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Scared Little One

J

jbax98

New member
I have a baby Snow corn snake. She is the sweetest thing in the world... I swear she would never hurt a fly! (Well.. maybe a F/T fly :rolleyes:) Anyway... I need some help on getting her used to being handled.

I've already had three feeding sessions, and she performed flawlessly, so she's an established feeder. Plus she just shed last night!

She is just way too scared! I'll go in to pick her up, and she'll coil up in that defensive stance, and stick her head up. When I go forward and touch her, she won't strike, she'll just bury her head under her coiled self. I feel so bad. She has all flight in her and no fight.

My handling sessions have been extremely short, under a minute, because she'll end up trying to jump out of my hand, and I have to end up holding her by a point on her body to stop her from free falling. This of course freaks her out, and she just starts squirming. I know baby corns are very skittish, but from stories I've read, everyone else's snakes are relatively fine once they are picked up.

I need tips on how to get my scared little baby to become more comfortable with interaction. Holding tips? Anything would be greatly appreciated!
 
I have 5 hatchlings and four of them are very laid back but my caramel is a total spaz until I have been holding her for about 10 minutes then she settles down and enjoys hanging out with me. I handle them all for about 15 minutes a day except for feeding day and 48 hours after feeding. The more you handle her the more she will get used to being handled and calm down. It's typical for babies to be afraid.
 
:cheers: Congrats on the new baby. When I got my first baby Slither (1 yr.), I was so nervous that my hands were shaking. I was convinced that I'd do something wrong & she'd escape or get hurt. After thinking that she was small, I went & got Squiggle (1-2 months)...:eek1: now he was TINY by my way of thinking. Everytime I picked him up, he spent at least 5 minutes trying to get away from me. I found that holding him over his tank until he settled down helped me out considerably. This way if he fell he wouldn't be loose & shouldn't get hurt. As my confidence grew, I moved away from the tank. I know that I spent at least 15-30 minutes a day, a few days a week holding him. He now seems to enjoy twirling around my fingers & trying to go down my arm. Now w/Sprinkle, I'm far more confident in my abilities than when I started out. As they say, practice makes perfect. ;)
Although I've held many boas & pythons, I don't think that I was fully prepared for the quickness of a corn, especially a baby one. Part of my problem was that I was so nervous. Just keep trying & I'm sure that your baby will settle down to become a wonderful handful. :dancer:
 
Thanks josie! That is what I'm trying to do. I just held her again for probably around 10 minutes. Eventually she calmed down, but she was never fully content. She would still randomly shoot out away from my hands, and I still had to hold a light grip on her to stop her from jetting away. When I held her against my body, she would either slide up towards my face or slide up my arms toward my sleeve. I just want her to slowly glide around my fingers...

...But she seems like she's late to something and always in a rush to get there!

bksbuddha, I'm exactly how you used to be. I'm really nervous of her shooting off to the floor, so it makes me tense and nervous. I think the snake can tell when I'm nervous and tense, so she gets scared by my hand every time I try to grab her. I eventually started to become smooth with my handling, but I'm nowhere near good. I feel like I'm in-between poor and fair.

I look up to you all :bowdown:
I'm trying to gain the confidence with my snake that you all possess, in order to give my snake comfortability.

Does anyone else (or you two) have any advice for handling techniques. So far I've been using the one hand in front of another method as she slowly moves forward.
 
jbax98 said:
Does anyone else (or you two) have any advice for handling techniques. So far I've been using the one hand in front of another method as she slowly moves forward.
Click to expand...

I also breed crested geckos, and this is also the accepted way to "break" hatchlings for their jumping tendencies...and to teach "newbie" owners about handling the geckos.

You have to gain a bit of trust in your ability to handle the snake, but the snake also had to develop trust in YOU-that you're not going to harm it, and that you are the "bringer of the good food".

It takes some time and patience, but the trust does come.
 
Sienna is a bit twitchy when I first pick her up. She will not nicely travel from hand to hand, though. I think she prefers to be anywhere but on my hand. :)

I have noticed with her that she seems more comfortable if I sit down and let her explore my body a bit. She'll slither up my arm or peek around my neck or explore a pocket. I think she likes having more autonomy rather than me controlling her movements (although I always have a gentle hand on her to guide her or keep her from falling). I always make sure I'm sitting somewhere where she can't get away or wedge herself into something harmful.

Even though she's twitchy, I still enjoy her company.
 
:) It takes time & experience to become more comfortable w/handling. You both just have to get used to one another. Before picking her up, take some nice, deep breaths & let them out slowly. This will help to steady you & get rid of some (if not all) of the anxiety. The way that I figure it is that if a dog can pick up on nervousness through a leash, then holding a snake has to transmit your nervousness to them. I've also found that the more ya try to grip them, the more they try to get away. I'm sure that it makes them feel trapped.
:D I also found that I can get mine to twirl on my hand if I remember to always avoid the first inch or two of them, especially when they're little. I just direct them gently w/a finger or thumb on the other hand. I think one of the toughest parts about holding the babies is that there's just not enough to them...they're so dang little. I'd stick w/the regular handling until you both are more relaxed.
How long have you had the darling? If you have any pics of your baby, I'm sure everyone would love to see her. Keep practicing & I'm certain that before long you'll become more efficient at it in no time. :cheers:
 
Thanks for the advice everyone!

I'm posting this right after the best handling session ever. I finally understand what handling really is. I held her in a cupped hand until she was very comfortable and left on her own. Then she slithered slowly along, and NEVER tried to jump. Just hung out and explored. I feel SO confident now... She is amazing. I now realize she was never comfortable until now. I never had to pinch her once!

I'll post some pictures!
 
:dancer: That's awesome news!!!! Congrats on the wonderful experience of holding your new baby! It really is awesome. I still look forward to holding my 2 & am eagerly waiting for my newest to settle in so that I can commence w/the play sessions. Believe me, they get more fun as time goes by. Just about the time you're comfy w/holding the little bugger, they grow & ya start to wonder how in the world you're gonna hold them when they get bigger. ;)
:cool: I really am looking forward to seeing some pics of your beauty. I just love to look at all the pics of the gorgeous babies out there.
 
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