New snake owner! Questions!

Detriclysmic · 12-26-15, 03:06 PM

Hello wonderful people of ssnakess.com! I stand before you now as a novice snake owner with a few observations and questions on snake behaviour and care , and woul love some feedback as i want the best for my new friend

Also, if any of you have any ideas as to her age gender or morph, feel free to throw some suggestions my way

she is about 2 feet long, has much more yellow near her head than the rest of her body, and has a thin tail.

I got Nona for christmas, along with a glass enclosure, which was void of anything besides aspen shavings and a water dish, apparently my girlfriend wanted me to "decorate" the cage the way i wanted (facepalm), and because of this, nona feels most comfortable burrowing. I have since added artificial leaves and some cardboard hides, the best i could do since everything is closed for christmas, and she definitely has taken to them fairly well. However, is there a special method to adding new leaves or vines or hides or crawlythings? I dont want to absolutely blow her mind by changing her enclosure twice in such a short span, but i truly do want her to feel comfortable and the artificial things i put in make her feel less comfortable than professionally made ones im sure, especially the dreadful texture of those artificial leaves! Also, would snakes prefer colors closer to the color of their scales? Also, she doesnt exhibit a whole lot of energy inside of her enclosure (more on that in a moment) which is quite big for her, but through some research i have come to deduce that a larger enclosure is fine as long as she feels secure and has places to hide. If i am misguided in this, please tell me!

I gave her water from the tap as opposed to filtered water, but what do you guys use? I placed more faith in her immune system than i did in her ability to handle possible chlorine poisoning, if there is such a thing! Any tips on water ir how snakes feel about water are very welcome! I mean, does this thing swim?? Who knows!!

Alright, i guess finally, her behaviour. I have never seen such an openly curious young snake, and with such a sweet temperament. She shies away from being picked up initially (totally normal im sure for a young snake) but when she is picked up she displays an incredible curiosity and gentleness. She was the star of the pet store where she was purchased, and one of the girls working there even cried when she was purchased because she was so gentle and sweet compared to the others. And on top of all of this, it seems that no matter who you hand her to to be handled, she will go to them with ease and begin exploring them, a d rarely shows signs of nervousness. So my biggest question, is it possible to overhabdle this snake? She has never once snapped at me, and during the day is totally comfortable curling up in the hood of my hoodie and curling up there, crawling into my front pocket while i play video games, or when shes more curious, coming out and exploring every inch of my arms legs and head (and hair). Due to her curious nature, i feel as though handling her as much and as passively as i do is a great way to make her more comfortable with me, and humans in general, but i recently found out that this is atypical of snakes, so u was wondering if my little sweetheart might somehow be reacting negatively to all of this attention, or if i can conyinue in my ways so long as she doesnt exhibit fear.

Well, so ends my series of queries, sorry for rambling! And if any of you have any tips on how to handle snakes or warm them up to humans, please feel free to let me know! Nona and I would be super greatful

Sylphie · 12-29-15, 05:48 AM

Hi, nice to have you there!

Congrats on a sweet new friend! Unfortunately I can't tell you what morph she is as I'm not THAT good with corn morphs... but looking at her size she's certainly 2015 baby, it's hard to guess how much months old, as they can grow at totally different paces.

Big terrariums aren't bad as long as there are some hides. In your place I would just add everything you want to her tank, made it looking like you want and then give her a week to acclimate (no hadnling or messing in her tank, only changing the water). As for water I'm using normal tap water, no problems, but we're having rather good water here... if you're afraid just let the chlorine dissapear by leaving the water for 24h, and then give it to your snake.

As for handling... some snakes are totally fine with it, we're having one corn male that is sweet as a pie. Then there are also the ones that are okay with only a short handling. If she's calm then don't worry, she'll let you know when she'll want to go back to her home. And most of the snakes don't like being picked up as thats the way predators are doing it... just be gentle and she'll calm down someday when she'll understand that you're not going to eat her

They aren't the most active snakes, prefers to move in dawn&dusk, only when they are becoming hungry they'll start moving more. Just be sure she has some hides

Well, that's it mostly, hope I helped!

Bandit · 12-29-15, 08:57 AM

I'm not to good with the morphs either, but I would agree with Sylphie that it was probably hatched out earlier this year.

Sylphie had very good points on every thing. I would definitely add some hides to the tank. She'll feel more comfortable with more places to hide. Don't worry about the change stressing her out, it won't bother her and the sooner you give her some more hides the better. I've always used tap water and never experienced any problems. You should be fine unless the tap water is known to be bad in your area.

If your girl is fine with handling, then just handle her as you please. I would avoid excessive handling since she is still so young, but if you want to handle her for short periods every day or two (except a day or two after feeding), that should be fine. Sounds like you got a very relaxed baby, which is great. It's completely normal for her to not want to be picked up, however it's a good sign that she calms down and is curious once you handle her. The only thing you can do is try to gently scoop her up from under.

Lastly, welcome to the forums and looking forward to getting to know you and your snake. Enjoy your new pet!

**Aaron_S** · 12-29-15, 10:08 AM

1. She looks to be an anery. (I can't spell the actual word)

2. Your hides are fine. Professional or not, store bought or not they all work. Cardboard a little easier but looks worse to our eyes. Pro tip: Get hides that have a missing side, bottom or removable side/top/bottom. Snakes are notorious for choosing the hide that they can be in and you can't get to them.

3. I always found when adding new decor to an enclosure that a snake may not use it right away, probably due to lack of familiar scent or something then after a few days it would use them.

4. I would recommend ensuring the snake eats a few times before continuing with the long handling sessions. You've got a years to handle the snake so let's ensure it's healthy and acclimated well at the start.

5. Enjoy your pet.

IW17 · 12-29-15, 04:50 PM

I'm terrible at identifying young rat snakes, but is this a corn or another species of Noth American rat snake?

jjhill001 · 12-29-15, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

1. She looks to be an anery. (I can't spell the actual word)

2. Your hides are fine. Professional or not, store bought or not they all work. Cardboard a little easier but looks worse to our eyes. Pro tip: Get hides that have a missing side, bottom or removable side/top/bottom. Snakes are notorious for choosing the hide that they can be in and you can't get to them.

3. I always found when adding new decor to an enclosure that a snake may not use it right away, probably due to lack of familiar scent or something then after a few days it would use them.

4. I would recommend ensuring the snake eats a few times before continuing with the long handling sessions. You've got a years to handle the snake so let's ensure it's healthy and acclimated well at the start.

5. Enjoy your pet.

Seems to have a lot of yellow for a 2015 anery, if I'm not mistaken the yellow usually comes through when they get older. Could be one of the variations of anery.

**Aaron_S** · 12-29-15, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjhill001

Seems to have a lot of yellow for a 2015 anery, if I'm not mistaken the yellow usually comes through when they get older. Could be one of the variations of anery.

Could have more to it. I have no clue except corn snakes are FULL of morphs hidden.

**EL Ziggy** · 12-29-15, 08:51 PM

I'm not sure of the morph either but welcome to the forum and congrats on your nice corn snake. I think others have answered your questions regarding handling and tank decor. Can I ask what heat source you're using and what your temps are like? I didn't see it mentioned in your post. Snakes are awesome animals to keep and I hope yours brings you lots of fun times for many years

.

prairiepanda · 12-29-15, 10:07 PM

I've seen corns marked as anery that had their yellows coming in already at that size, but I'm no expert. They could have been mislabelled, or else it might just be natural variation.

One thing I'd like to add about handling stress: with new snakes, since there is no baseline for what "normal" behaviour is for a particular individual, I judge stress levels by feeding. If a snake refuses to eat, or just gives me some amount of fuss about eating, I ease up on the handling. If your snake is eating well on a regular basis without any complications despite your prolonged handling sessions, I'd say it's okay. Feeding problems tend to be the most noticeable signs of stress in new snakes. That said, it is important to make sure the snake is settled in and eating before you start experimenting to see how much handling they are willing to deal with. With new snakes I normally keep handling to a minimum(basically no handling at all unless necessary) until they've had a couple meals without any issues, then begin my taming process. That way you can be sure that the environment is acceptable before adding handling into the mix.

**Andy_G** · 01-02-16, 12:58 PM

Some aneries can actually lose a bit of yellow as they age as well. That is 100% an anerythristic and it looks like a 2015 hatch. Congrats and enjoy!

jjhill001 · 01-03-16, 12:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

Could have more to it. I have no clue except corn snakes are FULL of morphs hidden.

Lol, there are SOOO many morphs and the species is so popular it's hard to be sure what one actually has anymore in terms of potential hidden genetics both het and co-dominant and stuff like that.