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how fast can they go? (and other handling questions)

K

kingjames488

New member
Hey guys/gals
I just got my first snake a couple days ago, and want to handle it more soon.

So first off i was wondering, if he starts to slither off somewhere for whatever reason will I be able to grab him before he darts off under something?

He doesn't seem to like slithering around thought my hands/fingers all that much... he just tries to drop onto my shirt or into my lap (sitting down) or sometimes up my arm (ofc he's way too small to grip my arm).

I would really appreciate some more info anyone may have on handling and getting a new snake more used to you... beyond just basic advice of "holding it"

thanks everyone!
 
To start with, we recommend that you leave a new Corn completely alone wth no handling, for a week after it arrives. Your house is a big scary new place and at the moment he thinks you're a monster that wants to eat him. Once he gets used to the new sights/smells, you can start a gentle handling routine - maybe start with a few minutes a day and build up. If you handle too soon, they can get stressed and refuse food. This can be a difficult problem to resolve with a new arrival.

Hatchlings can move like lightning and if they take off suddenly, you might have a job to catch him before he disappears down into the sofa or into a gap in the skirting. I've seen odd posts over the years from people who have dismantled furniture trying to retrieve snakes that have escaped during handling.

Adults tend to be a lot more laid back and predictable (once you know them), although they can put on a turn of speed when they decide to. All Corns can squeeze into the most ridiculously tiny spaces as well.

"Just holding it" is pretty much all you can do with a Corn really. It will use you as a climbing frame if it feels like it, or it might just stay still and watch TV with you!
 
I've been being very careful not to stress him out too much.
I pretty much left him alone the first day, and only a couple times today.
Hes been really active all night, and even came from his enclosure to my hand on his own at one point! :)

Just seems very eager to explore EVERYWHERE... nothing like the ones I see in most stores just hiding under things all the time.
 
The signs of stress aren't obvious in a Corn. Sometimes the first sign is a refusal to eat, by which point you already have a problem. Up to you though - all we can do is advise.

Keep us posted - and we do love pics as well!
 
kingjames488 said:
Hey guys/gals
I just got my first snake a couple days ago, and want to handle it more soon.

So first off i was wondering, if he starts to slither off somewhere for whatever reason will I be able to grab him before he darts off under something?

He doesn't seem to like slithering around thought my hands/fingers all that much... he just tries to drop onto my shirt or into my lap (sitting down) or sometimes up my arm (ofc he's way too small to grip my arm).

I would really appreciate some more info anyone may have on handling and getting a new snake more used to you... beyond just basic advice of "holding it"

thanks everyone!
Click to expand...

First a new snake should not be held for the first 10 days so they settle in. After that I would hold for about 5 minutes at a time (meaning per day) for a while say a week, then up it to 10 mins a day for another week. Anyway upping it by 5 mins each week until the snake is really comfortable with you takes it slow and easy.

I don't put my snakes down like that so they even have a chace at slithering away until they are very sure I am not going to hurt them. So I can not answer you because none of mine try to take off. I personally would not put a snake that is smaller than 24 inches on the ground because the smaller they are the quicker they are to take off on you.

Congrats on the new snake :)
 
I only had one hatchling once jet out of the feeding tub before the lid got on it. I probably should of made sure it was more relaxed before putting it in. It was extremely hard for me to catch and boy was I stressed out about it. Very super fast and hard to grab quickly but yet gently. It was under six months old at the time.
 
Well I really apreciate everyones input on this.
I don't want you all to think that I am in any way disregarding what you all say... but.

like I said this snake seems to not be afraid of me much at all unless i sneak up on him and touch his tail :p He's just sitting out pretty much in the front of the enclosure right in the open too, I would think if he were stressed he would be scooting in and out of hides and under things half the time.

But I don't know how to recognize a stressed corn (and sounds like u cant til theres a prob) but I'd say it isn't that afraid of me.

and sure, I can get some pics up if you all want :D
if you want to see what he looks like now:
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97412&page=2
 
Actually it is fine to wait only 5-7 days and then give a first feeding, wait the 48 hrs after feeding with no handling as per feeding rules, and then you may handle 5-10 a day if you wish but better with hatchlings to only handle once or twice a week so generally every second day between the feedings(and the 48hr wait period after a feed). You also want to feed hatchlings every 5 days.

With hatchlings you want them to get well established before to much handling as it can stress them out and stress = non-feeding, regurges, reduced immunity, increased illness, increased susceptibility to disease and parasites and potentially death.

Keep in mind a healthy corn lives 15-25 yrs, you have lots of time for handling and cuddling.

Just so you know there are some signs of stress to look for: not feeding, regurging, constant cruising of the viv can sometimes be a sign of stress, not hiding can be a sign of stress. I would suggest you check your temps in your viv carefully. Make sure that the warm side is 83-85 and that you are checking the temp on the bottom of the viv, right on the glass or plastic, right above the UTH(under tank heater). Make sure that you are checking it with a digital thermometer or an infrared temp gun. The stick on dial and strip thermometers are often out 10-20 degrees either way. Which means you may have temps far to cold or far to hot if those are the types of thermometers you are using. Which would explain why your little guy is out and about so much even in the day when he should be hiding.

Now having said that some corns are not shy at all, they are very out going and will come out during the day, so check your set up carefully and if it has the correct warm side temp and a cool side temp somewhere from 68-75 then your temps are good. Then make sure you have a hide on the warm side and one on the cool side, a water dish large enough for the snake to soak in if they want, with fresh water every 3-4 days and aspen bedding and you will know your set up has no problems. If that is the case likely you have a very out going corn.
 
Last edited:
hmm.
well I don't have an exactly optimal setup, but im fairly sure it's more then adaquit.

I don't have aspen bedding, the "starter kit" enclosure I got has coco husk I think (what they used in the store) and got some repti-bark to use after that.
I forgot to get the right type of thermometer, so It's hard for me to measure temps correctly atm... I have to get that asap.
other then that the only thing I think there might be missing is a hide in the middle (mid temp area)

Also He hides sometimes, but seems to be very happy to explore... maybe hes just trying to escape :(

thanks for all your help for sure though man!
 
I would really suggest you get the temps settled ASAP. You really do not need a middle/third hide so long as there is a cool and a warm side hide. The behaviour you are seeing in your corn, where it is out and about exploring most of the day is NOT typical of most corns and is a possible sign of stress.

If you are able to properly measure the temps in the tank and know that the warm side is not to hot and that there is an adequate cool side, and your corn still roams a lot then it is likely you have a more out going corn. But knowing that you are not able to properly monitor the temps, I would be rather concerned that the temps are way out of order and your corn is telling you so. I would also be fearful that if they do not get corrected you may run into other issues which will may be worse.

Your UTH is it being regulated by either a thermostat or a rheostat? If it is not, immediately get one as they can get to temps as high as 120 degrees which can burn or kill a corn!! A very inexpensive Rheostat is a table top lamp dimmer, approx $10 at Wal-Mart(I am in Saskatchewan). Plug it into the wall, plug the UTH into the dimmer, slide the dimmer about 1/3 of the way on, check temp in the viv in 1 hr and adjust accordingly. Know that a dimmer only limits the amount of power going to the UTH and will not hold it at a steady temp if the ambient temp in your house changes. Therefor you will need to check the temps frequently, about 2x daily for the first week until you have it stabilized and then at least every couple of days. I have 12 dimmers going in this house it is all I use to regulate vivs here.

There are inexpensive Thermostats as well, generally obtainable on line from the US but then you have to wait for them to be shipped and you have to pay the exchange rate and the shipping.

Reptibark can and has been ingested by snakes, sometimes with the outcome being just fine and sometimes with the snake becoming impacted. For me it is not worth the risk. Cocofibre tends to get moist easily, harbors bacteria easily but it can also dry out to a very fine powder. All of these things can lead to RI's some have used it with no trouble others have had problems using it. We lost a snake to an RI caused by the Cocofibre getting into the nostrils and then the lungs as corns love to burrow. Myself I will never use it again. AS well Cocofibre is far more expensive than the Aspen as you can get it from a feed and pet store in a large compressed bale(8 cubic feet compressed to 3 cubic feet) for around $17 dollars. I have 9 snakes and have had my first bale for over a year and am now about 1/2 done it.

Just some information for you to think about.
 
wow, gotta say I'm a lil worried now :s
just so you know, anything I say that may sound like me not wanting to listen or argue with you is most likely just me trying to understand things better... so I hope I don't upset anyone :) that being said...

I plan on getting a thermostat soon. The warm side doesn't feel too hot atm though, just nicely warm... so I'm not too freaked out.

I thought that problems with ingesting substrate could be avoided by feeding in a seperate container? also the stuff I'm using is larger pieces (coco husk) that look like bark, not the finer stuff.
I may get aspen bedding in the future if people really think the repti bark will be a problem. I read it was fine though, and it looks much better in my tank.
 
Just nicely warm to you is way to warm our body temp is 96.8......the corn can not have a temp more than 85, which to use is barely warm at all, to some it even feels cool. So it you describe it a nicely warm it is likely over 100 degrees!!

Feeding out of the tank will prevent virtually all chances of the bark being ingested, yes. I just wanted to let you know the possible risks involved with using substrates other than Aspen and then you can make a fully informed decision. Aspen allows the urates(pee) and poop to dry up in a nice little lump that is easily removed from the tank, thus you can spot clean and only need to change out the entire substrate every 1-2 months. Saves time and money, keeps the tank cleaner.

Right now your biggest worry should be the temp in the tank, I think it is likely far to hot!! Which will either burn the snake, stress it because it can't get to a warm temp that is right, cause it to refuse to eat, or cause a regurge, all of which are serious issues.

You never did tell me if you are regulating the UTH with anything?
 
it's not controled at all atm.
and I would think its no warmer then 95 degrees tops. I know that would be too warm, but I doubt it would burn. and like I've been saying I plan to get a thermostat to regulate it soon.

Also what I ment by nicely warm is I can just feel a little warmth in substrate where the heater is, so prolly nicely warm for the snake.

how much should a decent thermostat cost?
 
You can feel the warmth in the substrate??? Really, I am not being rude here but let me stress this to you and break it down for you.

If you can feel warmth in the substrate then it is warmer than you are, which is 96.8. This is not safe for your corn.

This is exactly why your corn is roaming the tank, NOT because it wants to be held, or is an outgoing corn but because the viv is too hot!!

You NEED to check the temp on the bottom of the tank on the glass, as corns burrow, and yes if your corn decided to lay there for an extended period of time it could get a burn.

I will mention again that UTH's uncontrolled get to temps of over 100 degrees often as high as 120, so if you have not tested it, you can not know what it is and guessing is not what you want to do, not if you care about the health and safety of your snake.

Those kinds of temps will cause your corn to:
-not feed
-if it does feed, regurge
-if it regurges, it will loose most of it's stomach acid and it takes time for them to rebuild it, so you will then have to strictly follow Kathy Love's regurge protocol or the regurging will continue and will kill it
-high stress from being unable to find a place to properly thermoregulate and instead it is forced to choose to expose itself
-stress will weaken it's immune system and make it susceptible to illness

I am not sure for thermostat pricing here in Canada, myself I have 9 corns, 1 Cali King and am fostering back to health 1 Corn that was keep in inadequate housing and has regurged twice because of it. I use table top lamp dimmers for each.

Once everyone is able to be in the same room and I have cabinetry for all of my tanks, then I will use Herpstats, they are over $100 but well worth it.
 
umm...
I've said in almost every post so far... I'm going to get a thermostat, what else shall I do? blow on it a bit?
I'm not trying to be rude either... but what else is there to do?

And it's not like hes out roaming constantly, but a lot.
he does settle down for a couple hours sometimes.
also I'm up a lot at night, so maybe I just see more movement?
 
Unplug it and do not feed until you get a thermostat or a rheostat. You are risking the health of your snake leaving it unregulated. It is no longer freezing up here anymore the average temp in the house is 65-70 and above other than at night. Your snake will be safer, with out heat until you can get a thermostat or rheostat. If you are concerned that the temp will get to cold cover most of the top of the viv with towels and wrap the viv in a blanket for now.
 
Looks pretty good. Your one hide the log with both ends open would make your corn feel safer to use it if you hung one of the fake vines over the end of it and put it against the glass with a small piece of paper on the other side of the glass so that the snake felt like it was in a small dark place where "creatures" could not see it. Is that hide on the cool side or warm side? The other hide looks a little large for a small corn, they like small tight spaces where they feel like predators can not see them or get into to get them. Otherwise nicely done.

Question is that sphagnum moss you used to give the appearance of grass or did you add real dead grass? If it is sphagnum moss great idea! Looks cool.

Depending on how warm you keep your house you may not even need to go to the effort of wrapping the viv until you can regulate the UTH. But I really urge you to unplug it for now. So long as you do not feed the snake it will be fine without the heat for a little while, same with missing the food for a little while better it miss a meal or two and eat with regulated temps than eat with unregulated temps. Trust me many of us spent a few months trying to help another young member to try and save their corns life and it was because they were first using no heat then unregulated heat and the corn started regurging, then just as things started to look as though the corn might pull through, it escaped and got run over by a car.
 
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