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Best way to handle - baby snake

G

Goetta

New member
Howdy!
Just got first corn snake and he's a baby.
An Albino that is now named Tiny (from Devil's Rejects/House of 1000 corpses - not due to his size)

Trying to learn how to best handle him to make him comfortable with human handling.
How best should I pick him up out of cage?
What is best way to hold him?
Would it help if i warmed my hands first?
Please forgive me if these are silly questions - i haven't had a pet snake since I was a kid and they were never babies....

Any advice would be much appreciated!
 
Well for now don't handle him at all. He needs to settle in for one and not be handled after eating for 48 hours. First thing I would do is get him off the sand. When you do pick him up kind of scoop from the side and only handle for about 5 mins a day. Since you really need to get him off sand after the 48 hours I would breifly handle change the sand to aspen or paper towel and then put him in and leave him alone for a few days. Do you have hides and a water dish, how are youy heating?
 
When you say - Get him off the sand after 48 - what do you mean?
Is the sand not a good idea when they are babies?

We have a heat light and one hidey hole cave thing for him. Also a shallow dish for him.

Scoop from side makes sense. I had tried that earlier today and he was completely freaked out. The snake lady at the pet store who has 2 corn snakes at home told me to try and handle him at least every other day so I gave him about 36 hours to digest and then tried.
Am I supposed to let him squirm around on my hands and thru fingers? or more of a flat hand so he has freedom?

I really appreciate your assistance.
Its really important to us that we take the best possible care of Tiny and help him to be well adjusted. I plan on keeping him for the duration of his life and want him to be happy.

Thank you
 
First when you bring a snake home it is best not to handle them for 3-4 days, not even to feed. After feeding they should not be handled for 48 hours. He should have a gradient heat warm side and cool side, hides on each side, water dish he can get into.
Sand is not a good idea for corn snakes, not many snakes at all. They need something they can burrow in like aspen (which is the preferred substrate). Scoop him from the side: Don't come at thim from the top you are a monster to him. 36 hours is ok to handle after eating if your snake is used to being handled. Snakes in general don't like to be handled, keeping to a minimum when they are little is best. How often are you feeding?
 
When you do handle him let him go through your fingers but at the same time keep hold of him. Little corns are very fast and will get away quicker then you think. Which would lead to another question is the lid very secure, because they are escape artists.
 
Sorry looking at both of your threads, but answering here. Amel/amelanistic lacking melanin so yes it is an albino, but in terms used here amel. Some would call him red albino also.
 
Yes ma'am. We have cage clips on it. I actually want to find something else because taking them off makes noise and I think that freaks him out too.

Store was feeding him one pinkie a week on Fridays so we tried to keep to that just to try and keep him on a schedule.

Should we keep trying to get him out every other day or so (except when recently fed)?
To help him be more comfortable or more like once a week until he is bigger?
 
I'd recommend you feed more frequently. For a hatchling, you'll want to follow the Munson Plan, which means you'll be feeding every 5 days. Most stores have their snakes on maintenance diets, which are not the best for the animal's growth.

Also, make sure you're feeding in a separate container with NO substrate. A lot of people use plastic tubs or "critter keepers" to feed. Go ahead and feed him, leave him alone for 36-48 hours, then pull him out for a handling session, and repeat.
 
Honestly if he really is just a baby snake I would only handle them around once a week untill they start to put on some weight. They're so little and squiggly and that weight and really don't tolerate handling too well.
 
Well you could feed every 4-5 days one pinkie, but that leaves little time for handling. That is something you need to decide. I have five hatchlings and they are on a 5 day schedule, because they are on paper towel I can feed them in their tub. They get handled once a week for a check over. My snakes over one year vary on the time of feeding 1 week -2 weeks, depending on their size and age. My oldest corn is 4 years old and was handled at a minimum, when he was a hatchling and is great to handle now, very gentle. Everyone does it different with handling hatchlings, some have so many it would be impossible to handle them a lot if any.
 
I know that most of you are more seasoned with corns but, I think the handling thing has to depend on the snake as well as when you have fed them. I know my baby corn LOVES to be held. I handle him at least once a day for about 30mins or less and he just moves around my hands, weaving himself in and out of my fingers. He never tries to escape or anything, but as I said it may just be him. I don't handle him for at least 24-36 hours after feeding and until 48 hours I may hold him once for 5 mins. I have him on the munson plan as well feeding every 5 days.
 
Well I think you've also got to remember that you can't project feelings on your corn like that, it's not like a dog where they can't wait to get out and play fetch with you. Snakes don't "love" to be out :shrugs:
 
I wasn't trying to project feelings on my snake. What I was trying to say is that I think that it depends on the snake. Mine likes to be held he doesn't try to escape or leave my hands, he doesn't seem stress or anything. It isn't like I handle him all the time only once a day. I have little kids in my house and I don't want him to be unfamiliar to handling that when they want to pet him or the older one wants to hold him, that he bites them or tries to escape.
 
I don't really handle my baby snakes much at all, other than to transfer them to and from their feeding containers. Once they get to 75g+ I start to hold them more and let them explore some.
 
I find this thread really helpful because I too just got a baby regular corn and was wondering about handling...I've only been handling mine for a few minutes a day and he doesnt seem to mind at all.
 
when I first got my snakes, I left them a week to settle in then I handled them nearly everyday, a year later and I only handle my snakes about once or twice a week, I would rather watch them if I'm honest, eventually you kind of realize they are not like other pets, they don't always enjoy human contact and handling, they seem very independent..

Handling is a fun part of the hobby though, and it keeps them healthy so I enjoy it :)
 
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