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New Corn Snake Owner...questions
- Thread starter BLKsteeda
- Start date
BLKsteeda
Elmo & Molly's Daddy
The gentleman who sold us the snake, the Manager of Underground Reptiles, never mentioned a 3 day waiting period. That is why we were handling him so much the first day. After he was acting "feisty" we decided to ask a few "snake people" for their opinion.
We have heard multiple responses, one (from a friend who is a breeder) saying to handle him multiple times a day for 15-20 min to get the snake adjusted to being handled. Two, from the manager, who pretty much summed the 3 day waiting period to "unnecessary" and finally this forum, where your telling us not to touch him... so it isnt that we arent taking your advice, it is that we dont know whose advice to take.
We have heard multiple responses, one (from a friend who is a breeder) saying to handle him multiple times a day for 15-20 min to get the snake adjusted to being handled. Two, from the manager, who pretty much summed the 3 day waiting period to "unnecessary" and finally this forum, where your telling us not to touch him... so it isnt that we arent taking your advice, it is that we dont know whose advice to take.
Last edited:
TrpnBils
22 is not enough snakes
A viv, short for vivarium, is where your snake lives. I use an aquarium, but there are specific enclosures for reptiles. It's a very broad term from what I've seen.
And that guy at the shop didn't know what he was talking about. Leave the snake alone for a couple days and see how it goes. You're just stressing it out at this point. Also, like somebody else already said, forget about the hook....especially with a hatchling. The only reason you'd need a hook is if you had a dangerous animal....and even a record-sized corn isn't dangerous.
And that guy at the shop didn't know what he was talking about. Leave the snake alone for a couple days and see how it goes. You're just stressing it out at this point. Also, like somebody else already said, forget about the hook....especially with a hatchling. The only reason you'd need a hook is if you had a dangerous animal....and even a record-sized corn isn't dangerous.
BLKsteeda
Elmo & Molly's Daddy
we'll go ahead and leave him alone except for his feeding tomorrow evening...The manager of the shop was very knowledgeable about the snake and has been dealing with snakes for many years including highly venomous ones which were present in the shop as well. Again, we will go ahead and leave him alone...would it be wise to feed him in his cage just for the sake of not handling him for now and just wait till Sunday to handle him again? If so, should I just lay a folded paper towel in the cage and drop the pinky onto it? Thanks
Joejr14
Grand Bubble Burster
BLKsteeda said:
Well, every breeder here is going to tell you that you need the adjustment period.
You had the author of "The Corn Snake Bible" tell you to give your snake a 3 day settling in period. If that's not enough, I dont know what to tell you.
I'd also suggest you perhaps wait till Friday or Saturday to feed the snake. The last thing you want is a regurge.
peep_827
hehehe
Good Advice . . .
Well, I've found that most pet shop employees, even owners, don't know as much about corns as they say they do . . .
Seriously, if Kathy Love told me to do/not to do something with Monty, I'd be on it. I've got her book . . . it is amazing. I think she's been breeding corns since the 70's . . . if you can find anyone more knowledgeable in corns please let me know!!
That aside, perhaps some corns you can handle right off, and that's fine. However, you are already having problems with yours. You have to ask yourself right now if you want to give your snake time to adjust and hopefully end up with a handleable pet, OR if you want to continue to scare it and perhaps ingrain this striking behavior for life. What's it going to hurt give the baby 3 days, then feed, then leave alone for 2 days? THEN see how he/she reacts to being handled. I wouldn't even start trying to handle the snake again until then.
Now, I don't claim to be an expert as I've only had Monty over a month. But I will say this . . . at the store he was calm and happy and slithered all over me and my kids. When I got him home he was scared to death, not the happy lil snake I'd handled at the store. So I left him alone for 3 days, then I fed him a tiny pinky, then I left him alone for 2 more days. It was hard!!! But I'm planning to have this snake for a loooooong time, so what's a week? Then we'd take him out every day for 10 or 15 minutes and handle him, never had a problem. We did that for a few weeks except when he was digesting. Now I take him out and handle him sometimes for several hours at a time, no problem. But I think that's cause I took the time to let him settle into his environment.
No, a snake is not a dog or a cat, but I'm quite sure they have feelings. It is obvious they can be scared. Yes, there is a time to ignore their frightened striking and handle them anyway to teach them that it's okay, but that is AFTER you've given the snake a chance to get used to it's new environment. You are stressing that snake way too much. Give it 3 days before feeding, please! Another thing is that if the snake is still very nervous when you try to feed you risk a refusal or worse, a regurge . . . and with a new baby that is somewhere you don't want to go because if that goes on long enough it can be life threatening.
Good luck!!!! Keep us posted, I'm hoping to hear in a few days that your baby has settled down and eaten and is quietly digesting . . .
Oh, and if you have a Petsmart go get Kathy Love's book, "The Corn Snake Manual". It's wonderful!!! But do NOT look at the pics of the different colors - or you'll be thinking about your next corn!! :laugh:
Well, I've found that most pet shop employees, even owners, don't know as much about corns as they say they do . . .
Seriously, if Kathy Love told me to do/not to do something with Monty, I'd be on it. I've got her book . . . it is amazing. I think she's been breeding corns since the 70's . . . if you can find anyone more knowledgeable in corns please let me know!!
That aside, perhaps some corns you can handle right off, and that's fine. However, you are already having problems with yours. You have to ask yourself right now if you want to give your snake time to adjust and hopefully end up with a handleable pet, OR if you want to continue to scare it and perhaps ingrain this striking behavior for life. What's it going to hurt give the baby 3 days, then feed, then leave alone for 2 days? THEN see how he/she reacts to being handled. I wouldn't even start trying to handle the snake again until then.
Now, I don't claim to be an expert as I've only had Monty over a month. But I will say this . . . at the store he was calm and happy and slithered all over me and my kids. When I got him home he was scared to death, not the happy lil snake I'd handled at the store. So I left him alone for 3 days, then I fed him a tiny pinky, then I left him alone for 2 more days. It was hard!!! But I'm planning to have this snake for a loooooong time, so what's a week? Then we'd take him out every day for 10 or 15 minutes and handle him, never had a problem. We did that for a few weeks except when he was digesting. Now I take him out and handle him sometimes for several hours at a time, no problem. But I think that's cause I took the time to let him settle into his environment.
No, a snake is not a dog or a cat, but I'm quite sure they have feelings. It is obvious they can be scared. Yes, there is a time to ignore their frightened striking and handle them anyway to teach them that it's okay, but that is AFTER you've given the snake a chance to get used to it's new environment. You are stressing that snake way too much. Give it 3 days before feeding, please! Another thing is that if the snake is still very nervous when you try to feed you risk a refusal or worse, a regurge . . . and with a new baby that is somewhere you don't want to go because if that goes on long enough it can be life threatening.
Good luck!!!! Keep us posted, I'm hoping to hear in a few days that your baby has settled down and eaten and is quietly digesting . . .
Oh, and if you have a Petsmart go get Kathy Love's book, "The Corn Snake Manual". It's wonderful!!! But do NOT look at the pics of the different colors - or you'll be thinking about your next corn!! :laugh:
kathylove
Pragmatic & Logical
The reason you will get so much conflicting advice about corns is because...
they are ALL correct...at least with some corns, some of the time!
Corns are generally very flexible, and are individuals. Many times, you can do almost EVERYTHING WRONG, and it will still work out ok, because MOST corns MOST of the time are very tough animals. But they are most stressed and most vulnerable when young and when facing a new the new challenge of a new home.
You should not be nearly so concerned with whether your corn will become docile as you should worry about whether it will eat and digest its meals properly. I have found that stressed corns are likely to refuse food, or regurge when they do eat. Of course, most will not be stressed to that point, but some will. If you will download the care sheet I have posted on my website, you will see that I suggest you do ANYTHING possible to limit stress during the first several weeks so that the new baby settles in and feeds and digests properly. Then worry about how tame it will be. If it can't feed and digest properly, it doesn't really matter how tame it is.
Are all of these precautions necessary all of the time? No, of course not! Most corns won't be so stressed that you have to do everything I suggest in order for it to become healthy and well adjusted. Lots of people might post that they bought a new baby corn, fed it 2 pinks right out of the container from the pet store, played with it for hours, and never had a problem. Great! I am sure somebody else who did the exact same thing could post that their snake regurged every time after that and died. What will your snake do? Who knows? Is it prone to stress, or not? I don't know. That is why I preach being over cautious, just in case yours is one of the timid, stress prone animals.
I hope this makes some sense and also explains why you will get so much conflicting advice, and why any or all of it may work in SOME situations, but not others.
Good luck!
they are ALL correct...at least with some corns, some of the time!
Corns are generally very flexible, and are individuals. Many times, you can do almost EVERYTHING WRONG, and it will still work out ok, because MOST corns MOST of the time are very tough animals. But they are most stressed and most vulnerable when young and when facing a new the new challenge of a new home.
You should not be nearly so concerned with whether your corn will become docile as you should worry about whether it will eat and digest its meals properly. I have found that stressed corns are likely to refuse food, or regurge when they do eat. Of course, most will not be stressed to that point, but some will. If you will download the care sheet I have posted on my website, you will see that I suggest you do ANYTHING possible to limit stress during the first several weeks so that the new baby settles in and feeds and digests properly. Then worry about how tame it will be. If it can't feed and digest properly, it doesn't really matter how tame it is.
Are all of these precautions necessary all of the time? No, of course not! Most corns won't be so stressed that you have to do everything I suggest in order for it to become healthy and well adjusted. Lots of people might post that they bought a new baby corn, fed it 2 pinks right out of the container from the pet store, played with it for hours, and never had a problem. Great! I am sure somebody else who did the exact same thing could post that their snake regurged every time after that and died. What will your snake do? Who knows? Is it prone to stress, or not? I don't know. That is why I preach being over cautious, just in case yours is one of the timid, stress prone animals.
I hope this makes some sense and also explains why you will get so much conflicting advice, and why any or all of it may work in SOME situations, but not others.
Good luck!
BLKsteeda
Elmo & Molly's Daddy
Thanks for everyones help with our little one...it is really appreciated...we're just so excited about this new experience with our first snake it's just so hard not to spend so much time with him and want to handle him often. We are going to wait 3 days and skip his thursday feeding and feed him probably Saturday night and in his cage for the sake of not handling him. I'll lay the pinky on a folded paper towel as not to get any of the bedding on pinky so he doesn't injest anything. We will then wait till probably tuesday before we try to handle him again after his feeding. Hopefully he eats just fine and doesn't have any problems. He usually get pretty active in his cage about 10pm and explores his cage...it's so cool to watch him...Again thanks for everyone's input.
BLKsteeda
Elmo & Molly's Daddy
When it comes time for us to try and handle him again we I guess we will try to maybe limit it to 3 times a week about 20mins for a couple weeks and see how that works. Is it better to wait till he is active in his cage and moving around like he does after we turn his lights off usually around 10pm? The rest of the day he is hiding under his log all curled up in a little ball. I'll keep you posted on how the feeding goes on Saturday.
BLKsteeda
Elmo & Molly's Daddy
Just a little update on our little one...not sure if this means anything or not but he has become much more active in his cage over the past day. Normally, he has been hiding under his log all day, but as usual he came out last night about 10 exploring his cage and still this morning he was out moving around climbing up the sides. Even now at lunchtime he is still out...hope this means he is starting to get comfortable. 
BLKsteeda
Elmo & Molly's Daddy
Well, it looks as if his first feeding has gone well so far...I put a folded up piece of paper in his cage and placed the pinky on it when he wasn't around...he started to explore his cage and for about half an hour didn't pay any attention to the pinky at all...went by it several times. We decided to turn his cage lights out and the room lights as well and about 10 minutes later we looked an the pinky was completely gone. We saw him a few minutes later moving around his cage and it was all the way in the middle of his body already. I didn't think he would get that pinky down that fast. Well, hopefully he keeps it down, we'll take a look at him in the morning.
Had1nowwant1
New member
im pretty sure it does mean he is starting to get comfortable.
FlaStangBabe
Elmo & Molly's Mommy
(This is the GF)
The little guy will be ready to handle by Tuesday? But Gordon (blksteeda) will be out of town until Wednesday. Should I wait until he gets back in town to handle the lil guy? :shrugs:
-Chelsie
The little guy will be ready to handle by Tuesday? But Gordon (blksteeda) will be out of town until Wednesday. Should I wait until he gets back in town to handle the lil guy? :shrugs:
-Chelsie
I can completely understand the excitement...believe me...
Even with a bunch of snakes in my house...every time I get a new one...I have to sit on my hands to keep from handling it...and I make myself wait 5-7 days before first feed...and at least 2 more days before I first handle it...other than when it arrives, which I keep to a minimum.
A snake as young as yours may be jumpy for a while...but it should calm down...
I would limit the amount of time you spend handling it at first, as everyone said...
The only other thing I noticed...and it may or may not be a big deal...but cornsnakes are crepuscular, which mean active at dawn and dusk...handling it during lunchtime (be sure to wash your hands before AND after handling!!) may add to it's stress due to the fact that would normally be a rest time. I usually hold my snakes in the evening or at night...they are fairly inactive during the day...and, especially in a younger snake, this daytime disturbance may be increasing it's stress...not to mention it's defense response.
Even with a bunch of snakes in my house...every time I get a new one...I have to sit on my hands to keep from handling it...and I make myself wait 5-7 days before first feed...and at least 2 more days before I first handle it...other than when it arrives, which I keep to a minimum.
A snake as young as yours may be jumpy for a while...but it should calm down...
I would limit the amount of time you spend handling it at first, as everyone said...
The only other thing I noticed...and it may or may not be a big deal...but cornsnakes are crepuscular, which mean active at dawn and dusk...handling it during lunchtime (be sure to wash your hands before AND after handling!!) may add to it's stress due to the fact that would normally be a rest time. I usually hold my snakes in the evening or at night...they are fairly inactive during the day...and, especially in a younger snake, this daytime disturbance may be increasing it's stress...not to mention it's defense response.
peep_827
hehehe
I'm gonna put this out there and maybe someone else can comment, but I would like to add a disclaimer that this is not advice, just something I've noticed . . .
When I get Monty out of his viv I do it at my convenience, if that's at noon then it is. Monty doesn't usually get active til about 10 pm sometimes and I don't want to wait til then . . . Anyway, I've noticed that sometimes he seems like he's really asleep and kinda groggy, if this is the case I just let him sit in my hand and don't mess with him much til he starts creeping around on his own. I know snakes can't close their eyes, but my brother tells me that when they are "asleep" they get cold and have to warm up. So I'm wondering if picking the baby up when he's kinda groggy and just holding him quietly might help acclimate him to being handled?
I'm certainly no expert on stressed out babies, Monty's been one friendly little snake ever since I got him, so this is probably more of a question than an answer. LOL Sorry bout that . . .
When I get Monty out of his viv I do it at my convenience, if that's at noon then it is. Monty doesn't usually get active til about 10 pm sometimes and I don't want to wait til then . . . Anyway, I've noticed that sometimes he seems like he's really asleep and kinda groggy, if this is the case I just let him sit in my hand and don't mess with him much til he starts creeping around on his own. I know snakes can't close their eyes, but my brother tells me that when they are "asleep" they get cold and have to warm up. So I'm wondering if picking the baby up when he's kinda groggy and just holding him quietly might help acclimate him to being handled?
I'm certainly no expert on stressed out babies, Monty's been one friendly little snake ever since I got him, so this is probably more of a question than an answer. LOL Sorry bout that . . .