Behaviors of a new snake?

[Lexus]

I have looked around the internet for a lot of information regarding corn snakes and their behaviors, but still wanted to hear people's personal response in regards to my snake.

I obtained my corn snake from a PetsMart, which after researching isn't ideal I'm sure but it was taken care of at least and seemed content. I assume being in a PetsMart it's familiar with the sounds of customers and glass tapping frequently. I asked when they fed their snakes and they said Tuesday so I adopted the routine for my snake.

The snake is a juvenille and lives now in a 20 gallon reptile tank, as in it's not glass but has a platform in the middle; this doesn't seem an issue for my snake for now but I plan to get a basic glass tank for it. It has three hides, some brush to hide in and tree branches to climb. Heating is established and the snake has a dish of water big enough to get into and it's refreshed every day.

I bought her on Friday and did not handle her (I'm not sure of the gender truthfully) until Tuesday for her feeding. The store told me they fed her small pinkies, so I gave one to her. She was still curious so I gave her another and she ate it quickly. I returned her to her cage but she roamed for an hour; she had heat so it was in search of food I pressume. I'll feed her more next time I think, depending on her mood.

I let her rest for two full days, she stayed in her hide all that time digesting. I handled her and expected aggression from fear. She became use to the first handeling and since then no longer musks on me but she bites frequently which I let her. She hides all the time, sometimes not even in a hide, sahe just lays still in the open of her cage. At night while I work my security job I see trails of her movement so I know she comes out. Yet, she hides from me and runs when I handle her, trying to get away.

Is this normal?
Will handeling her more contribute to her being more accepting of my presence or will it work against her?
Can it stress her out and kill her?
Are some snakes just more aggressive and more shy than others?

I enjoy handeling her, but if she really cannot take it I don't want to make her miserable....

Any advice helps. I have read two different things; 1 is to not handle them much. The other tip is to handle them confidently and permit them to bite to get accquainted.

 

[bitsy]

I bought her on Friday and did not handle her (I'm not sure of the gender truthfully) until Tuesday for her feeding. The store told me they fed her small pinkies, so I gave one to her. She was still curious so I gave her another and she ate it quickly. I returned her to her cage but she roamed for an hour; she had heat so it was in search of food I pressume. I'll feed her more next time I think, depending on her mood.

What you're seeing is a natural instinct to hunt after eating, and is not an indicator that the snake needs to eat more. If you try to judge their "mood" from their behaviour, you'll end up feeding on demand. As nature programmes to hunt most of their awake time (in the wild they can hunt for weeks without finding food), you'll end up with a fat snake very soon - and obese animals have the same risk of health problems and shortened lifespans as in other animals (and humans).

If it's a juvenile rather than a new hatchling, then it may be ready for more food. The general guideline is that the food should leave a lump in its belly for 24-48 hours after swallowing until it reaches adult mice (at which point it won't need anything larger for the rest of its life). If the food doesn't leave a visible lump, or the lump goes down faster, then it may be time for the next size of food. After single pinks, two pinks at a time would be fine.

I let her rest for two full days, she stayed in her hide all that time digesting. I handled her and expected aggression from fear. She became use to the first handeling and since then no longer musks on me but she bites frequently which I let her. She hides all the time, sometimes not even in a hide, sahe just lays still in the open of her cage. At night while I work my security job I see trails of her movement so I know she comes out. Yet, she hides from me and runs when I handle her, trying to get away.

Is this normal?

Absolutely normal. In the wild, Corns are food for a lot of predators and will naturally try to avoid being picked up as it might mean they'll be eaten. Most never get over this initial instinct, but will generally become perfectly calm once they're used to you and have realised that you're safe.

Will handeling her more contribute to her being more accepting of my presence

Yes, absolutely. The only way your snake will learn that you won't eat it, is by you picking it up and... well... not eating it!

Can it stress her out and kill her?

You do get some Corns which absolutely will not tolerate being handled and which never get over that initial fear. The stress could be damaging to them. However they are very much in a tiny minority and I've usually come across it in rescues which have already learned to fear and mistrust humans for a range of good reasons. With a young Corn, persistent gentle handling (as you're doing, not for two days after eating) is the key to establishing that initial trust. Some can take longer than others to catch on, so it could take some months to achieve that.

Are some snakes just more aggressive and more shy than others?

As with any animal, Corns can have a range of personalities - lots of non-snake keepers find this hard to believe, but each of my gang is an individual with their own quirks and preferences. However one of the advantages of Corns is that they are for the very great part, a fantastic pet snake. They do get to understand that humans=OK, most will tolerate gentle handling and they don't get too big.

Any advice helps. I have read two different things; 1 is to not handle them much. The other tip is to handle them confidently and permit them to bite to get accquainted.

Definitely go with the second option. I'm a big fan of using gloves for handling if the biting starts to affect your confidence. My top tip is to avoid handling after eating or cooking with garlic - it really makes my normally mild-mannered bunch quite nippy. I don't know if it masks my normal smell so they don't recognise me, or whether a garlic smell translates as some kind of aggression pheramone in Corn-World!

 

[diamondlil]

I agree with all of the helpful advice above, and congratulations on ignoring the bites. Gentle, confident handling will help your new snake realise you mean it no harm, and ignoring the bites will teach it not to bother!
Some of my adults are more inclined to bite than others, and it's not always the ones that were bitey as babies, but personally I accept that it comes with the territory of owning what is essentially a wild animal with few options to communicate. Some bites are feeding mistakes, when a hungry snake will strike and hold seeking prey, others are defensive, when they don't want me bothering them. Generally as adults the defensive bites tend to be just a closed mouth bump, as they learnt as babies biting didn't stop me handling them.

 

[Lexus]

Thank you for the advice, it helps greatly!

I have continued handeling her and she seems to be getting better with it, twice she stopped biting but was very restless with handeling. She is approaching shedding so shell get a break with the handeling, ha.

 

[Amanda47]

I have a new snake that didn't seem to like being touched (to put it lightly) and the two threads below, especially the posts from kathylove, helped a lot. Both her posts are on the first page, and everyone else's posts helped too. I'm not the only one!

My corn has never bit or snapped at me, and I don't think I've been musked, but fair warning: My first extended handling session resulted in being pooped on after five minutes. I tried again a few hours later and had a really cool 30 minutes with him. Two days later and I don't have to hold onto him anymore, just keep a hand/arm under him.

Hope these help, good luck!

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=93430
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31008

 

[Lexus]

All the advice here has helped. She ate again. This time she was very active only after 24 hours from feeding with no visible lump in her belly. Can they digest in just 24 hours?

Also, I held her today and she was curled in my hand. She was breathing deeply....then I saw her completely open her mouth like a yawn and then close it...but she bagged normally and I returned her to her cage. Do snakes yawn? Or was she resetting her jaw?


She has also stopped biting and masking so we've made progress hehe.

 

[Lexus]

Sorry my iPad corrected certain words....bagged is behaved and masking is musking lol.

 

[alabdullahn]

HI! I'm a new owner too and I am absolutely in love with the snake. It is surprisingly calm when my boyfriend and I handle it and we successfully fed "Scarlet" just 1 1/2 days after bringing it home. 24 hours after feeding him/her for the first time, we noticed it only had a very slight bump in the belly. I've also noticed that it is very active, even during the day. We keep the cage in the living room and we spend a lot of time in there. The snake doesn't seem bothered by our presence. ^_^

 

[Justine66]

Just to let you know that it strongly recommended that you don't handle your snake for at least a week after bring it to its new home, this allows them to settle into the new sites and sounds of their new home.

Just though that I would through that out their!

 

[alabdullahn]

if we've handled it twice already since we let it "settle" and haven't gotten negative responses from the snake, what could possibly happen? I did extensive research before we decided to go ahead and handle the snake. Read several articles where it is clearly stated that although it is recommended, it really isn't that big of a deal. Even the lady at the pet shop who sold it to us told us to feed it a couple of days after we got it because she did not know when it was last fed. I did not go into this without knowing what I am doing.

 

[Skully23]

if we've handled it twice already since we let it "settle" and haven't gotten negative responses from the snake, what could possibly happen? I did extensive research before we decided to go ahead and handle the snake. Read several articles where it is clearly stated that although it is recommended, it really isn't that big of a deal. Even the lady at the pet shop who sold it to us told us to feed it a couple of days after we got it because she did not know when it was last fed. I did not go into this without knowing what I am doing.

It is only the general rule when getting a new snake. Wait a week to handle, feed, wait 2 days, then begin your handling periods. Handling can add more stress on top of the move and the new surroundings. Yes you don't have to wait a week to handle or feed but it is just a stress relief period for the snake to relax. Some snakes will take easy to new things and some will stress. You can't be the one to judge their likes and dislikes.
A snake may also take a mouse the day you get it but it also factors a risk in regurgation due to stress. Always wait 2 days after a feed to handle.

We as owners take precautions to make sure our pets are healthy. Just because you think something is harmless doesn't mean it is. On top of that, another rule is to never listen to a pet store employee. Most of them have no knowledge on what they are selling.
-Skully-