Ever since i got wiggles he has been fine and calm around me crawling in my hand very happily. About 2 months after i got him when i open his cage he curls up and hisses and his tail rattles back and forth like a rattlesnake. He looks as if he is abotu to strike. When i pick him up though he becomes the calm friendly snake i know and love. I don't get why he hisses though when i open the cage and i fon't want him to try and strike me. Does anyone know why he is doing this and how i could stop it?
I do find it strange that he is doing now that you've had him for a few months. Has he been dropped recently or injured in any way during handling and does anyone but you hold him? How long has he been doing this? When you do go to pick him up, I would try to come in from the side, not above, as this is how a predator would approach the animal in the wild. Also, when you go to pick him up, don't hesitate once you begin reaching for him. A predator in the wild would likely do the same as the snake made a move like it was about to strike. Essentially, you want to look as little like a potential predator as possible when approaching him. Ultimately I wouldn't worry, as he hasn't actuallly struck yet. My 3 year old female has been getting pissy lateley when I got to take her out of her tub, but I just take it as a "hey, leave me alone! I am nice, warm and snug here under my piece of bark and don't want to be disturbed!" Good luck with him.
I am the one that holds him the most. My dad, brother and friends also hold him but he is fine with them and slithers right into their hands. I haven't dropped him at all yet also. I think that i should try picking him up by the side though because when he hissed i took my hand back out of the cage. It is wierd though that he is all the sudden hissing now because he was fine before. I guess he was just a little cranky that day lol.
I'ma with Jay... it's odd that he'd be doing it now, after he's gotten used to you and all. Some of mine do exactly what you're talking about, but it's almost always when I suddenly walk in on them (startling them like crazy, I mean) or during feeding. The one guy always does it when feeding... it's odd. Kinda like "stay away foo, I'ma eating". But yeah... it's odd. Not dropped you say? A friend or family member didn't handle him roughly recently, did they? From what I can tell, snakes... have a memory for that kind of stuff, and he may just be defensive right now.
I know this is kinda late but yeah i didn't drop him. He was about to shed because a few days later i saw his skin. [His first shed ]. So he was just cranky because of him shedding ha! Thanks for your help guys.
I have a 6 year old corn - he didn't start hissing and rattling his tail until he was about a year old. He only does it when he gets startled - if I open his tank and move to pick him up quickly he will sometime react with that type of behavior. I definitely view it as a "leave m alone" signal. Once I pick him up, he is never aggressive with me and will calm down.
