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handling question

S

Suspense

New member
When I first got my corn last summer, he was pretty good for handling. I could tell he wasn't thrilled about it but he got by. As the months have passed, he's gotten more and more shy about it. Now, he instantly wraps around my arm with his tail and gets real nervous whenever I take him out. I've read that corns tend to get better at handling as time goes on, so I'm wondering if I may have done something wrong or if there's anything I can do to make it better. I haven't dropped him or anything if that's a concern. Any suggestions?
 
He's wrapping around your arm to steady himself and make sure he doesn't fall - kinda like a small kid holding your hand. He's just keeping himself safe in a sensible way for a snake, so don't read anything into that particular behaviour. Sounds pretty normal to me.

He's treating your arm as he would, say, the branch of a tree. When you pick him up, you're just a nice warm climbing frame to him!
 
He is probably a little stronger now from being handled so his grip around your arm is tighter. How often do you handle? How long after a feeding do you handle?
 
Nanci said:
How do you know he's nervous?
Click to expand...
Excellent question, Nanci. I'm guessing you're looking for things like tail vibrating to indicate nervousness? No he doesn't do anything like that. I guess I interpreted his increasing need to grip, combined with what appeared to be heavy breathing, to be nervous behavior.

I brought him out tonight for a more objective behavioral evaluation and I'm much less concerned now. Yes, he grips much more than he used to. But other than that he seems to just be exploring like when he's in the tank. I think I've managed to avoid a lot of the typical newbie skittishness about stuff, but this got by me. :)

To answer Matt's questions: I usually don't handle him for 2 days after he eats. I tried to handle him almost every day (except for after eating) early on to help him get used to it. But as I saw this apparent behavioral change I handled him a lot less for fear of traumatizing him. I think I feel okay now about bringing him out more often again.

Thanks for the input everyone!
 
i have several corns that wrap tightly around my arm, beltloop, etc. i think there the best corns i have. It shows me there not afraid, calm, friendly, and alert. I love when the curl and just hang out : )
 
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