Hello, a friend and I decided to buy our first snakes last night after work, he got a normal I guess its called and I got a creamsicle. we also got the 20 gallon snake starter kits and also heating pad and new hides. My friend is constantly playing with his snake and seems like its doing fine while mine just hides in his cave all day. I tried taking mine out to hold but all he wants to do is run away! also my friend has fed his and he told me he had 0 problems with it. I tried to feed mine and all he did was smell it and then put his head back down! He never seems active, and seems scared of me... will he grow out of this or is this just his personality?
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Scared new snake
- Thread starter Blucky87
- Start date
windowswisher
expert noisemaker
You need to allow your snake time to acclimate to his surroundings for at least a week before any handling. Just think about it - everything is new. New smells, sights, sounds, people, vibrations. You seem like a gigantic predator.
After the first week, you can feed him, then begin handling him at short 5-10 minute intervals, gradually working your way up. Cornsnakes are nocturnal, meaning that they mainly hide during the day and come out at night. When they are young especially, they spend most of their time in hiding. Young cornsnakes also tend to be a bit flighty. He/she will gradually settle down over the proceeding months.
Your friend should NOT be playing with his snake. Refer to the FAQ section for more detailed information.
After the first week, you can feed him, then begin handling him at short 5-10 minute intervals, gradually working your way up. Cornsnakes are nocturnal, meaning that they mainly hide during the day and come out at night. When they are young especially, they spend most of their time in hiding. Young cornsnakes also tend to be a bit flighty. He/she will gradually settle down over the proceeding months.
Your friend should NOT be playing with his snake. Refer to the FAQ section for more detailed information.
Teddy Roosevelt
i loev cronsankes
I agree, if your friend cannot stop playing with his snake he may go blind.
ShenziSixaxis
Sticking To The Ceiling
Both of you need to leave the snakes alone for a week! And corns are shy and nocturnal by nature. They're not puppies that love attention.
I also hope you aren't housing them together.
I also hope you aren't housing them together.
Just let your new snake relax and settle in. I know you're wanting your snake to be active and outgoing like your friend's, but just taking it slow will be best for your snake in the long run. Just because a snake seems fine with being handled a lot doesn't mean it actually enjoys it.
Groenslang
New member
LOL @ Pepper!!!
@ Bluckey: Don't worry about her being "scared", she is having a bit of a sensory overload at the moment! She should calm down a lot more in a week or two. Snakes tend to work on a very extended time line so we tend to get a bit impatient with them. I'd also advise you to handle your new guy only in a week or so, in the long run it will be beneficiary to its health.
About three weeks ago I got in a batch of 7 hatchlings for my collection, in my over eagerness I handled them a bit much, some of them took it in their stride and just went on with their lives like nothing happened, two of them did not take it so well however, both of them regurgitated their first meals (after +/- 40 hours, the smell alone is one of the worst I've ever encountered!), after I left them alone for a week or so (and I mean NO contact whatsoever, except for water changes) I fed them again and voila, ate like champs. I handled both of them beforehand and both where "calm", come a day later and the one had regurgitated again. The problem with double regurges is that they deplete their stomach acids which are crucial for them to digest their meals, if they cannot digest their meals they will regurge again and again. This is a very life threatening situation and is a real pain in the but to sort out, trust me! (It almost put me off keeping snakes)
Each and every snake that I have had and still own have their own unique temperament, some would be friendly as anything whilst others would be more aggressive than Mike Tyson when his testosterone got overloaded! The trick is just figuring it out and then accepting it, some love to be handled and others never really settle down.
Sorry for writing such an essay here, but thought it would also add to the "Why can't I handle my snake from day one?" question that all of us have asked before! :lol:
Hope it helped!
Regards
Arno
@ Bluckey: Don't worry about her being "scared", she is having a bit of a sensory overload at the moment! She should calm down a lot more in a week or two. Snakes tend to work on a very extended time line so we tend to get a bit impatient with them. I'd also advise you to handle your new guy only in a week or so, in the long run it will be beneficiary to its health.
About three weeks ago I got in a batch of 7 hatchlings for my collection, in my over eagerness I handled them a bit much, some of them took it in their stride and just went on with their lives like nothing happened, two of them did not take it so well however, both of them regurgitated their first meals (after +/- 40 hours, the smell alone is one of the worst I've ever encountered!), after I left them alone for a week or so (and I mean NO contact whatsoever, except for water changes) I fed them again and voila, ate like champs. I handled both of them beforehand and both where "calm", come a day later and the one had regurgitated again. The problem with double regurges is that they deplete their stomach acids which are crucial for them to digest their meals, if they cannot digest their meals they will regurge again and again. This is a very life threatening situation and is a real pain in the but to sort out, trust me! (It almost put me off keeping snakes)
Each and every snake that I have had and still own have their own unique temperament, some would be friendly as anything whilst others would be more aggressive than Mike Tyson when his testosterone got overloaded! The trick is just figuring it out and then accepting it, some love to be handled and others never really settle down.
Sorry for writing such an essay here, but thought it would also add to the "Why can't I handle my snake from day one?" question that all of us have asked before! :lol:
Hope it helped!
Regards
Arno