Corn snakes are the favorite creatures of snake lovers. Their distinct texture on the skin and somehow weird and sometimes friendly nature make them adorable pets. Also, they are easy on handling and much easy to maintenance.
The owners of corn snakes are often concerned about the expression of emotions in their pets. They sometimes bite or show anger which is also a major issue for the owners and his or her family members.
It is not yet much clear upon the minds of the snake owners the amount of poison contained by the corn snake. So here we will discuss the various reasons and effects of biting this pet creature.
Contents
How dangerous a corn snake can be?
The look of this pet snake species can be quite deceptive. Most people mistake this species for copperhead snake which is actually venomous and pretty dangerous.
Corn snakes have become an option for a pet because it has least chance of damaging or hurting the human. They have some amount of venom but that is useful when you want to kill the rodent pests around your house and surrounding. This venom is not much harmful to damaging any human body. Thus you cannot call a corn snake really dangerous.
How much does it hurt when a corn snake bite?
Corn snakes are much calm a creature and that is a reason they are loved and kept as pets. But they too have moods and like any creature, they can have bad moods. So they can hurt their owners by biting. That will not be a much painful accident though. The scratch that they make feels more like the cut by paper-knife or similar blunt instrument. Also, you can feel a sharp sting at the maximum.
If the snake is a baby one, you need not worry, as they do not have enough sharp teeth to penetrate the skin layer of an adult human.
Are corn snake bites harmful to cats?
If you are keeping a cat along with a corn snake in the house as pets, then you may need to be a little careful. The bite of the corn snake is not much dangerous for the cat, but you have to take immediate action for that.
You need to cautious about the escaping of the corn snake from its habitat. Though this pet is much docile in nature, they are much smart when it comes to escaping. If you provide them a habitat that has some loopholes or spacing through which it can escape, it will escape for sure.
Also for some corn snakes, it becomes important to leave the enclosure that is not widely spaced. They prefer to stay in a wide habitat, though they stay coiled most of the time. If they are not given that much space, they will try to escape through any open space and will eventually attack your small pets.
What are the chances of getting attacked by the corn snake when held?
In the case of snakes, it is difficult to say which one will like being held and which one will not. Many snakes prefer to have the touch from their owners, while some others do not like to be held or touched. You have to understand the nature of your snake from its behavior as nature changes with individual snakes.
Sometimes though, it has been seen that the corn snake that is revolting at the first attempt of petting, likes to hold onto the arm or shoulder of the owner after spending weeks and months in the house. In total, corn snakes are many friendly and gentle pets that can offer good company.
Can the corn snake strike at the owner?
Even if it seems much impossible for a calm creature like a corn snake, it has been seen that it sometimes attacks or strike at its owner. There can be various reasons behind this behavior of the snake.
If it is feeling threatened or it seems that its privacy or safety has been hampered, then it can strike at the owner. This may or may not be caused by some action of the owner, but if it is feeling uncomfortable and at that moment the owner comes near it or tries to hold it, it may show the tension or anxiety by striking at him or her.
Or else, if it is feeling hungry and the food is getting delayed, it can get tensed. At that moment if the owner puts the hand inside the shelter to offer food, it may try to attack. This is simply for grabbing the food. This habit is seen mostly when the snake is newly brought to the home. Once they are used to the food timing or the nature of the owner, they stop showing such behavior.
Can a corn snake kill a human?
No. A corn snake does not contain as much poison to kill a human. They come with a small set of teeth. The most they can hurt is scratching, and they cannot do more than that.
How to take care of the bite of corn snakes?
As we have already learned that corn snakes are not venomous and they cannot kill any human, still their bites should be taken care of. You can wash the spot which has been bitten by the corn snake. This you have to do immediately.
Clean it with an antiseptic solution or liquid soap and lukewarm water. This is necessary because there are lots of bacteria found in the mouth of the snake. The bacteria can be carried to the bitten place and that can cause some infection. Cleaning the area will be a sure way to get rid of those bacteria.
What if the blood is drawn at the biting place?
Disinfection needs to be done if you see blood coming or tickling out of the bitten area. There is less chance of getting cut by the corn snake bites. But with those small teeth, they can make a scratch on your skin from where the blood can start tickling. Disinfection with some readily available or over-the-counter drug or liquid is advised for that situation.
Later you can apply Neosporin powder or hydrogen peroxide to the wound.
Conclusion:
The owners of the corn snake should be aware of the fact that this particular kind of snake species does not come with large fangs. So they cannot hurt any human with their bites, not even with their poison. The kind of poison conveyed by their bite is not fatal for the human and not even for the small creatures like cat or dog. But when you have some smaller pets, like rats or lizards then you should be extra cautious about their presence in the surrounding of the corn snake.
The snakes were earlier tamed and kept as pets so they can remove all the pests from the house of their owners. They still have the preying instinct in them and they can try to attack or bite the smaller creatures that can show up in their vicinity.
However, if you have small kids at house, and are planning to get a corn snake, try to keep the snake at a distance for the first few weeks. When it will be used with the kid around the house, it will not try to attack or bite it. This way you can keep your child safe and yet can adopt a corn snake at home.
More:
