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Oi vey...

amanda007

amanda007

Read, read, read!
I've had my snake for about 3 weeks now, and she still hates being handled. She'll try to escape when you attempt to pick her up (with very slow movements, laying my hand on the cage so she can come to me, the works). She's nuts when you first have her, trying to get away, but after 5 minutes or so she'll calm down a bit and just crawl around my hands, weave in between my fingers and such.

Today was SUPPOSED to be her third feeding, but she had NO interest in the pinky whatsoever. It was warm, and I put three slits down it's back, but I got no reaction from her. I even "prodded" her body with the pinky to provoke her a bit (a tip I got somewhere on here), which I did with both her first and second feedings, which took her less than 20 min to eat and swallow both times. The only thing I can think of is maybe she's about to shed, since she hasn't yet. She's always hidden though, so it's hard to tell if her scales are dull or even if she's in blue.

She's only 12 or 13 weeks at this point, and wasn't handled much at the pet shop. We take her out 3-4 times a week, depending on when she feeds. Usually we give her 2-3 days after a feeding to handle her, then every night for 15-30 min until it's time to eat again. But just how long is it going to take for her to get used to and eventually even like being handled? I'm getting a little frustrated, having a pet that acts like it hates you sucks.:nope:
 
Well, to be honest....I've heard some never come around. I'd say stick with it though. the more persistant, the more patience...the better. Just think, if it takes them a week to have a meal and a poop, how long might other adjustments take? :p
 
In 3 days, no less, offer a pinkie again. Leave it on a flat surface in her viv with her overnight.

And yes, do check if she's in blue, just lift her hide and have a look at her. If she's an amel, her eyes will just look cloudy pink.
 
Sorry about your corn acting this way... it just happens sometimes... even when everything is perfect, they go off their feed (although not as often as I've heard BP's go off of their feed). Right now, I wouldn't panic. "Stars" gave great advice, but I would do it a tad differently. Check to see if she's "blue" or "in shed". If she is, wait until after she sheds to offer food. If she's not, I would hold off feeding until the next scheduled feeding time (about 5 days for babies). I'd also feed her in a really small container that would leave the pinky the ONLY thing that could be of any interest. That way, she should definitely be hungry and the pinky would be RIGHT there. LOL. I've been able to restart a few of my corns on this type of procedure... but I also lost a few this way as well.

Good luck! I'm hoping for the best for you and your corn!!!
 
Remember, she doesn't hate you, she is terrified of you. Since I have so many snakes, I barely handle the babies, only on feeding day or for a photo shoot. But if you only have one, that's hard to do! It's very, very rare for a cornsnake to stay super-flighty for the rest of its life. Once she gets up to the 50-100 gram size she will be so much easier for you to handle. When I go to take a baby out, I go to where I suspect it will be and just pick it up in a ball or clump, like I was picking up a scoop of popcorn or something, with all my fingers, not pinching it around the body tightly. They seem to get a lot less upset, and less likely to get the flight response kicked in if you remove them quickly and calmly without hunting them down. Then I put the baby in my other hand and cup my hands around it and cuddle it to my body until it settles down, maybe letting its head poke out and look around. I don't ever hold a baby so tightly it can't move (but you have to be careful not to let it fall, either!). Once they are calm, I let them slide through my fingers slowly, keeping enough pressure on them so they can't get out of control or whip around.
 
Don't worry too much about her lack of interest in food. It could well be that she's early in a shed cycle.

As for handling, stay patient. Remember that many things in nature would love to make a meal of your baby, and she instinctively knows this. The slow approach of putting in a hand, moving slowly toward the snake, etc. is actually quite scary for most of them. They take it as if the hand is a predator trying to sneak up and catch them unawares. Try the scoop-her-up-quickly approach described so well by Nanci.

If your baby is going into a shed, she may prefer not to be handled until after she's in her fresh new skin. You and she have a lot of years ahead, so don't be afraid to take it slowly while she's tiny. I know babies are adorable, but they do grow quickly. There's time. :)
 
Like Nanci said, babies are never as calm as older snakes. That said, some are never chill; doesn't mean they hate being handled or hate you, they just have a get up and go attitude. And some really do hate being handled. :) You'll just have to wait and see which one of those she is. They're never going to be as chill as the boids, for example. They just move more than that.

As for feeding her, sometimes babies like privacy when they eat. Eating is a very vulnerable time for a snake--they can't run away when they've got a prey item halfway down their throats. Put her in a small container with her pink the next time her scheduled feeding time rolls around. Then put her in a quiet, darkened place and leave her alone for an hour. Give her a chance to eat in private.
 
Another thing to consider is over handling causing stress which can cause the refusal to eat. You have mentioned that your snake is very young and small. As well you have mentioned that this was only the 3rd feed with you.

Keep in mind that corn snakes have "personalities" in some form like people. Some are more laid back, some more nervous, some more aggresive, some more active and some more sluggish just to give some examples.

If you have a more nervious baby, it may require you to move slower with the handling thing. I know it is hard. Your new pet is exciting and cool, but like many others have mentioned, with good husbandry you have many years to spend with your snake and to get to know it.

Of the 5 snakes we have here, 4 were acquired as babies. 3 of those babies have only been here for one meal so far. They have eaten fine and pooped, but will not be held until they are weighed at the next feed. This will be kept up until I have at least 6-8 successful problem free feeds into them.

We did this with the other baby and it has been problem free. Once we did start to handle it, yes it was very flighty at first but that quickly subsided. I was hard to follow this advice when I was given it several breeders and people before, but I just kept reminding myself that it was in the best interest of my baby snake to keep it stress free until I knew it was well established.

Although I am leaning toward it being in the beginning phase of shed, this is something to consider, esp. if your snake turns out not to be in shed.
 
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