• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

snake hiding?

leftycrane

leftycrane

New member
I have had my new male coral snow corn snake for almost 2 weeks now. We did the whole wait a week before you handle them thing. We took him out after a week to feed him and he did fine, but other than that haven't held him. The reason is I haven't seen him out and about. I know I read you shouldn't take them out of their hides because it will stress them out and make them feel insecure. Right? He is under the aspen or in his cave all the time, wont come out. Is it because it is winter and kinda cold? I thought maybe he was insecure so I took advice I found on here and added foliage, but still nothing. I don't know if I am overreacting, but a) I dont want to remove him and cause him stress or b) I dont want to leave him alone for so long that he never gets used to being handled. Any idea what is the best thing for me to do? Thanks!
 
He is probably coming out when you are not seeing him or he could be getting ready to shed. That is usually the big reason I don't see my kids. But it is fine to occasionally go in and pull them out. As long as you aren't doing it multiple times a day or even everyday I don't see a problem with it.
 
Sorry I can't remember your setup, but a quick idea just in case - if you're using lights (for illumination rather than heating), switch them off and see what happens. Corns are naturally most active at times of low or no light (dawn, dusk and overnight), so sometimes artificial light makes them even more inclined to stay out of sight.

The general outside temp shouldn't have a bearing on them. As you're using an artificial heat source, your Corn will have the optimum temp in the tank.

Some just are more secretive and less active than others. And some take much longer to settle in than others. At a fortnight, yours really is still a new arrival. I wouldn't worry about taking him out of his hide for handling as long as you're gentle and (as Christen says) you're not doing it constantly.
 
I keep my 3 snakes and 3 geckos in my office at home. All 3 snakes have an UTH, but because everyone is nocturnal I keep the lights on during the day and switch them off at night. My other corn snake is usually out and about towards the evening, but lately has been hiding in her hides, I thought since she was doing it now and he is doing it maybe it was like a hibernation thing since its been getting down to 60's here at night. I dunno. Thanks for the replies. I will try taking him out of his hide tomorrow maybe.
 
Actually, I take my snake out when he is in his hide and have never had a problem. If he is sleeping, I cover the top of him with my other hand and wait until he wakes up. He will react slowly at first but he is calm. Once he realizes that you dont want to harm him, he will feel more secure, but every one is different.
 
Im hoping for the same thing. Hope that 2 weeks was enough adjustment time and he will be ok. Do they have like a hibernation period? My other corn is usually very active, but now is the same like him, in her hide. Just noob curiosity.
 
I notice that mine goes through phases. Mine is very inactive for 2 days after his feed and gets more active the closer it is to the day he gets fed. I live up in Canada and havent noticed too much of a difference from spring, summer, fall, and winter. Some nights he is all over the place, others he just sits and watches me. This week I upgraded his tank to a 20 gallon long and gave him some time to adjust before handling him and he was fine. I fed him friday night and he literally attacked his dinner (thawed fuzzy), he yanked it right out of the plastic bag and coiled around it, lol.
 
Do they have like a hibernation period?
Click to expand...
In the wild they have the equivalent, called brumation. It's a period of lower activity and no eating during the cooler months. However, they won't brumate in captivity unless you provide the conditions - much lower temps than usual by gradually cooling them, and gradually reducing then cutting out food. It's very unlikely tht yours is brumating.

As yours is still a relatively new arrival, his behaviour is entirely in keeping with what we'd expect. Also, comparing him to your other Corn isn't too helpful. They're all individuals - you can have outgoing or shy Corns, in the same way that you can have outgoing or shy cats and dogs. Lots of non-scaly people don't get that they're every bit as quirky and characterful as furry pets! Getting to know your Corns and learning how to work with them and give them what they need, is all part of the fun of owning them.
 
And I am having fun learning about them, you are right, they are so unique individuals. We bit the bullet and took him out today and handled him for a few minutes and it went great. He was calm (I think he liked our body heat haha) and he went right back to his hide afterwards. Thanks for the advice!
As far as my other snake is concerned, she never stays hidden for too long, now all of a sudden we havent seen more than a scale peeking out in more than a week. Very unusual for her. Should we take her out to feed her? Or leave her alone until she decides to come out again?
 
If she is normally more active and all the sudden hiding, that sounds like getting ready to shed behavior. So I would check on her and if she looks dull or cloudy then I would go ahead and skip the feeding but it she seems normal that you can go ahead and feed her.
 
well my girl did shed, thank goodness. it just seemed like it took her forever this time! but my boy is still a ghost, he never comes out from under his water dish. We have taken him out and handled him a few times. I think I have read somewhere that if they eat too much they might be hiding a lot while they digest. We feed him hoppers, so maybe we should feed him every other week instead of every week and he might be more active? How often do you feed a sub-adult corn?
 
I feed all my snakes every 7 days. I don't know that I would go to every 2 weeks just yet. You can try every 10 days but I still have my doubts that will help. He might just be a snake that hides more.
 
My adult Corns eat one adult mouse every 2-3 weeks (apart from when I'm breeding, when females eat more before and after laying). Depends on the individual snake. I prefer mine on the lean side.
 
Full grown can go longer between feedings. It is not uncommon for many to feed every 10 to 14 days. I just prefer to feeding smaller meals every 7 days. But I personally feel that going on every 14 days for a snake on hoppers won't be enough food.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top