Corn snake "panicked"

[Platinumxero]

((I'm sorry, wall of text))

We were watching tv with the lights out last night and Squiggles began to panic and jump/slither around her cage really quickly. For fear that she may hurt herself I cut the light on and picked her up. She was fine, slithering around like normal, tongue flicking as if nothing had happened and she wasn't tense at all. After about 10 minutes of letting her wander around in mine and my boyfriend's hands we put her back into her enclosure. She seemed to fret at first and poke around the edges in a frenzy, but she calmed down and returned to her normal "patrol" around the edges of the enclosure to try and find a way out.

I am thinking that perhaps she climbed up onto one of the edges of the enclosure and fell, maybe that spooked her? She has only ever done this one other time when I wasn't in the room. My boyfriend opened the lid to her enclosure and he said she panicked a moment before poking her head out to "escape". We usually will handle her on and off throughout the day for 5-10 minutes at a time, so she is pretty used to us being in and out of her enclosure. We do not handle her for a few days after she has eaten, and when we do handle her we just let her wander through our fingers or slither on our bed for a while under supervision. When we feed her we take her out and feed her in a separate "feeding tub" in the floor.

I don't think her bedding has anything to do with her "freak out" because she's had the same bedding since we got her and this hasn't happened in the past. We use Zoo Med's aspen chip bedding because she loves to burrow in it all the time.

We watched her all day long today and she seems to be her normal squiggly self, but what happened last night still has me wondering what that was. Sorry, I worry too much! This is the first snake that I have been able to call my own. My brother got her for me after helping him raise 10 of his own snakes. ^^;

[jaleely]

do you have a temperature gun? you can check the heat coming from your heat source.
Also, how big is her container? She may have had a moment of panic from too much space, or too little space. I'm guessing if she can roam around it might be too little....
my only corn at first, had too much space, then too little as he grew, and is now perfectly happy and hides most of the time, just poking out his little head to see what's going on.
: )
Hope it's nothing! Let us know the specs : )

[Platinumxero]

Squiggles is just over 3ft long and she's 18 months old. There is a Zoo Med belly heating pad on one side of her enclosure and it sits about an inch and 3/4 away from the bottom of the container. I have her in a 28 quart clear Sterilite tub - 23" L x 16 1/4" W x 6" H are the dimensions. There's plenty of bedding to burrow in and several hides for her. We put her in this container about a year ago now after she was looking kinda cramped in the one she had before which was 13 5/8" L x 8 1/4" W x 4 7/8" H. I am not sure if she's stressed out with the size she is in now, but I'm sure she doesn't feel threatened at all as she sleeps on top of her bedding most times. I also never have issues with feeding. (She always seems hungry! Haha)

I also unfortunately do not have a temperature gun, I had one when I lived with my brother, but I've yet to get one for myself. I've read up on ideal temps for corn snakes time and time again. Usually I think the room temp in here hovers around 75-80 degrees. When it gets that warm during the day we usually unplug her heating pad because we don't want her getting too hot. She also sits underneath the window so there's always a cool breeze coming right down into her enclosure in the evenings.

If you think there may be a better way to regulate her temps I would love to know. Keeping her in another room of the house however is not an option. >.<;

Here is an image of her enclosure: We used a soldering gun to push plenty of holes into the lid and sides for airflow.
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b6/platinumxero/2012-10-15_19-10-58_175.jpg

Here is a better image of the inside: You can see her hides. The large rock is her main hide and her "hot spot". She burrows under the red rock I have there, under the "log" that is beside it and even sleeps under her water dish when she feels like it. The wood that's in there she climbs on quite frequently.
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b6/platinumxero/2012-10-15_19-12-09_148.jpg

[Gungirl]

You NEED to get a thermostat on that heating pad. They can cause bad burns to your snake. I do not use any heat for my corn snake he stays at room temp all year round. My house is anywhere from 65-80 and he is happy and healthy as can be. Eats sheds and poops normal.

[Platinumxero]

That is a really good idea, Kat. Maybe I should just ditch the heating pad all together seeing as temps in here are always at her ideal heat range anyways. :) I've never had issues with her sheds, they always come out in one piece with eyecaps included. She poops once, sometimes twice per week, sheds right now every 3-4 months and she eats a large fuzzy every 7 days.

[rmfsnakes32]

She looks like a happy spoiled corn ;) the set up looks really good! My corns dont have heat either and they do just find

[Revenant]

If the lights were out and you were watching something, any chance that she was close enough to a speaker to have been vibrating her tub?

[Platinumxero]

If the lights were out and you were watching something, any chance that she was close enough to a speaker to have been vibrating her tub?

Nah, I don't think so. She is close to the tv, but not close enough for vibrations to be bothering her I don't think. She isn't directly in front of the speakers for it either, we just use the normal television speakers. It could also be a possibility though! I'm going to try moving her to a different area of the room and see how she likes it there.

@rmfsnakes32 - Tyvm. I do try and spoil my little girl. ^^;

[Platinumxero]

So again a few minutes ago I was watching tv (volume was much lower than last time) and Squiggles began to panic again. But instead of picking her up I observed her behavior. She seems anxious and jumpy like she just really wants to be out of there. Her tongue is extremely active, but she doesn't seem tense or stressed. It is not warm in here at all (probably low 70s) and I've not used her heating pad since Gungirl mentioned not needing one.

I wonder... and this is a hunch... but I have heard animals in general can sense earthquakes because changes in magnetic fields from "pops" below the earth's surface long before we feel a quake. We do live very close to the San Andreas Fault line and I wonder if perhaps those small quakes we can't really feel are upsetting her?

I have also looked at past threads where the OP had similar issues and their corn had neurological problems. I am really hoping this isn't the case, but is there any way to know for sure other than a vet? We have had her for 18 months and I would think if she had some sort of problem it would have shown before now.

This is quite stressful, do any of you have anymore ideas on what could cause her freak outs? :/

[shaunyboy]

its just about breeding season,all my carpets act that way around this time

your worrying too much mate

i would keep the heat mat,as snakes need heat to digest,its VERY IMPORTANT you get a THERMOSTAT for it

cheers shaun

[Gungirl]

its just about breeding season,all my carpets act that way around this time

your worrying too much mate

i would keep the heat mat,as snakes need heat to digest,its VERY IMPORTANT you get a THERMOSTAT for it

cheers shaun


Yes snakes do need heat but Corn snakes do well at room temp with no added heat. I know a few breeders that keep their corn snakes at room temp and only ever offer extra heat if the winter chill gets really bad. At room temp 70ish average a corn will be perfectly fine.

[shaunyboy]

Yes snakes do need heat but Corn snakes do well at room temp with no added heat. I know a few breeders that keep their corn snakes at room temp and only ever offer extra heat if the winter chill gets really bad. At room temp 70ish average a corn will be perfectly fine.

my bad Kat,i always forget to take into account.....

not every where has CRAPPY weather like Scotland

it will all depend how cold the op's house gets,over night in winter time

cheers shaun

[SnakeyJay]

Personally I wouldn't risk a sudden drop in temps.. What if your not there? I'd put a thermostat on the mat n leavi it plugged in. If your house is warm if will never switch on anyway unless the temp drops... Sorted :D

[Platinumxero]

I do tend to worry about things a bit much until I can understand them, especially with it being something living and breathing that I care very much for. I have even read books on exactly how snakes work. :wacky: This is just my first time having a snake on my own and I want to do it right.

Temps here in the room are normally ~75 degrees even in winter time. This particular room in the house stays quite warm year round. I would say the only time it would get even close to cold is in the middle of the night, which I would have to guess drops to ~65-68ish degrees.

I have been looking into thermostats lately, but all the ones I seem to find are cheap looking. Does anyone have suggestions?

Thanks by the way! You guys have been wonderful! :bouncy:

[Falconeer999]

I have several of these and it works well:
Amazon.com: Hydrofarm MTPRTC Digital Thermostat For Heat Mats: Patio, Lawn & Garden (http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPRTC-Digital-Thermostat-Heat/dp/B000NZZG3S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350574704&sr=8-1&keywords=hydro+thermostat)

[Gungirl]

^ I have a few of those as well and they work great.

[Platinumxero]

Awesome! Thank you all so much! :D I will order one ASAP.