to think my arm was a tasty treat.

So I let him mellow for a couple of weeks, and tried it again. I even washed both arms up my shoulders in soap, twice, and then applied a liberal dose of Purell antibacterial gel. The only thing my arm smelled like was a hospital. Same exact result... nosed up to my arms, and just latched on and started chewing on my arms as if it was a thawed prey item.

So... anyone every seen this before? The only thing I can think of is that he hasn't eaten in about 6 weeks (new baby, life happens), but he has always had fresh water every three days. Just haven't had time to do the thaw process, yada yada. I've been doing this a long time, and I know a thinning snake... he has always been fed VERY well, and he is still quite stout. So please, no emotional thrashings about me abusing my snake, I'm not interested. What I *am* interested in is finding out if anyone else has had a male corn go kind of bonkers like this... if the consensus is that hunger might play a factor, then fine, but he's about as emaciated as Rosie O'Donnell at this point. Like I said, he isn't "attacking" my arm, he's just mouthing over it like it's a dead prey item that he wants to eat, but that he's aware he doesn't have to constrict.

Like I said... weird stuff. Thoughts?

[dhonaker]

i thank he is hungry 6 weeks is a while for a corn im fat but i still get hungry lol

[Xeikeness]

I'd say it's a hunger response, and nothing else. If he's healthy in every other way, I'd say it's time to feed him, he's obviously hungry.

I wouldn't say he's gone "nuts", "crazy" or "bonkers" unless he was rampantly striking and biting and constricting everything that moved, or didn't move, or might have moved, or happens to be warm, or could be warm, that he ever comes into contact with.

Just feed him, he's fine.

[Stargazer]

ha ha ha, that's very ambitious for such a small snake. Perhaps he would also like to run for president.

[Mister Internet]

Originally Posted by Xeikeness

I'd say it's a hunger response, and nothing else. If he's healthy in every other way, I'd say it's time to feed him, he's obviously hungry.
I wouldn't say he's gone "nuts", "crazy" or "bonkers" unless he was rampantly striking and biting and constricting everything that moved, or didn't move, or might have moved, or happens to be warm, or could be warm, that he ever comes into contact with.
Just feed him, he's fine.

Yes, but this doesn't explain why he thinks of me as a prey item. You've got to understand that this snake has NEVER mistaken me for prey... he's made me very lazy with his attitude. I've free-handled him back into his cage immediately post-feeding many times, and not a single strike to be had. Whatever he thinks I am, he knows I'm not a prey item. I can understand a snake wanting to eat... I can understand a snake feeling hunger. But when I'm really hungry, I don't eat my wife...

I've kept enough snakes, and had enough of them go long enough without eating, that I'm just incredulous at a "hunger" response like this at only 6 weeks. I've been wrong before, don't mind admitting to being wrong in this instance... still having trouble swallowing it, no pun intended.

[Mister Internet]

Someone is going to rightly point out that the easiest way to rule out hunger is to feed him. Consider yourself a genius like me, because that's exactly what I'm doing tomorrow. If I feed him and in 4 days he's still behaving like this, then there's a deeper twist I guess.

[louise]

i feed my corn every week. for some reason he has been real fiesty lately too. he always seems like he might bite lately but he hasn't yet.

[dhonaker]

Originally Posted by Mister Internet

Yes, but this doesn't explain why he thinks of me as a prey item. You've got to understand that this snake has NEVER mistaken me for prey... he's made me very lazy with his attitude. I've free-handled him back into his cage immediately post-feeding many times, and not a single strike to be had. Whatever he thinks I am, he knows I'm not a prey item. I can understand a snake wanting to eat... I can understand a snake feeling hunger. But when I'm really hungry, I don't eat my wife...

I've kept enough snakes, and had enough of them go long enough without eating, that I'm just incredulous at a "hunger" response like this at only 6 weeks. I've been wrong before, don't mind admitting to being wrong in this instance... still having trouble swallowing it, no pun intended.

well feed the thing and after it eats if it is still doing it ask again. how long dose it take to thaw a rat you could of thawed one in the time it took to make this post

[dhonaker]

darn you beet me to it lol