Hi, I am a new owner of a corn snake. I adopted "her" 05-30-17. Her first feeding went well. I am now concerned about handling her. I left her alone for 48 hours and realized she had been under the same hide and had barely moved. Would it be a good idea to move her hide or should I just wait until she comes out on her own?
Snakes find a warm spot to hide after eating, and will usually remain there until they digest their meal or somebody disturbs them. It's not unusual for a snake to hide after eating, it's perfectly normal.
How long she remains hidden depends on how long it takes her to digest her meal. And that can depend on her size and age, the size of the meal, and the temperature inside her warm spot. Typically, a baby snake will digest its meal in about 2 days, and an adult might be longer. (My snake is a little over 2 years old and he poops like clockwork 3 days after eating.) He also stays hidden the whole time. After 3 days I usually disturb him, take him out and play with him a bit, put him back in his cage and he will usually poop right away. LOL. So far he has not pooped on me, but if you handle your snake after it has eaten, that can happen and there are plenty of folks around here to tell you so.
Over time, you will learn your snakes behavior patterns, poop cycle, and preferences, and all of this will become 2nd nature to you.
One more thing, snakes also hide a lot before and during shed times. Of course, this is another thing that you have to learn about your snake. Every snake is different and every snake owner is different.
Make sure the temperature levels and humidity levels are correct in your cage. Keep the water bowl cleaned and filled with fresh water. Keep the cage itself cleaned and disinfected, and feed the snake appropriately. If you do these things, you should not have any problems. Usually people that have problems with a pet snake can be traced to unsanitary conditions or incorrect temps.