This beautiful, spicy jalapeno noodle is Mouse. Yes, a snake named Mouse!
Mouse is a female palmetto corn snake. Her hatch day is June 22nd. At the time of writing this she’s just over a year old. Mouse is beautiful, stunning, amazing. I love Mouse. Oh…and Mouse bites.
In Mouse’s case, her biting seems to be a hyper-insane feeding response. To say Mouse is a good eater would be an understatement. Mouse has seemingly convinced herself that she’d have no trouble eating a full-grown adult human. You gotta appreciate the girl’s confidence.
This is where I feel the need to inform you all that I’m working on it. I have a plan in place to work with Mouse and hopefully, over time, convince her that humans aren’t edible.
Most Corn Snakes Don’t Bite
Apparently. I wouldn’t know. Mouse is my one, and most likely will also be my only, corn snake. But I’ve held many a corn snake over the years, and never got bitten until Mouse.
If you stumble on this post and don’t currently have a corn snake, just know that my Mousey girl seems to be an outlier. Corn snakes are typically sweet, placid snakes that are not prone to biting.
Why Some Corn Snakes Bite…
While corn snakes are typically known for being one of the least likely pet snake species to bite, there are a few reasons why a corn snake might decide to bite a human.
- Baby Corn Snakes Are More Nippy: Baby or very young corn snakes may not be used to people yet, and are typically more likely to bite versus an adult.
- Defensive Bites: Corn snakes who feel frightened and/or cornered are more prone to bite as a ‘last-ditch effort’ to escape a perceived threat. To eliminate this, make sure you never corner your snake or put them in a situation where they become fearful and feel they have no escape route. Most snakes would rather escape from a scary situation then resort to biting.
- Stress: Corn snakes may bite during times of increased stress, such as when they first move into a new home or while they are shedding.
- Feeding Response: Corn snakes, especially those with a high feeding response, may bite because they mistake people for food. This commonly happens if the snake is especially hungry or if you’ve touched their food and smell like a tasty mouse!
- Butthole Snakes: And hey, let’s face it, like with humans, some reptiles can just have cranky personalities! Each snake is an individual, after all, and while there are general trends for how members of a species will act, this doesn’t mean that every single corn snake is going to have the same personality.
So What Does Getting Bitten By a Young Corn Snake Feel Like?
I suppose you can assume from the fact that I was able to grab my camera and take a picture of Mouse biting me – Corn snake bites are not that bad!
Especially when corn snakes are small/young, their bites are nothing to worry about. Most of the bites I received from Mouse when she was a baby didn’t leave any marks. They felt more like nose bonks, sometimes maybe like a slight pinch, but nothing more dramatic than that.
Now that Mouse is slightly bigger, she’s drawn a little bit of blood from me a few times, but her bites are still pretty unimpressive. I’d still describe the feeling as a pinch, maybe with a bit of a pinprick type sensation. Even on the rare instance when she draws blood, the resulting ‘injury’ is minor, not very painful, and heals up quickly.
What to Do if You Corn Snake Bites You
I know getting bitten by a snake can be startling, but, if you can, try not to pull away during a bite. Doing so can sometimes rip out your snake’s teeth, leaving them behind in your skin. However, if you just be patient and wait a bit your snake should eventually let you go.
Clean your wound with soap and warm water. A simple antibiotic cream can help prevent infection if you want to go above and beyond. I’ve always just cleaned my bites and have never had any issues with infections. In fact, typically quite quickly after being bitten, I can’t even find the bite site anymore. The marks, even when corn snakes draw blood, are usually pretty shallow and heal up quickly. I’ve gotten papercuts that were way worse than any bite my corn snake ever gave me!
Hopefully, as I continue to work with my corn snake Mouse, she eventually learns that humans are not food and stops biting. Until then, I take comfort in the fact that corn snake bites are minor and not a huge deal. Getting struck at by a snake can be startling! But I found that the more experience I got handling my snakes, the easier it became for me to remain calm even during bites. Luckily, in the scheme of things, corn snake bites are pretty insignificant, especially compared to the bites of other types of animals. And corn snakes are not known to be a species that is super prone to biting, although some are more bitey than others (I’m looking at you, Mouse!). Even if you end up with a bitey young snake, like I did, I will say that keeping Mouse has been a joy, and she is well worth dealing with an occasional bite.
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