my corn snake of five years has suddenly become very aggressive

Question
QUESTION: I am a teacher who has had a snow corn snake for five years..This snake has always been very tame..I can take it out and let elementary children touch it. But several nights ago I took it out of its cage and it became aggressive, rattling its tail and striking at me..It bit me and I put it back in the cage and left it alone for a few days. I fed it later and checked on it and its still shaking its tail and striking at me. What is going on? I cannot take it to school displaying this terrible behavior. Please advise. Thanks!

ANSWER: A couple of things come to mind. First check the cage temperature. If its above 80 that will make the snake more active and possibly more aggressive. My guess though is that its hungry. You mentioned having fed it but did you feed it enough? A meal should leave a noticeable bulge that lasts for 2 days or so. I once inherited a school's full grown corn snake that was being fed a fuzzy mouse every other week. It should have been fed an adult mouse or two each week.Lastly, continue handling the snake as often as possible, using gloves if necessary, until he improves.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks so much for your advice...I am currently feeding it one full grown mouse a week...my snake is about 47 inches long. Is that enough? He is also in a rather small space (a 20 gallon tank). The room is about 80 degrees or just a little above. To be honest, I am afraid to handle it in its current condition..he vibrates his tail if I just come close!Even with gloves I expect he will strike at me lots. Thanks for your advice as I have no one who knows much about reptiles.

Answer
Its hard to say if one mouse is enough. Just like people, Rach snake is unique and what is enough food for one animal will leave another feeling hungry.

Here's what I would recommend...next time feed him 2-3 adult mice. Don't force it, but see if he'll take that many. If so then continue feeding him that much each week. Second, the room is kind of warm for the snake. It should have a warm end of 80 to 85 degrees for digesting meals, but also a cool end of about 70ish so they can escape the heat. The cage size should be at least the length of the snake. Bigger is better. Also have a hide place on the warm and cool ends.lastly, get some heavy duty gardening gloves. A corn snake can't bite through them and it will help build your confidence back up.lee me know how it works out.