New corn.. im nervous!

[Xyon]

Hey guys, first proper post!!

I got my new corn home this weekend and am slightly nervous of him.. not that he's scary or anything.. but that he's nervous of me!!! I had him out fo rthe first time just yesterday and he flew around like he was on fire.. and i found it hard to keep him cool.. i was so scared of dropping him I managed him back into his viv and flumped on the ground tired out!

Ive handled snakes plenty of times before, but never ones so zooty! I am absolutely petrified of losing him or scaring him, because i know how anxious the critters are when babies. How long do you think he will keep this up.. I like to keep him out for about 15 minutes to settle, but after that im pooped and a little shaky!

i know it doesnt help that he probably senses my nerves.. dont get me wrong though im not a blabbering wreck! but he doesnt like any pressure on him when i try to pull him back down my arm (and believe me im gentle!) and any motion towards him by others when he's out!

afterwards when he's abck in his tank he's calm and excitable.. and looks ready for more!

help??:bugged:

[Big_V]

Just give him time. Corns tend to be nervous little snakes...but so are most species...Give it some time to acclimatize if you just got him then start the handling also after you have fed him a few times. If given time they will calm down tremendously and dont be nervous with it....Its not gonna hurt you and if your careful you wont loose him. Good Luck

[Auskan]

If you only got him this weekend, try giving him a couple of weeks to settle in and establish feeding before you try handling him.

[vanderkm]

Agree with what others have posted - give him at least a week to settle in, accept food and make the adjustment. The younger ones are usually more active and nervous (more vulnerable to predators and that is likely what he views you as) and just need calm, consistent handling to become accustomed to it.

We find that letting them crawl from one hand to the other rather than letting them crawl over body surfaces is better for control when they are active. You can maintain some soft pressure on their body (not head or tail areas) at all times, so you don't have to be afraid of losing them, and just let them travel from one of your hands to the other one.

I am sure both you and the snake will calm down with time. Best of luck,

mary v.

[Syst3m]

I have to disagree with everyone. Sorry. It is just a corn snake.
One of the best and easiest snakes to care for. They are hyper little buggers when they are young. A couple days of rest after you got it is good. They are going to zip and zoom all over. Just use your best judgement when handling it. Try to give it a day or 2 after feeding before handling it too. When it gets bigger it will settle down some but don't expect to much they will always be one of the more active snakes you will own.

[Xyon]

Thanks for your help all of you! You all make logical sense and Im glad for the response!

It was just that with previous snake owners Ive asked.. and books too! have suggested 2-3 days to settle onto their new environment with no interference.. then handle for 15 minutes every day .. except on the day and 2 days after the first feed a week later... and so on feeding the snake once a week on an appropriate sized pinkie...

I got quite a bit of stick from other chat groups who suggested once every 10 days.. or twice a week.. i gave up on them because they argued amongst themselves and got moody...

i personally believe for a growing baby a regular diet of once every 5 days on the smallest pinkies I could find.. then when the snake grows several inches progress to every 6 days on the larger pinkies.. then before upgrading to fuzzie once every 7 days with largest pinkies.. a little and often is my motto for almost everything.. but of course snakes may prove to be an acception.. what would everyone suggest for a growing baby???

[sapphire_moon]

IMO when we got our corn we fed an appropriate sized pink every 5 days. Then upped it to 2 pinks every 5 days when one pink wasn't enough. Then up to fuzzy mice. Then I made the switch to rat pinks (grew like a weed after that) all every 5 days.

Now though, our corn is on 2 wk old rats, (or 2 one wk old rats) every 7 or 8 days (about when she starts hunting).Corns are PIGS.

I try to feed something that leaves a good lump. Alot of people use the "feed 1.5-2 times bigger than the widest part of the snake" rule.

As for handling. We waited for 4 successfull feedings before we started handling to make sure she would eat properly.
We usually don't even handle our snakes except for cleaning cages.
Never handle for up to 2 days after they eat, and never handle when they still have a lump after eating.

It's fine if you are transfering them from a feeding tub to their cage, but transfering from feeding tub to regular cage should take no more than a few minutes anyways.

[Auskan]

Sounds like you're thinking it through quite well! I personally feed mine every 5 days until they're about a year - 18 months old regardless of food size, and then will drop to every 7 days (all of my corns are currently under 1 year). I have found that even when I feed them a big meal that leaves a very large lump, 48 hours after they have eaten, there is no visible lump and by 5 days they are more than ready to eat again.

Another thought on the handling: I find that they don't like to be held tightly and restricted from movement. As Mary said, its best to let them go from hand to hand. What I do is let them think they are unrestricted and moving freely, by letting them slide through one hand and into the other, then taking the first hand and putting it in front again (kind of like leap frogging). This way they can feel like they are constantly making forward progress without being impeded. I hope that description makes sense LOL.

[Xyon]

Absoluetley, and its how I hold little Kye, I guess he's just nervous to start.. I held him earlier and has calmed down heck of alot.. except when I attempt to get him out of his viv.. i know that if i was to chase him round then give up after he buries himself makes no progress and so it better to just get it over and done with.. but I just cant bring myself to reach in and grab him like they do in the shops..
but just waiting for him to come out doesnt work.. he likes to bury himself and theres nothign i can do to tempt the bugger out.. i found stroking him stops him from freezing in fright.. he gets more curious.. any tips and hints on tempting them out??

[HeatherK]

There are some less stressful ways for getting a young snake out of the tank. With mine I usually take the lid off and wait until she starts to come out on her own. You can just let them slide onto your hands from there, or reach under them. She learned to associate the sound of the lid coming off with 'out' time and it wouldn't take long to be able to get her out this way.

Alternatively, you can let the snake crawl into a cardboard tube, etc and then lift them out (make sure you have a hand out just in case).

You can often just put a hand near them from a low angle (approaching them from overhead imitates flying predators.. not what you want to be regarded as for sure) and hold it still. They're often curious enough to climb on.

You'll find something that works for you and your snake :) Just keep handling more to a minimum when they're very little, to keep stressors down.

[Xyon]

thanks heather!.. i used to use the tube plan on my hamster!.. i'll find a nice long kitchen tube role!

[vanderkm]

We just make sure that when we are going to pick ours up that we grasp them firmly once in the middle of the body and lift them out of the tub. If you are tentative and the snake has a chance to feel they are being chased, it will likely make them more nervous of being handled.

The tube method works well also - we use tubes in our tanks for them to hide in, and that is most often where they are when we open the cage - we just have to pick up the tube and shake them out (gently of course!).

mary v.

[Xyon]

i have a piece of cork wood, but i generally like to go for him when he's ready for out anyway.. so he's all over the place... I fed him two days ago.. i'll have a tube ready for tommorow! and report how everything goes.. thanks guys!