View Full Version : Basic/General snake handling instructions
latazyo
02-16-04, 12:19 PM
hi, I have never owned a snake before and I'm preparing for my first one soon, I'm planning to pick up a mexican milksnake once I get everything taken care of and am fully knowledged as much as I can be prior to purchase
since I have never owned a snake before I do not know common handling procedures
I was reading in the carpet python forum that a snake hook is not recommended, it is mandatory...is this also true for the mexican milksnake?
I have also learned that snakes should not be handled after feeding, which I didn't know before...so if anyone can offer any advice such as this, it would be much appreciated
and when you say "they will adapt better to be handled if they are handled regularly" what does regularly mean
1-2 times/day?
1-2 times/week?
sorry if these are basic questions, but I'm brand new, actually I'm newer than new because I don't even own the snake yet
PS: any links to any care sheets would be very appreciated
thanks in advance to the great ssnakess crew
Tim_Cranwill
02-16-04, 12:31 PM
Those aren't dumb questions at all! If you don't ask, you don't know, right? :)
Ok, here are a few general rules...
- Try to avoid handling your new snake until it settles in a bit. Wait a good week before you bug him.
- Avoid handling your snake for 24 - 48 hours after a meal.
- To "tame" a feisty young milksnake, regular handling will help. 1 - 3 times a week for short periods won't stress your snake out too much. Be prepared for a lot of jerky movements and maybe even some musking or biting. Kind of par for the course with young milks but they will calm down. ;)
- A hook won't be necessary with a little milksnake. It's your choice but it's overkill in my opinion.
- Don't handle your snake when he is in shed (blue eyes)
Anyway, there are few basics. :) Good luck with the Mexican!
latazyo
02-16-04, 01:14 PM
yes, Tim, I dont' know if I mentioned it in the other thread, but a pet store in town does have a mexican milk and I hear that it's almost 2 feet in length (I'm going to check it out today for myself)...in case you're wondering why I never got back to you about the pueblan
jsnake0
02-22-04, 12:35 AM
Handle them every chance you get. Milks are very jerky in their movements don't try to restrain the snake just keep supporting the body and let them go where they want but still keeping them going where you want them to go.
I know that you should not handle them in a shed but i still handle mine briefly to soak them.
You don't have to handle them very long as long as you handle them a little bit i try to spend at least 5 to 10 min every day for the frist few months . except after feeding then i wait about 3 days
DON"T BE AFRAID OF GETTING BIT IT HAPPENS just stay calm.
I have never used a hook to handle any snakes I have found that a paper towel tube works better use it to guide the head in then allow them to crawl into it a little then you can lift up the tube and pick the snake up from the behind with lots of support
and they don't get as stressed
feel free to ask more question
does anyone recommend a ordinary corn over a milksnake for his /her first snake that's my recommendation they seem calmer than a king or milk. i have 2 kings and 2 corns the corns are definitely calmer ,good luck with whichever you decide ,marie
KingFfaj
02-29-04, 11:53 AM
marie dont think thats very helpful, unless your trying to find out for your self, in which case you should start a new thread.
The point im trying to make is that somone could easly be put off a perticular snake when one has very little exsperience, when the fact of the matter is all of the above are good for beginers.
nothing that you cant/wont pick up within the first month as regurds to handling snakes should be a factor in deciding which pet you buy, Just get the one you like the best:D
Simon Sansom
03-01-04, 08:05 PM
I think that Kingsnakes have historically had a bad reputation for biting, which isn't necessarily well-deserved. I think that people tend to confuse "aggression" with <html><i>getula's </i></html> ever-active appetites, lol!
I've kept and bred a few getula's and I've never had what I'd call a particularly "aggressive" one. I think that lot of it depends on the husbandry, proper feeding, and the way that you interact with the animal.
You eventually learn the animal's body language so that you know when you can pick him up and when he wants to be left alone. You learn how to handle him when he's cranky. You learn not to take liberties with him at feeding time, etc, etc.
On the other hand, I'm fairly used to working with snakes with an attitude, so my opinion of what's aggressive and what's not may be a bit different than other folks.
Personally, I like a snake with a bit of "spirit", one that doesn't just lie there like a log, lol!
Don't let that reputation put you off kings!
Cheers!
Simon
i'm not trying to turn him off to milks and kings i'm just saying if his first snake is one that has a reputation for being fiesty that could turn him off to all snakes. from what i've read and what other people have said and my own experience a corn is a calmer snake to go with as a rule . not all corns are calm and not all milks or kings are biters but the chance of a milk or king biting is greater. it's just a suggestion not a law . i have 2 kings both can be nippy and have been and 2 corns as of now neither has nipped but someday it may happen but less of a chance . marie
latazyo
03-15-04, 10:06 PM
well, I have decided to get a desert/cali king, it's arriving tomorrow, I'll post pics as soon as he gets here
should I set up the king's cage like my corn (same requirements?)
Tim_Cranwill
03-15-04, 10:13 PM
You can set it up the same way exactly. :)
latazyo
03-16-04, 01:45 AM
alright, I wasn't sure if "desert" in the name inmplied that aspen shavings would be a bad idea...but the king is going on teh rack so he might just get paper towels...UNLESS....do kings burrow?
The word "desert" has more to do with the color of the snake(he's probably black & white, right?) as opposed to the preferred substrate.
Aspen work great as a substrate because, as you wondered, they DO like to burrow. In fact they LOVE to burrow and aspen lets them do that.
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