Handling Questions!

[Eorii]

Hello!
I have a beautiful baby cornsnake, she's about 7-8 months old. I've had her personally for about a month or so~And I loooove, her, feed her regularly, but she's not very friendly.

I wanted to ask how do you guys go about handling your snakes so they get more use to you, especially when they're rather aggressive. Well....I don't want to say she's "Aggressive" but she is VERY alert and veeery active. So she gets scared when I touch her or make movements and such. I've been wanting to handle her, but I'm not quite sure what to do exactly.

So, how do you handle your snakes? Just hold them? Let them crawl in a area with you, bath tub, corner of a room? She's suuuuuper fast, so I'd have to make sure I'm in a place where she can't dart off and hide Lol

Thank you in advance!

 

[Reptileman81]

I just hold my snakes. I think that when you let them crawl around to much on there own (i.e. bath tub corner of room) they tend to get a wild hair up there butt. Not to many corns are really bitty. They usual are pretty mellow. Unless it is a scared baby trying to just get away from you lol. Every now and then you come across a bad tempered on but not often. I would say maybe 5% at best.

But really even if one does bit it doesnt hurt at all. It just scares you for that split second. Then you look down and you just have a few needle pricks of blood coming out. Not a big deal thou.

 

[wstphal]

I get somebody out almost every night. Usually several somebodies, so I think everyone gets out at least 2x a week.

All three of my 2009s are FAST movers so I have to keep letting them move thru my hands, I can't put them down on the bed. Attitude, one of the 09s, will strike and probably bite a couple times before settling down to moving thru my fingers. (This is, by the way, a huge improvement from arrival, when 5 or more bites were typical, along with wild flailing around and attempting to jump into midair to get away!) The adults can crawl around on the bed or my closed up futon with me while I sit with them. Humphrey rides on my shoulders while I do dishes. Marbles (a BP not a corn) will coil up on my lap.

I try to give everyone some exercise, doing the snakey treadmill thru my hands. If I have daytime time I take somebody out to the stairs outside my apartment for some stairclimbing exercise. Otherwise, they may ride my shoulders or be a hair ornament, or coil on my arm & stay put. Everybody seems to have different preferences around here.

 

[carnivorouszoo]

In my experience any snake under about 20 inches is going to be flighty and strikey if not nippy. Yup they can strike close mouthed, its more like a shove than a bite. All you can do is calmly reach in and scoop them up then handle them until they settle down. After they settle you can put them back. IF you put them back while they are freaking out or jerk away when they strike at you you teach them to keep doing it to make you go away. Or you can get a snake hook for the initial lift and then take them in hand. Gloves work for some people too. My 08 amel Scarlet was a fiesty bugger, nippy, strikey, and a real constrictor! After he got over 21 inches he began to not care if I picked him up or not as long as he got time out of his bin. Hope I helped!

 

[EsotericForest]

I usually handle my corn snake a couple times a week. If I take him outside I'll let him crawl around in the grass or in a small tree or something. While in the house I just let him wrap around my hands and such.

 

[oneirogenesis]

Humphrey rides on my shoulders while I do dishes.

This is adorable. Charlie, my carpet python, will hang around on my shoulders while I do chores once in awhile. Sometimes she helps me make the morning coffee. I'm looking forward to Ariadne being big enough to help me with my chores, since she is so calm and tame.

 

[wax32]

I chose hardly ever, besides feeding. Snakes are not mammals and neither want nor need to be held/snuggled! That said, if it makes you feel better, hold them as much as you want.