Question on corn behavior

[crocsnhots]

hey everyone,
I have 2 adult male corns, whom I love dearly, however they act so different than my other snakes I'm just wondering if it's typical of corns to behave in such a way.

When I go in their enclosures they will sometimes rattle, but my question is do other corns seem to dislike handling as much as mine? When I go to touch them they seem to try to slip away as quickly as possible, or coil underneath the aspen bedding to resist my touch, and if you pet them while they sit in their enclosures they will twitch and jerk or push against the water bowl and push the bedding around to avoid your touch. They never bite mind you, but sure don't seem to enjoy being touched.

Also while handling they will 75% of the time have a bowel movement which is to say the least very unpleasant and annoying. They also constantly try to dart off. I've had the normal for going on 5 years and the albino for 3 or 4 years, they've always been handled so I'm wondering if this is typical of corns or whether mine just really dont like being handled? Compared to my boids you'd think they hated being handled lol. :rolleyes: :p

Any comments/opinions appreciated!
Thanks :D ;)

[Simon]

don't worry
all snakes don't like being handled at all
you should be glad that they are not real nippers
so I would think that this is fine~
slipping away, running away is just normal~
of course every snake has it's own personality. At least from what I think (out of the whole collection that I have, I think that everyone of them is different and respond differently to things)

I have a few that would actually run towards you when you open the lid and kind of like say 'pick me up, feed me or I wanna go play' and some just shoots right out and snatch my hand thinking it's food.....

so I'd say your snakes are fine and normal~

[Tim_Cranwill]

Hmmm... usually corns are a bit more tolerant than that! :D I had an adult male like that too. Truthfully, snakes don't enjoy being held. Some just put up with it more than others. I wouldn't say that is strange though. Maybe not as common in corns but nothing to worry about.

Thanks,
Tim Cranwill
www.cranwill.com
cranwill@mts.net

[ChokeOnSmoke]

Well I'm no expert by any means but two of my three dont mind being handled at all. They will sit and watch TV(well I watch it at least) with me. My miami phase has a very bad temper and rattles her tail and bites all the time not to mention doesn't eat regularly but thats for another thread. None of mine have ever had a bowel movement on me. I think in general corns are pretty docile but normally dont wrap around your arm and sit there, they seem to like to keep moving and checking everything out. Sorry thats probably not much help but those are my personal experiences with corns.

[crocsnhots]

Thank you all for your responses, I've no real opinions on whether they actually 'enjoy' it but was meant rather as to how well they tolerate it. Sorry I should have worded it better/differently. As an example, my female albino burm or my male bci will just sit there or slowly cruise around depending on how inquisitive they feel. Same thing will my balls or sand boas. Even the garters and water snakes I had were easier to handle than my corns lol. :rolleyes: My female bci on the other hand is always zipping about and doesn't sit still for long. :p :rolleyes:

Anyhow, looking forward to reading others' comments/opinions. :)

[seann]

My corns do the same thing with the jerking ans stuff, you just got to say to the snake hey u wanna a$% kicking? no? then stop being a little B*&^% and than whack it slightly over the head!
Joking! really it depends on the mood! nowadays my male is always on the substrate chilling and the female is always hiding under the substrate, shes the one that oushes me away so it has to deal with a privacy comfort type of thing they just feeli relawxed i guess ad dont want tobe botherd, also my babys try to escape to but i dont handle thjem that often!
The m,ore you handle them i guess the will get use to it! so try that maby?

[Dani33]

My corn is the same way. When I first got her as a yearling, she struck at me, once actually connecting and rattled her tail. She rattles her tail less now. She hasn't pooped on me though. Half of the time, she will try to run when I try to pick her up. The rest of the time she just lets me. Once I have her in my hands, she try's to get away, very active! It is rare that she will just lay in my hands.

[Invictus]

Well, here we go with the "Snakes don't like being held" debate again. Are any of you professional animal psychologists? No? Didn't think so. As much evidence as any of you have that say snakes dislike being handled and merely "tolerate" it, I have 3 corn snakes that get right stressed out if they are NOT handled on a daily basis, which proves that some snakes DO in fact like it.

Nikki, did you get your corns as adults? If so, were they handled a lot by their previous owner?

[crocsnhots]

hey there,
I've had my corns for years and I've always handled em, they've always been like that pretty much. I bought them when both were pretty young and I honestly don't know a thing about the previous owners (it was so long ago). Sometimes you'd swear they were gonna bite me when they go into a coiling/striking position, but they never have. They really are gems and are so pretty, the normal was my first purchased snake so he holds a very special place in my heart.

As for your comment on some snakes enjoying being handled, although I don't really have an opinion on it (I don't know what to think anymore) my male BCI seems to really enjoy it, whenever I try to put him back he resists, tries to hang on and/or tries to crawl up my arm/face/chest etc (whatever is near the enclosure) whereas most of the others just simply slither back into their hides. I'm also the only one he sits still on, he'll sit content on me for hours during a movie or while I'm on the comp, but hand him to anyone else and he doesn't stop cruising, figure that one out. :rolleyes: :p

[Invictus]

I have a BCI that does that too, Nikki. :)

As for your corns, the three that I mentioned above I got from a co-worker of mine, and he wasn't even the first owner, so I have no idea how old they are. All I know is, at least 5. The female, who we named Trinity, was exactly like that when we first got her. Tail rattling, hissing, and even one bite. We just kept handling her, and now she's just as much of a suck as the other two. Some snakes tame down, others are just plain nervous and paranoid, and there just isn't much that you can do about it sometimes.

[Tim_Cranwill]

Geeze... how do they manage to stay sane in the wild???? Do they handle eachother?

[Invictus]

Last I checked, they are not in the wild, they are in captivity. That changes a lot of the rules and their behaviors.

If a w/c specien was brought into your home, that would be a great argument for not handling them. However, the ones who are born with humans around and who have been handled all their lives can and do sometimes acclimate to it to the point of liking it.

[reverendsterlin]

lol, I got a 6 year old blizzard corn that is determined to be a najaXcrotalus

[Tim_Cranwill]

Hmmm... last I checked, 3 years of captivity can't override 100's of years of evolution... Don't kid yourselves... I wish it were true but it's just not.... PERIOD. ;)

[crocsnhots]

Originally posted by reverendsterlin
lol, I got a 6 year old blizzard corn that is determined to be a najaXcrotalus

LoL! :p :rolleyes:

Thanks for all your responses, I didn't mean to start a debate over whether or not they actually enjoy handling but was rather just inquiring as to whether their behavior was typical of corns and now that I know they're pretty normal I can continue just enjoying them for who they are.
Thanks everyone. :)

[Lisa]

we say snakes have their own personality, I feel some snakes don't like being handled, some tolerate it and some enjoy it. I know with a few of our snakes they are right there at the entrance of their cage to be taken out when we are there.

[Syst3m]

Wow. The one corn snake I own is pretty docile, likes to be picked up as far as I'm concerned. The only time she has ever bit me was when I was feeding her in a heavy shed, the killer feeder she was accidently tried to get a piece of my finger instead of the mouse I had. Other then that she is a pleasure to hold.