Baby corn Striking!!!(Noobie to snakes)

Just looking to see if anyone can help me out with a small problem.Just got my first corn snake which is about 3 months old or so.Now everytime I try to do something with its cage or even just look at the cage the snake strikes at me.
Since Im new to this I need to know
1.What is the correct way of picking up a snake this small?Do I just basically put my hand in and pick it up or should I put my hand in,let the snake sniff it a bit to make sure its not nervous and then lift it out?
Reason Im asking is because the person I got it from(A reputable breeder here in Ireland)said just put your hand in and pick it up and if it strikes then it wont hurt at this stage.And basically that it needs to be held to get tame.

2.How do you calm this striking thing down?

3.Im currently just using a heat mat under the tank.Now the heat mat gets hot to the touch and Ive noticed that the snake stays right where the heat mat is the hottest.Should I be concerned?Should I use a bulb instead as I know that heat mats arent the best at heating the air in the cage?The cage is a 10/15 gallon pet pal type cage.Im in the process of building a 55gallon setup for when it gets bigger but Ive been told that this one is ideal for about 3-4 months or so.
Btw the snake is kept in the garage with my Ts.In the winter over here it gets to around 0/-4 celcius so I need to have the heat right for then.

4.How often does a snake this size need to be fed?

These are my suggestions, Snice you just got your snake I would give it time alone to get used to its surroundings and to you. Leave it alone for at least 3 days or more, the more time you give it to get fimilar with its home and you the better.

As far as when it's time to pick him up I always reach low in the viv and grab for it's middle body, but I move slow and let my snake smell me. For your snake being young it will take time for it to calm down. But with handling over time it will calm down eventurally. What your basically doing is training your snake that your not a threat.

I have seen some folks post handling it for short periods of time each day, take away feeding times and digestion days. Starting out for 5 mins then moving up each week to more time. Some people hold the snake in the viv and work from there. I have seen some people suggest wearing gloves too while handling the snake. If your snake does bite you don't pull away just let it know it does not effect you. Why its a good idea to wear gloves. If your snake could get its teeth in to you, you could damage its mouth by pulling away.

If your UTH is hot to the touch, you really need to fix that. Your snake can get burned and then you have another issue to contend with. There are some thermostats for your UTH and lights for sale online I am sure you can find a pet store that could carry them. I never lived in Ireland so I don't really know what's in your area. I do suggest fixing the temps and getting that squared away. Cornsnakes really don't like high temps, I know mine at least is always at the cool end of the tank, and I keep the warm end at 80F.

You can keep a corn in a 10 gallon for about a year. I would wait til he gets a little bit older then changing the viv later on , he could do better in a bigger tank. Could change is temperment too.

Feeding your cornsnake 1 time a week should be fine.

I hope this helps, if you look over the forums you can get a whole bunch of information on these boards for your questions. This is where I learned alot of my information on cornsnakes.

Good luck to you.

I don't think there a 'correct rule' as to how to pick up your snake.

See how it behaves and try to interpreted that. From your post i understand he didn't use to do that. Does you hand smell funky? Like a different or strong smelling soap. Does the opening of the viv scare or upset the snake. Did he have some bad thing happen when you held him before. Such as a loud bang that scared him or gave him a painfull tuck on his tail when he treathend to escape (happened to me once :/ )
Perhaps the time of the day bothers him. Or do you hold him for to long when he's out of the viv or have cold hands. There a million things as of why your snake strikes you.
I'd say give your snake some time to calm down. When you enter the viv try to disrupt him as less as possible. Give him some time to check you out. At least, i've tried that with my snakie and i really saw a result. I put my hand in the viv and simply let her go to me. Curiousity got the better of her and she came to me and sniffed a bit and then pulled back into her hiding (I held it before the hiding to she'd feel as secure as possible). A bit later she came looking again and that proces repeated a few times. Then i simply moved out and left her alone.
Now when i want to handle her she's much more relaxed and doesn't imidiatly try to crawl away because she knows it's not a 'sure thing' she's going to be removed from the viv and into the cold room. Give her some time to wakeup and see how's she's doing today. Sometimes she relaxed when i try to pick her up, and sometimes she determinately crawls away. If i just wanted to play with her, i just give up. Obviously she doesn't feel like playing with me today. If she's out to be fed or the viv needs cleaning i carefully pick her up anyway.

In short, your snake will probably teach you why he behavious a certain way if you try to interprerate how he works. You must be fun for him. If there are certain things happening when you get him out of the viv that he doesn't like eventually he doesn't want to leave the viv at all. And if that's happening most of the time when your hands are in the viv he's eventually going to take a swing at you.

Thanks for the quick reply all.Maybe I should give it more time to settle even though the breeder I bought from gave me the viv that the snake has been in since a hatchling and said that it really shouldnt need a settling in period since its the same "home" to the snake.
Cam snakes recognise their owner?For example the previous owner had no problems taking the snake out but yet I do?Also can snakes sense nervousness because since Im new to this the thoughts of a bite have me terrified.I suppose until I actually get bitten(if you could call it that)then Ill have this fear.

Secondly the heat mat-Could I put something between the heat mat and the viv(like a layer of 2 or 4mm foam sheet)to diffuse the heat more evenly?
Ive had to that in the past when some of my Ts were getting too hot.Or should I just change to a bulb set up.Ive always hated heat mats because they dont raise the air temps and found more success with the bulbs.
Thanks
Richie

I would raise the viv off the heat mat slightly, maybe stand it on a couple of CD cases, Good luck matey and post a photo when you can.

Just checked something there and the heat mat Im using is 11x11(12 watt) inches which Ive a feeling is too big for the viv in question which is a long pet pal type thingy about 20 inches long,12 inches high and 8 inches deep.Maybe I should switch to the smaller heat mat I have which is 6x8 and is only 7 watt???But should I put the smaller one inside the viv or underneath.If I can remember correctly it barely gets warm to the touch.

Ill keep the larger one for the 55 gallon jobby Im building at present.


Sorry for all the questions but Ive been a Tarantula keeper for about 5 years now and the transition to Herps is a bit harder than I thought.
It seems to be a more precise hobby meaning that in Ts a broad range of temps is usually ok but with snakes Im kinda worried that Ill make a mess of it and end up with a dead snake.
Anway Id like to thank everyone who has replied for the help.And Ill post a pic as soon as I get a chance.
Richie

Outside the viv (I assume it is glass?)

Cindy said:

Outside the viv (I assume it is glass?)

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Its plastic!

Still outside, the small pad sounds better...

Ill change over to the smaller one when I get home today.I got my wife to put a sheet of cardboard between the tank and the mat so that there is a small gap between the 2 and the snake wont get cooked.The bottom of the cage felt quite hot to the touch so hopefully I havent done any damage to Pepsi(My 6 year old daughter named it).
One more question is Whats the best way of monitoring the temps.Are those reptile stick on thermometers accurate enough??One each end is the best way I take it?

Again thanks for the help.

Yes your snake can tell the difference between you and the previous owner, you both smell different, and even though its the same viv I am sure your snake knows he is in a different place as well. Snakes can tell the difference between people through smell, which is their primary sense. The fork in their tongue they can even tell which direction you are coming from with out having to look, plus their sight is not the greatest.

If you are nervous about holding the snake, see my above post about wearing gloves til your more comfortable, handling him.


You don't want your heat mat covering more then 1/2 the tank. What I did is before I had my snake I had my heat mat on and would test the area with my hand to see how warm it does get. The heat mat should be outside the tank, I have paper towels in the viv and about 2 inches of substrate on top of that, my little girl is not a big burrower, so the set up I have seems to work fine for me. Your snake maybe different.

If you feel your heat is too high, being hot to touch I have seen a post where someone had put some slate under the viv and the heat mat under the slate so it conducted the heat but it lowered the temperature for touch. You can also purchase something like this, http://www.bigappleherp.com/Reptile_Supplies/Product/Herp_Power_Proportional_Thermostats_921100.html a heating controller, which regulates the temp for you.

Ok I went home and put a thermometer in the cage and it was reading 80 degrees.So I think its a bit low.But again doesnt a heat mat not heat the air??So if Im getting a temp of 80 just above the substrate is this OK.If not tomorrow I going to drill the cage top and put in a 15 watt red bulb to increase the temps.

Hi, i wont ramble on.
I had a similar problem when my corn was a baby. I just persevered with gentle daily handling. Let the snake know who the boss is and that the bites dont deter you. The bites soon stop and the wounds go,,lol. Mine is now a 5ft long beauty and i dont need to tell you how glad I am he has grown out of biting.
Keep the faith,

richie_irl said:

Are those reptile stick on thermometers accurate enough??One each end is the best way I take it?

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Those reptile stick on thermometers measure ambient air temp, not actual temp. They SHOULD NOT be used. If you have the means to do so, i reccomend getting a digital thermometer with dual probes. stick one probe under the substrate in the warm end, and one under the substrate in the cool end. That way you know what the snake will be feeling. As of now, i am in the process of ordering one.

richie_irl said:

Ok I went home and put a thermometer in the cage and it was reading 80 degrees.So I think its a bit low.But again doesnt a heat mat not heat the air??So if Im getting a temp of 80 just above the substrate is this OK.If not tomorrow I going to drill the cage top and put in a 15 watt red bulb to increase the temps.

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If the ambient temp is 80, the actual temp is probably much hotter. Fell around below the substrate, and see how warm it feels. Remember, if it feels warm to you, its over 98.6 degrees already.

:-offtopic it's strange that this topic hasn't been touched in over a year and now its getting replies again lol.

I didn't notice. That is rather odd.

This seems to be coming up alot. Probably the reason why it was was brought back around into activity.