Are Corn Snake Bite Poisonous? Do Their Bite Hurt?

As a corn snake owner, it is not uncommon to be bitten by your pet. However, corn snake bites are neither poisonous nor painful.

How Bad Does a Snake Bite Hurt?

You might be wondering; will your corn snake bite you? The answer is yes, sooner or later expect your pet to strike at your fingers. Corn snakes are a popular choice for pets owing to their peaceful, non-aggressive nature. Native to North America, these peaceful creatures are sure to put their teeth into some flesh that isn’t food.

This brings us to a question, Is a corn snake venomous?

Thankfully they’re not. A corn snake’s bite usually feels like a brief sharp prick which may lead to very mild bleeding or spotting when it comes from an adult snake. The bite from a young corn snake is so mild that it doesn’t even penetrate the skin. What the body registers as pain is the shock from being bitten. You would not expect that your pet will strike at you and when it does happen it is unexpected and surprising thus the pain.

The first thing to do when bitten by a corn snake is not to panic. The reason is that you do not want to do something that will worsen the situation. There is no corn snake venom to infect the wound or poison you. Usually, the response is that of horror and to yank the snake off your arm and throw it into its tank.

This is not a good decision for two reasons. First, this move will expand the damage on your skin as a corn snake’s jaw is powerful and its teeth are not aciculated but slanted backward. Secondly, throwing the snake back into its tank can cause organ damages in the snake and you wouldn’t want that.

Are Corn Snakes Dangerous?

You will often get questions from acquaintances and friends like ‘Are corn snakes poisonous’? Corn snakes do not have venom or long teeth like fangs as they strangle their prey and swallow it. They belong to the constrictor family which means they are not venomous. In the sense of poison, they are completely harmless and have no such attributes.

They are small snakes that can’t squeeze anything bigger than a mouse. They also cannot kill a human. Whenever a corn snake bites a human hand, it holds on and tries to wrap its body around the hand in an attempt to astringe it.

However, some what-ifs can aggravate the situation. Let us assume the snake has bacteria in its mouth, that could potentially be dangerous if the bite is not looked at by a physician. Similarly, you would not want to put your hand into a puddle of water that is not clean and could have some dangerous or flesh-eating bacteria. If the person bitten has a weak immune system, then a corn snake bite is a cause for worry. By itself, a corn snake bite is not dangerous.

Does Baby Corn Snake Bite?

Hatchlings are known to be more aggressive than adult snakes. This is an instinct to survive. They become more placid as they get older and would prefer to slide away from threatening situations. They are however completely harmless and do not have teeth that can cause any damage. In most cases, a baby corn snake bite barely leaves a mark or make an impact on the skin.

What You Need to Know About Corn Snake Teeth

Corn snakes have a mouthful of teeth. They, however, do not have fangs like venomous snakes. The small, sharp needlelike teeth number between 20-30. They have double the number of teeth positioned on the top of their mouth than they do on the bottom. Similarly, it is arranged in 4 rows on the top and 2 on the lower jaw.

As with most constrictors, they do not have fangs which poisonous snakes use to inject venom into their prey. You might be thinking what do constrictors need teeth for when they swallow their food. In the case of corn snakes, the barb-like teeth are slanted backward which is vital to their survival in the wild. This means that when you yank off a snake, it pulls the skin around the area and turns the bruises into a wound.

The teeth help the corn snakes latch on to their prey and subsequent meal better. While the prey is held on in a tight grasp, it can’t escape giving the snake a chance to set up their body for constriction.

The teeth are also useful for digestion. As corn snakes do not have hands or chew their food, they use their whole body to swallow their food and the backward-facing teeth help the snake push the now-dead prey down the snake’s guts.

How Often Do Corn Snakes Bite?

No one looks forward to getting bit by a snake luckily in the case of corn snakes, it is completely harmless. Corn snakes are timid and would more often than not get away from a provocative situation. That notwithstanding, it is not uncommon to be bitten by these snakes. Although they are not typically aggressive, a corn snake can strike when it is hungry, startled, stressed or threatened.

A hungry snake will mistake any foreigner in its enclosure for food while a stressed one will interpret such as a predator. Thankfully such occurrences can be mitigated when they are properly taken care of. Observe what changes may have occurred in the snake’s enclosure that has made it aggressive such as changes in temperature, the room got noisy, its sleep/wake light/dark pattern has been disrupted and the overall ambiance of its enclosure.

When Do Corn Snakes Bite?

At this juncture, we would ask what triggers a corn snake to bite. There are many reasons why a corn snake will latch on to its owner.

Corn Snakes Bite When They Are Hungry

Your corn snake is likely to mistake your hand for food when it is hungry. An adult corn snake should feed on a mouse every 7 to 10 days. If it goes for longer than this without eating, your pet may mistake your hands for food and bite it. Also, a corn snake might bite you when you don’t wash your hands after handling their food. Corn snakes have a keen sense of smell which is used to seek out prey and predators. When the corn snake flicks its tongue rapidly, it collects odor samples from the environment and carries it to its nose. This way the snake knows when there is food or a predator around. Now when you serve the snake its food with your hands and put your hand back into the enclosure for whatever reason, the snake perceives your hand as food and will strike at it.

Corn Snakes Bite When They Are Shedding

You may want to keep away from your pet when it is shedding. You wouldn’t like it if your skin had to be peeled from head to toe and neither does your corn snake. The skin scratching across everything in its path is frankly overly stimulating and uncomfortable. The skin also covers its eyes and anything it can’t see approaching the corn snake attacks. You should leave your snake alone when it is shedding and highly irritable so it doesn’t bite you.

Corn Snakes Bite When They Are Handled Wrongly

A corn snake will bite when it is not properly handled. These creatures like their peace and wouldn’t want to be disturbed so you have to take great care in handling them. First, if the tank is overly moist, your snake becomes irritable and aggressive and will bite. Similarly, corn snakes like most snakes interpret everything coming from above as predatory birds and therefore a threat. So when you attempt to carry your snake and put your hands directly onto the snake, it will strike.

How to Avoid Getting Bitten

There are a couple of things you can do to avoid getting bitten by your snake.

Feed your pet regularly.

Pets are more aggressive and are more likely to strike at you when they are excessively hungry and you are giving them food. You should wash your hands after feeding your snake if you served up the food by hand. Alternatively, you can use tweezers to deliver the food to the snake and keep its smell far from your hands.

Handle the Snake Properly

Snakes get stressed when they are uncomfortable but they can’t tell you this as they can’t talk. The onus falls on you to be observant of your pet. Check that there is no change in the snake’s enclosure and that it is well fed. You should look out for hissing and rattling of the tail. This should tell you that the snake wants to be left alone. If your corn snake assumes an ‘S’ position it is most likely ready to attack.

If you want to pick up a snake, you should approach it from the side. You should gently pick it up around the head so it doesn’t get a chance to turn around and bite you. You also want to be firm and deliberate about it. Being hesitant will give the snake time to realize what you plan to do and worsen the situation. Also, you do not want your fear causing you to hold the snake too tightly. You would want the snake to trust you and wrap itself around your arm. You also don’t want to hold the snake too tightly and end up damaging its organs.

But what do you do when your pet snake becomes unused to you and gets aggressive whenever you try to pick it up? You cannot back down as this will aggravate the situation. Here is what you should do: move towards the snake calmly and deliberately, avoid making sudden moves. Approach from the side and intentionally pick them up. If it protests by hissing, don’t back away, keep going. If it bites you, do not panic and just let it hold on until it realizes you are neither prey nor predator and let’s go. Do this for short periods daily and reestablish your connection with your pet.

Use Carrying Aids

You can wear rubber gloves when feeding or carrying your snake. If the snake launches at it, it will not like the taste of rubber and you will not be touched. The downside to this method is that the gloves can be uncomfortable for the snake and make it difficult to carry it.

You can also use a snake hook to handle an aggressive snake. The snake will react well to this as it is nonliving. It will also give you a chance to keep the snake’s head away from you, therefore, making it impossible for you to be bitten.

Treatment and What to do After Getting Bitten?

We have established that a con snakes bite is neither painful or poisonous. That doesn’t mean the wound should be left unattended. Here are a couple of things to do after getting bitten by a corn snake.

First things first, do not panic. A corn snake bite does not require a visit to the ER. Gently return the snake to its enclosure. There is an idea among snake pet owners to let your snake bite you so you can get used to the feeling and learn how to properly handle the situation. Crazy right? Sometimes the snake holds on for a while. You can let it release your hands on its own or do the following:

• Run cold water on the snake’s mouth. This will make it let go of your skin.
• Use a tweezer or pencil to open its mouth.

After you must have returned the snake to its tank, tend to your wound by washing it with soap and water and apply a band-aid on it. This is to kill any bacteria around the area and stop it from getting infected. You can also apply an antibiotic ointment after cleaning the wound to prevent an infection.

If the wound doesn’t heal properly or gets infected, you should see a physician.

Corn snakes are mellow creatures which would rather walk away from a provocative situation than attack. Their bites are nontoxic or poisonous, and when they do attack, they must have felt threatened and cornered. To avoid such a situation, learn how to properly handle your snake and observe changes in its behavior and demeanor.