Nervousness??

I just bought my first snake about a week ago. It is a "red albino" 8 months old, 22 inches long, and captive breed. When I hold him he crawls through my hands as if he is trying to get away. But there are times in which he will "sit" still for a few minutes. From reading other posts I believe that this is normal and will eventually wane away with repeated holdings. I just wanted to be sure that my assumpiton of this behavior was correct.

Thanx,

Da Wolf

Thats normal for it to move around in your fingers and to just sit there and rest. Thats just what they do when they are handled, and if it goes quickly trying to get away dont worry about it, They grow out of that.

Young corns who aren't used to handling will be nervous and try to escape; that's normal. He will become tame as time goes on and he gets used to you. The frantic attempts to escape will stop. However, corns generally like to move about and explore when you handle them. So just don't expect him to simply sit still or coil up and rest on you once he's tame.

My babies are little whipper snappers each year. It's hard to believe they are offspring from such calm parents. For the first year, expect them to be nervous, but don't put them up when they are flighty and active, especially if they buzz thier tails or really get upset. In two years, they will try to retreat when you open the cage, but will go calm as soon as you have them out. That's one of my favorite things about corns. Such a calm demeanor. I have 4 and 7 year old neices that handle my adults, and I don't often even take them out myself. I have other snakes (milks and such) I completely trust not to bite, but my corns are the ones that I'll always hand to a child or guest first. Feed them prekilled food in a seperate cage, leave them alone for a couple of days after feeding and when they are shedding, and you'll be very pleased with the best snake pet there is!

I agree with Kate......my snakes don't act like they are trying to escape, just investigating. Corns, as a whole, are very curious creatures.....all snakes generally are. To some extent, they will probably act like this their whole lives. But aren't they just the best?!?!?!


Marek986

Thanks for reassuring me that my assumption of this behavior being correct. I can't wait till he is an adult. So, I can see how beautiful he will look. And as for feeding him. I do feed him f/t mice and in a seperate cage at least once per week.

Hello.

Yep. Corns will never stop moving. Colubrids in general in fact. They are all VERY active snakes and generally only sit still when in their hides.

bmm

Hi,

I am amazed at the differences in personalities between my snakes.

My 2 baby great plains rat snakes are quite nervous - always run and hide if they are out and see your movement outside the cage. Don't love being handled but will calm down after a while.

I thought it was because they are young...

But then I got a baby baby corn and she is totally chilled! Loves to be handled and never hides away from movement!

Different snakes different personalities just like us I guess!
Me, I love to be handled!

ciao,
Kimber

wolfman38 said:

I can't wait till he is an adult. So, I can see how beautiful he will look.

Click to expand...

Yes, its neat to watch colors develop as they age. But in my opinion, the babies are the coolest - they're so feisty and yet so tiny. Take good care of him & he will be a wonderful companion!

Kp, who is impatiently waiting for her first batch?/clutch?/cluster? of eggs EVER!!