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First handling session

DarrenHyland

DarrenHyland

New member
Hey,

I let my new corn settle in for 5 days. She was fed the morning we got her so she's fine on that part of the handling spectrum and I'm pretty sure she's fairly settled in.

I'm going to feed her on monday (7 days after we got her) so I'm thinking of handling her 5-10 minutes today and tomorrow to get used to her before she has to feed again. Am I right in doing this?

Also. If I am going to try handle her, when should I attempt to take her out of her vivarium? She's not really out of her hide that much at all, so would I be fine to pick up one of her hides and handle her that way?

Thanks guys ^^,
Darren
 
Hi Darren

I'm not an expert as i'm only just a beginner like yourself.

When i first got Smokey i left her for a full 7 days before i handled her to let her settle in. She was a bit weary of being picked up the first few times but after a bit of patience(and some speed) she has now got used to me. I would suggest just 5 minutes handling to start with then get sum grub inside her see how her feeding is. Then just let her digst for atleast 48 hours and then keep on with the handling and she will get used to pretty quickly.

As i'm no expert if anyone else wants to add or correct feel free.

This is just my personal account of how things went with Smokey, hope it helps
 
Smokey-Steve said:
Hi Darren

I'm not an expert as i'm only just a beginner like yourself.

When i first got Smokey i left her for a full 7 days before i handled her to let her settle in. She was a bit weary of being picked up the first few times but after a bit of patience(and some speed) she has now got used to me. I would suggest just 5 minutes handling to start with then get sum grub inside her see how her feeding is. Then just let her digst for atleast 48 hours and then keep on with the handling and she will get used to pretty quickly.

As i'm no expert if anyone else wants to add or correct feel free.

This is just my personal account of how things went with Smokey, hope it helps
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply - I'll try that! :). Do you have any pictures of smokey I could check out? :].

How do I get around to handling her for the first time as she is always hidden? Or, how would you suggest I go about this?

Thanks,
Darren
 
I usually let my snakes settle in for a full week, but she's probably fairly adjusted by now...just don't keep her out for too long to avoid stressing her. As for getting her out, the best way to do it is to lift up the hide she's in and swoop in and grab her before she realizes what's going on. The more confident you can be, the better - they can be a little feisty when you try to get them out if you hesitate, but if you catch them by surprise you're usually okay. Once you have her out of her vivarium she'll probably calm down, but she might flail around at first. If she does just hold her firmly (but not too tight) and support as much of her as you can. It might also help to hold her close to your body.

She'll probably be a little flighty until she's used to you, so it might be harder to catch her the first few times, but most snakes will calm down a lot once they realize that you're not going to eat them.
 
requin said:
I usually let my snakes settle in for a full week, but she's probably fairly adjusted by now...just don't keep her out for too long to avoid stressing her. As for getting her out, the best way to do it is to lift up the hide she's in and swoop in and grab her before she realizes what's going on. The more confident you can be, the better - they can be a little feisty when you try to get them out if you hesitate, but if you catch them by surprise you're usually okay. Once you have her out of her vivarium she'll probably calm down, but she might flail around at first. If she does just hold her firmly (but not too tight) and support as much of her as you can. It might also help to hold her close to your body.

She'll probably be a little flighty until she's used to you, so it might be harder to catch her the first few times, but most snakes will calm down a lot once they realize that you're not going to eat them.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for this requin! You gave me the exact answer I was looking for, I'll try that ^^.
 
http://s861.photobucket.com/albums/ab177/Smokey-Steve/Smokey/?action=view&current=Smokey1.jpg

This is best photo I have that I can access as i'm at work (oops) she was 3 months old then, shes now 7 months old.

As for the best way to pick her up I totally agree with Requin just take her by suprise and I find it useful to try and get her to make a loop round one of your fingers it made me feel more confident and im fairly sure it would make her more comfortable as well
 
Smokey-Steve said:
http://s861.photobucket.com/albums/ab177/Smokey-Steve/Smokey/?action=view&current=Smokey1.jpg

This is best photo I have that I can access as i'm at work (oops) she was 3 months old then, shes now 7 months old.

As for the best way to pick her up I totally agree with Requin just take her by suprise and I find it useful to try and get her to make a loop round one of your fingers it made me feel more confident and im fairly sure it would make her more comfortable as well
Click to expand...

She's very nice (or was, as I'm sure she still is).

I did that and it worked perfectly. Thank you both for your suggestion. She didn't seem to mind at all and she was exploring my fingers as if it wasn't her first time being handled by me.

Thanks again guys!
 
The best suggestion is to not hesitate. You know the old cliche "they can smell your fear"? It's like that, they sense your hesitation and that in turn makes them hesitant, which usually means a strike!
 
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