Help with Corn! Advice?

[hunter4life]

So..I'm not sure what to do with Cornflakes anymore :( it's been hard, no matter what he runs from everyone and everything..it's been almost a month and a half..I have an option to get a Pinstripe ball but with all the snakes I have I can't..but I just don't know what to do anymore :( please help? Any advice? I don't want to sound like a terrible snake owner either :( just confused

[Amadeus]

Wait what is the problem?

[hunter4life]

What should I do with him? He constantly tries to escape, won't eat and never comes out. Shall I keep trying to put work into him? All my snakes have been different than him so I'm not used to it

[hunter4life]

I probably sound terrible saying that, like I said I just don't know wha to do I've never had a snake like him.

[CK SandBoas]

Have you had him a month and a half? And if so, have you given him/her time to get settled, meaning limited to no handling?

[hunter4life]

Yes, I never handled him. The only time I had to was when he got out for 4 days and caught him..the little bugger! And his cage is fine with temps so I'm not sure of the problem, he has two hides ones really small and tight for hiding.

[possum]

How old is 'Cornflakes'? Snakes don't all have the same 'personalities'...and please remember that anything that picks them up in the wild is normally a predator! Snakes that are too passive & accepting often don't make it...so you need to be patient.

More to the point, you are also keeping kingsnakes....you cannot smell them, but your corn snake sure can...and he is trying to escape the predators he KNOWS are nearby. You should be keeping them in different rooms...otherwise he is living in terror, and that's not fair to him at all. (Even milk snakes are perceived as a predator -like a kingsnake- to other snakes...one time I accidentally walked near one of my rattlesnakes cages when I was holding a milksnake...the rattlesnake got really freaked out, trying to escape. His behavior was totally unlike I'd ever seen before or since & I felt bad for accidentally scaring him.)

[franks]

I have found it helps my baby colubrid's gain confidence and security by adding leaf litter and bark to their enclosures. I cover everything. A young snake that can go where it wants feeling unseen and secure is more likely to settle in faster and gain some swagger.

[hunter4life]

Thanks franks and possum. Cornflakes is about 2 months old-ish. Imight do the leave litter, do you have a picture of a setup like that?

[possum]

Hatchling snakes must have strong instincts to hide...they are so small that many birds might consider them a worm, otherwise.

If leaves are impractical (or full of insects?) what I like to use are paper shreds. I use an electric paper shredder to shred clean personal papers (bank statements/mail/etc). Then I line a snake-cage with paper towels (some keepers use newspaper etc) and put a thick layer of paper shreds on top. Snake enjoy the security, and it's pretty cheap & available. Many things work...I also use Carefresh, but it can be a little dehydrating for non-desert snakes. If you use it for a corn snake, mix it half & half with paper shreds. When you need to clean the cage, you can mostly just roll up the paper with the shreds contained to toss out.

[slowhite03]

My kingsnake was like that when it was young. He only came out at night and what not. What I did was use a hook so they no you're not going to harm it when you pick him up with that. Also when you hold him for the first few times, don't take him out of his tank, just hold him a little above the ground, after he gets used to you then you can take home out. I've had my king for a year and he is pretty docile, but will strike a mice like it killed his mother.

[franks]

Thanks franks and possum. Cornflakes is about 2 months old-ish. Imight do the leave litter, do you have a picture of a setup like that?

I do not have any great photos at the moment, but this sort-of illustrates my point. It is a dried out eco-earth (to make it fluffy) mixed with moss, and topped with this curled up bark.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g223/diehardislanders/IMAG0309.jpg (http://s57.photobucket.com/user/diehardislanders/media/IMAG0309.jpg.html)

[hunter4life]

So franks, I'm gonna change my Corns substrate to coco husk (is that good?) and where would I get the bark to cover up?

[Mikoh4792]

. I've had my king for a year and he is pretty docile, but will strike a mice like it killed his mother.

I lol'd. Same with my baby king. You'd think the mouse did something wrong to him.

[sweatshirt]

I lol'd. Same with my baby king. You'd think the mouse did something wrong to him.

x3. Magenta is calm as well, but give her a rat and it's clobberin time..

[hunter4life]

x3. Magenta is calm as well, but give her a rat and it's clobberin time..

Ahaha yeah I fed Archer my Anery. White-Sided Brooks King last night and he lunged out of his feeding box with mouse in mouth and decided he'd rather eat on my dirty floor...hes a special snake lol