He loves me, but not anyone else

[Abbi]

He's very friendly with me, but as soon as even another person steps in the room he acts on edge. He always comes to me when I let others handle him, he gets very tense and nervous in someone elses hands, while in mine his body is limp and comfortable. I thought the only way to resolve this is to socialize him with others more to get him used to it. At this point he is unpredictable because I know he is fine with me, but with others I have no clue what he might do, so it makes me nervous when others hold him. Anyone else have this problem? I would like it if he were friendly to everyone!

[Jcapicy]

This topic was recently discussed in another thread. It could be them being nervous, approaching the animal differently, the way you smell, any number of things can cause a snake to become nervous and get nippy.

But when push comes to shove, only you have to enjoy having it right! If you search the forums for "how intelligent are snakes" your find a very inciteful thread about a lot of related things.

[Snake Dave]

He's just used to your scent, he recognises you as a 'safety point' which is why he'll come back to you whenever someone else handles him. I have found that if the other people are already in the room when you take the snake out, the fear subsides a little. They view the people entering the room as a potential predator, since they respond to movement as well as unfamiliar smells. How old is your Corn? From the look of your avatar picture he looks like an adult, is this the case?

I hope that helps!

David

[Abbi]

He is a fullgrown adult.

Usually the people are in the room first, and then I take him out. He's okay with my dad for some reason, but anyone else he's afraid of. He's never bitten anyone, except me! lol but thats a whole 'nother story and he only did it once. But I feel like any sudden movement in someone elses arms could set him off in fear driven strikes.

[Topazfyre]

As I said in a post I made a minute ago in another thread, there are a lot of factors that can make a corn comfortable in ones hands. Among these are heat, scent, and pheromones, all combined with natural instinct. As his owner, Tang probably is most often handled by you. He knows your scent, and knows that he is relatively safe with that scent. Corns are territorial by nature and rarely leave an area for one that is unbeknown to them unless they are forced to. They've adapted to this lifestyle over the years and have built a natural instinct to be warry of anything unfamiliar. Your scent has become familiar, and therefore he has no need to be afraid of it. By introducing him to new scents, your putting him in situations he feel he needs to be cautious of. While that sounds like your doing the wrong thing, what your doing is exactly what you should be doing. He needs to know that just because something smells or is new, it doesn't mean he can't feel safe.

You should have him handled by people you know won't freak out if he moves or anything. If you have someone afraid to touch him holding him, they're probably going to be more unpredictable than he is, and he may get hurt if he's dropped suddenly. This type of incident will only prove his instinct right and make him worse. Being handled by people who know what to do if he has random bursts of speed will keep him safe and make him realize that he doesn't have to worry because something is new.

Another thing that might be making him edgy are pheromones. It's been reported numerous times be numerous people (including myself) that snakes will sometimes react based on the sense that whoever is holding them is calm or nervous. Pheromones are scents that we release when we are in a certain state of mind. It's nearly impossible to detect these, but it's been suggested that they are the cause for the 'sixth sense.' Snakes can most likely pick up these pheromones and will act on them.

When I was thinking about buying Kel at an Expo, I asked to hold her for a bit. I was used to snakes and felt comfortable, and she was exactly as you described Tang in your hands- limp and comfortable. I then passed her to my mom, who had some experience with Cali Kings when she was young, but not much else. Kel was a bit flighty in her hands, but was alright overall. She was then passed to my two friend's that I'd brought to the show with me who had never held snakes before. All three began freaking a bit and I quickly grabbed Kel back before all hell broke loose. If someone is calm while holding them, the snake will most likely be calm as well. If someone who is inexperienced with snakes or is afraid of them is holding Tang, he will probably sense that fear, think that there is something to be afraid of, and also start freaking out. (Most often the combined reaction in these cases is not good. ;) )

This is another reason why you need new people to hold him that you know will be calm while doing so. You also need to calm down yourself and trust him, or he will sense your fear as well. Once you have passed this step and has calmed down with new people, then you can start introducing him to people who haven't really been accustomed to holding snakes to get him used to the pheromones.

You just need to be patient during this process. It will probably take a while, but if it's going to happen you need to be able to be the calm one, for both your snake and the people around you. (A new person to snakes, a snake, AND it's owner all freaking out makes for a ten times worse situation. ;) )

Best of luck with your guy.

[WikedL]

My mother used to a dog trainer and a couple of things rubbed off on me. Animals have this amazing gift, no matter what kind of animal they are. They can sense peoples emotions. If you are scared or nervous they will sense that. It is all in the way you project yourself. My mother who hates snakes can handle my corn and dogs totally fine. Because she resets herself to have a clear head when handling animals but as soon as I hand my corn to my father or husband she gets nervous just like they are. And my husband handles the corns once a week but he is a worry wart.

[Kokopelli]

My mother used to a dog trainer and a couple of things rubbed off on me. Animals have this amazing gift, no matter what kind of animal they are. They can sense peoples emotions. If you are scared or nervous they will sense that. It is all in the way you project yourself. My mother who hates snakes can handle my corn and dogs totally fine. Because she resets herself to have a clear head when handling animals but as soon as I hand my corn to my father or husband she gets nervous just like they are. And my husband handles the corns once a week but he is a worry wart.

I don't like such statements to be honest. "no matter what kind of animal they are". I assure you that whoever said that was not a scientist, nor can this statement be proved in any way.
Sure, some animals recognize facial expressions/body language, others can pick off on the chemicals your body produces when you're in a certain mood.

But not -all-, not by a long shot.

affiliating too much mysticism to animals is just wrong... like those people who say that animals kill only in order to eat- that's a load of dung.

Bears, great cats and many other animals kill for sport, or for showing off- on pure impulse.

So yes, animals are fascinating, and amazing, but there's no need to turn them into beings of supreme spiritual abilities.

Just my opinion anyways

[Jcapicy]

I don't like such statements to be honest. "no matter what kind of animal they are". I assure you that whoever said that was not a scientist, nor can this statement be proved in any way.
Sure, some animals recognize facial expressions/body language, others can pick off on the chemicals your body produces when you're in a certain mood.

But not -all-, not by a long shot.

affiliating too much mysticism to animals is just wrong... like those people who say that animals kill only in order to eat- that's a load of dung.

Bears, great cats and many other animals kill for sport, or for showing off- on pure impulse.

So yes, animals are fascinating, and amazing, but there's no need to turn them into beings of supreme spiritual abilities.

Just my opinion anyways

I completely agree with Kokopelli on this. I don't think it is something they just know. I think it is more to do with physical changes such as smell, heat, appearance, and the basics. As I've mentioned before snakes have far better vision than humans, and they can smell much more precisely than humans from which I would have to assume it is much more basic and simplistic than the mystical idea or they just instinctually know it.

Now I am not discounting the fact that its possible, just far less likely and near impossible to ever prove.