Do corns grow to like their owner?

[Yvette]

When I got my corn snake I left him in his tank for about a week before holding him. When I finally went to hold him he didn't want to be held and tried to escape, flailing around violently. About a week more, he finally let me hold him and would just slither in my hands. Eight months have gone by and he still doesn't let other people hold him. Again, he tries to escape from them, but as soon as I hold him he calms down. Do corn snakes have to grow to like people?

 

[Bartholomew]

I say yes. One day I was holding my snake, and i was with my cousin. So we put him on the table because she wanted to see him better. The snake was on the edge of the table and so she thought the snake was going to fall off. She put her hand there and he just put his head back into a different direction. I did the same thing about 10 seconds later, and he came onto my hand. Another time he struck at my brother when he was moving around, and he once hid in my shirt pocket when he got scared. I have had him for a year now, and my snake did the same thing when I first got him. So i say the snake does only attach to his/her owner. Are you the only one that holds the snake?

 

[Bartholomew]

Sorry for the double post, but I forgot to add something. There are also some other snakes that are great with everyone. They are friendly and love to meet new people.

 

[Yvette]

Yeah. No one else in my house likes him, so I'm the only one that holds him. But I have some cousins who try to hold him and he wont let them.

 

[Myopic]

Im in a similar situation that you are in. I got my hatchling 3 months ago and she only likes to be handled by me. She will try very hard to avoid or escape other handlers. I believe as corns get older, they tend to mellow out and tolerate handling by other people. As they get bigger, I think they feel more comfortable being around people. I dont think they "like" to be held, but tolerate it as they get older.

 

[Dreamsnake]

We were trying to get some pictures of our yearling a few weeks ago. My husband had her by the tail and dragged her back on the mark and she flipped out and made a dash for it. i just set my hand down to block her and she instant quite running and snuggled down against me. I can even caudal her against the over the stove light to check on her innards and she gives my lips and nose little snake kisses.

 

[CodeRed]

Snakes don't have "Feelings" really that people think with.... I believe it's more of a trust thing. I use that VERY lightly. He's used to your scent, your handling style, ect. ect. He knows that you, at least, are safe. I don't think they really "like", just acceptance. Just like snakes will never "like" handling, just tolerate it.

 

[Miqote]

I also think more then "liking" the snake probably learns to associate you/your smell as non-threatening. Although we can't tell the difference between people's scents (usually! lol) I'm sure to a snake, different people's smells are as different as faces are to us. Of course I can't be sure of this, it's just speculation!

It makes we wonder though, we also have had hedgehogs in the past, and have one right now, and with hedgehogs a good way to get friendly with a new hedgehog is to leave one of your T-shirts for them to sleep in. It helps them get used to your scent supposedly. I wonder if it would hurt to try this with a snake? Would the human smell cause too much stress?

 

[charlie1]

It all depends on your definition of “like”. If your definition is based on how a human feels when he likes someone then no a snake probably does not like you. A snake probably does not long to be with you, contemplate your wonderfulness nor want to defend you to the death. If the snake understood preference then it probably would prefer to not be fondled by a huge hairy warm mammal. However, if your snake trusts you and feels secure in your presence, when he feeds or when he is held then that feeling of security is a form of like. To make the analogy more human, you usually only like people you trust and are secure around. I would say trust and security is a very strong indicator of like especially in animals. As you may know it is very easy to loose an animal’s trust but very hard to gain it. So if you have a snake that is calm in your hands, seems to be comfortable with you and maybe not others then that snake likes you.

Also all animals have a presence that creates a connection on some level for both creatures. When I picked out Charlie I handled several snakes but when I picked him up I felt that he was the right one and he was very calm, unlike all the others, in my hand. Maybe this is too metaphysical and stupid but that is the way I look at it.

 

[v_various]

Snakes don't have "Feelings" really that people think with.... I believe it's more of a trust thing. I use that VERY lightly. He's used to your scent, your handling style, ect. ect. He knows that you, at least, are safe. I don't think they really "like", just acceptance. Just like snakes will never "like" handling, just tolerate it.

I agree with this. I think it's pretty rare too. I have one huffy corn who does calm down a lot when I take him from someone else, but I think it's because he recognizes me more than "likes" me. My other snakes act the same no matter who holds them.

 

[wstphal]

It all depends on your definition of “like”. If your definition is based on how a human feels when he likes someone then no a snake probably does not like you. A snake probably does not long to be with you, contemplate your wonderfulness nor want to defend you to the death. If the snake understood preference then it probably would prefer to not be fondled by a huge hairy warm mammal. However, if your snake trusts you and feels secure in your presence, when he feeds or when he is held then that feeling of security is a form of like. To make the analogy more human, you usually only like people you trust and are secure around. I would say trust and security is a very strong indicator of like especially in animals. As you may know it is very easy to loose an animal’s trust but very hard to gain it. So if you have a snake that is calm in your hands, seems to be comfortable with you and maybe not others then that snake likes you.

This is really well put!

I think they may also enjoy the warmth of our hands when they are cool, our skin temp is probably pretty nice for them. Certainly in cooler temps several of mine will go inside my shirt, and I'm sure it's not because they luuve me but because it's nice & warm & they recognize my scent so they are not fleeing the situation.

 

[Stormy]

I honestly think snakes, like other animals, do have feelings. We just dont associate then with every day feellings because humans express their feelings different than animals. What I can say about Alex is when I first brought her home and was getting her all situated my roommate tried holding her and she threw a fit, yet I was able to hold her no problem, and this was only my second time holding her.
Again with Foamy, he is a very picky snake, the previous owner had to wear gloves to handle him, yet I was able to pick him up, right infront of the previous owner with no problems and he has never made a move to strike at me or anything.
So it really depends on the snake, and I think the person as well.

 

[Tanziny]

I also think something that may affect the way a snake acts is the attitude and smell of the person holding it. I work in a petstore and at our last store meeting we were told to bring in a pet to get a pic of for our wall of photos, I brought in Cherry my oldest corn, who is generally easy going and likes people. I let my new manager hold him, and Cherry completely froze and would not even move an inch, and was hanging on to his arm with a death grip. After I removed him from the manager (who is a lazy ***, that is very cocky and thinks he knows everything and complains about everything all the time, and wears enough hair product/cologne to suffucate a roach, grrr) I let a coworker of mine who is a wonder with the animals hold Cherry, and he was all over her in her shirt, going up her sleeve, exploring like he does on me. She is like me, uses natural type soaps and very little if any perfume.

It was amazing the change in attitude within 5 minutes of time.

 

[Lavman breeder]

I don't know that snakes have feelings or not and I doubt we can never REALLY know. That being said, I am a breeder that rarely hold my snakes. I raised a reverse okeetee that I still have. She is the ONLY snake I've owned out of hundreds that actually seems to enjoy being held. When I put my hand in her bin, she will climb into my hand and when I try to put her back she will squeeze tightly to my hand. (maybe she likes the heat?) She does not do this with others. When I feed her, I hold the mouse by hand and she gently and slowly comes up and takes it out of my hand. Probably just used to it being done that way from being little. Last year she was egg bound and I decided to use a syringe to extract some yolk from the egg that would not come out. I probably poked her 10 times to get enough yolk out as it was a small syringe, but she never bit me or became agressive or even wiggled hardly. Just some observations.

 

[Lavman breeder]

BTW, if your egg ever lays eggs and there is one or 2 that do not come out within 3-4 days of the others, the above medical procedure may be something you might try if you have steady hands and don't have the funds to see a vet. Be very careful not to stick it in too far as you don't want to punch through the membrane that hold the eggs nor hit her vertabrae. Only do this as a last resort to avoid her death. This did not affect her in any way as she laid twice this year.

Mike

 

[Cornflake514]

I didn't read all of the other post skimmed over some of them, but my snake is rather friendly with everyone. He was a bit nippy with me when I first got him, but my dad just held him and calmed him down for me thn i wasn't scared to hold him after that. Now he is prety good with everyone, but I've had him for about 6 months and he has only pooped on me whn out of his viv twice, and both times were when I had a lot of people around, there were four of us. I kinda don't think it was a coincidence.

 

[oneirogenesis]

I think charlie1 made a very good post. I appreciate the mentioning of a metaphysical or spiritual component to our relationships with animals as well. It is something frequently over-looked in our increasingly secular culture, but I think it is completely valid.

Strictly speaking, snakes are solitary animals. They do not live within social structures, and would fail to thrive if forced to. They do not bond with their parents or their siblings and they are independent from the moment they are born/hatched. Based on that knowledge, I think it is safe to conclude that the complex emotions and concepts associated with socialization (such as love, friendship or jealousy) are not a part of the snake's emotional repertoire. That isn't to say that they cannot associate positive feelings with you, but it's very hard for us to speculate about what they do feel without projecting our own nature onto them. I doubt they like us the way that we like a friend or a family member, but in their own way many snakes seem to get something positive out of their interaction with us.

 

[Yvette]

So I guess what a lot of people are saying is that their "feelings" are either they fell comfortable or not. They either feel comfortable and are calm being held by some people, or they feel that they are in danger and have to escape. Now I think the fact that snakes learn that their lives are not in danger when being held is amazing! I feel I made an accomplishment by having my snake not fear me

 

[oneirogenesis]

So I guess what a lot of people are saying is that their "feelings" are either they fell comfortable or not. They either feel comfortable and are calm being held by some people, or they feel that they are in danger and have to escape. Now I think the fact that snakes learn that their lives are not in danger when being held is amazing! I feel I made an accomplishment by having my snake not fear me

I agree. Instinctively, snakes are afraid of bigger animals, but in captivity they learn to lose much of their natural fear. I take pride in knowing that my snakes have learned to trust me. I think it's a huge measure of a person's character if they are gentle and patient enough to earn an animal's trust.

 

[Dreamsnake]

I think certain people also do better with snakes and reptiles than others. They taste fear and simply react to it. Emotions are after all chemicals like everything else in the universe. I get along with snakes because I observe their behavior and I can sense their "vapor." I don't know how to describe it, but I can pick up what they're putting out. I am allergic to skinks and possibly other lizards, so maybe I'm sensitive to reptilian chemicals. The snake could be my totem spirit if you want to go that route. I get a sense of enjoyment when I care for them that is different than the way I feel for my cats. I hope Nimue enjoys me as well or at least continues to tolerate me.