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New Corn - how alone do we really have to leave her?

Sandra

Sandra

corn neophyte
We just got our new little Motley girl today. She's an '03. None of us can stand not looking at her! Can we?? Or will seeing our big heads through the glass traumatize her?
 
Greetings and welcome to the forum.

As a rule of thumb you want to leave them alone for a minimum of 3 full days and nights and some folks say a week is better. After that you can offer them their first (smallish meal).

Cheers,
Jason
 
Neumann, I believe that's exactly the phrase Sandra was hoping someone would expound upon. It's a very general phrase. Clearly, handling the snake is out of the question, but any good owner would do well to check on them by taking a quick peek. I think peeking in should not only be ok, but recommended the first few days to make sure everything is going well.

Just my $0.02.
 
we definitely don't plan to handle her at all for a while, but no looking at all? :cry:

That's going to be tough since she's in my daughter's bedroom!
 
Arson, I like your reply much better, but, hee hee, you're probably in the same boat I am right now and can't resist peeking!
 
Arson,

You're correct that I should have expanded my reply. Thank you for pointing it out. However, some keepers do recommend covering the viv in paper for the first few days to ensure that you minimize the snakes stress by limiting their view of things.

Sandra,

Sorry for the poor reply. I forget how exciting it is to have a first snake and also how stressful it is (to you) not knowing what to do or expect. Relax, your snake will likely do just fine whether you peek in or not, especially if it's an 03 because chances are it's already feeding regularly.

Personally, we never did the whole cover the viv thing with our corns. We just didn't handle them for the first few days, then we fed them, and let them digest. After that we started to handle them every day or two for maybe five minutes or so for the first week, 10 for the next and kept increasing the duration over a period of weeks (just no handling after they've eaten). As long as they're feeding well and appear healthy you're in good shape for handling and peering in at them. If they regurge or stop eating then you know they're stressed or that 'something' is wrong.

After you start to handle your new friend for a while, you'll soon be able to tell if it's comfortable or stressed. I'm sure peeking in is fine, but I wouldn't have my nose constantly pressed against the glass and I know you want to! ;). Sit back a foot or two and don't make a lot of movement. If you have a red light bulb then turn it on at night and watch your snake. Corns lack functional cones in the retina of their eyes thus rendering them color blind. You can watch them for long periods of time without stressing them out. It's a lot of fun when they're really active and my kids enjoy it a lot.

On the topic of stress:
One of my corns is really good about expressing stress by constricting us slightly when she's uncomfortable. She usually does this prior to ecdysis before she even starts showing signs of an upcoming shed (hormones :rolleyes: ) Otherwise she's mostly mellow. Our Anery hides his stress very well. Although we can tell he's been stressed when we're placing him back in his viv. He zips very fast to his hide when he's been out too long.

I hope this helps and I'm sorry my first post was so poorly constrcuted and thought out. I hope you enjoy your new friend! They're interresting animals to watch develop. Post some pics after it's settled in.

Cheers,
Jason
 
Jason, it's no problem. Sandra seems to be much like myself and has read nearly every thread relating to every topic, so that sentence that you spit out in the first reply is likely the phrase she's read a million times. She just wanted a more detailed reply. Something like, "Peeking is ok, but touching isn't" That sorta thing. Thanks for the additional info though!
 
Neumann,

Thanks for the detailed and thoughtful reply! I will keep the peeking to a minimum. I think I'll take your suggestion and get a red light bulb for some late night (unobtrusive) gazing.

This is so exciting!!
 
The only other reason you might want to go in the viv for is to change the water so that it doesn't grow any slime in it.
 
good point, Meg. I was going to do that anyway. She hasn't had a drink yet. She's in the opposite corner of the viv, hiding under some silk leaves. She will find the water okay, won't she?
 
never mind on the water question - I just snuck a peek at her and she was totally out in the open and drinking! :)
 
Excellent! Just make sure it stays full and clean. Sounds like your new baby is off to a good start!
 
According to what everyone says I did everything all wrong when I got my baby back in April..I handled her all the time and she LOVED it. Not 24/7 or anything. I found that she acclimated much faster and bonded with me right away. I don't recommend that everyone do this, but in my case it worked out well. It all depends on the snake I guess. She eats well and has not bitten me once. I'll stop bragging on my baby now ;)
 
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