did i get lucky???

[bimmer kid]

so... i just got my little guy a little over a week ago. i handled him from the first day i got him ( i know...) and he ate the day after i brought him home right after being held for about 10 mins. i just sat the right next to him and watched him eat... after about 48 hours i handled him again and i've been handling him everyday for about 10 mins. he is the calmest snake i have EVER seen. he just sits there and flicks his tounge and slithers around my hand slowley. he wasnt ONCE tried to get away. even when i set him down it takes him like 30 seconds to get off my hand. then last night i fed him again (in a feeder thing) and he ate right away. then after a couple hours i went to put him back and while he was still half way in my hand still he started drinking WHILE I WAS HOLDING HIM. hes anloy about a month old and i feel like i got lucky and got the best snake i could have asked for. or am i just naive and its pretty normal to have such a great snake?

[Nanci]

You're lucky, but that's a pretty typical cornsnake. That's why they are THE beginner snake. Most of the time they are gentle and problem-free, if you do a little research and treat them right.

[bimmer kid]

lol. okay... and also i meant to put "the calmest BABY snake i have ever seen"

[sarcare]

One thing I think, is that if your baby has been handled a lot it will be more accustomed to it, so sometimes when you buy from a large breeder you are more likely to get a squirmy worm then from a pet store. Just a generalization, but a large breeder wont be able to hold all of their hatchlings enough to accustom them to being held, where as if the pet is at a pet store and is handled by the staff and public over a wide period of time they will be more used to it.

[Jimmysan00]

True, but that's why a lot of breeders charge more than the pet stores, because they claim that your paying for a healthier snake and a tamer one. one that has eaten mutiple time and has been cared for, and handled. I don't know if it's true or not, but i know i got my snake for $20 at petco and it's very tame and docile. She still runs a little, but no biting or rattling, and it's been less than a week with her.

[kandychix250]

My little Jake sounds exactly like that. He drinks while I'm holding him and everything. So it might be a little uncommon, but I say you're lucky to have such a calm snake.

[ButtersCorns4life]

Lucky. . All my little snakes are quirky and dont like being touched. . . lol but I love them anyway.

[Jimmysan00]

ouch...sorry to hear that. I've been lucky too i guess. She's not fight me so much with the trying to run away from me when i try to pick her up. I think we are making good progress considering i've only had her for about a week, and fed her once and weighed her once. Supposily 4-5 months old, 13-14 inches and weighs 8g.

[CassieK]

When you buy from a breeder they only guarantee that it is healthy, shed, and eaten. They do not guarantee that it is tame as that takes time and is the future owner’s job. You are also buying for quality, color, or heritage which for breeding means more. From a pet store you my end up with a wild caught snake, or one that due to lack of care is not healthy. You also don’t know what or how the snake was feed or really cared for. I feel paying more to buy from a breeder is worth it.

[bimmer kid]

mine is very healthy and adjusting very well. i'm glad i went to the store when i did cause they rarely have healthy animals. i just happened to get there like 2 days after they got them from the breeder so they didnt have time to ruin him lol

[CassieK]

Well congratz on the lucky catch. My first corn is like that he is a year old and will even come out of his hide to ask to come out. Continue to have fun with your new friend.

[Saffleur]

Mines always been calm, ever since day one. Let em adjust for a week and for the past year he's never once ran, tried nipping or anything. Eats no problem. Corns really are the best beginner snake, the most domestication you could ask for...I want worm though...lovely leucistic.

[RicardoCruz005]

Corn snakes are reccomended for beginners because of this. They are usually very friendly and even cuddly. Most of the time they are happy to sit out with you and watch t.v. :D My corn is like this also.

[Jimmysan00]

Corn snakes are reccomended for beginners because of this. They are usually very friendly and even cuddly. Most of the time they are happy to sit out with you and watch t.v. :D My corn is like this also.

My snake doesn't want to watch tv, she likes to roam and move around. I saw a video on expert village that said corns are very much like garters and when handling them they like to dart for a location and are very active while being handled. The information might have been wrong, i dunno all i know is from my personal experience my corn likes to move around.

[Putty]

True, but that's why a lot of breeders charge more than the pet stores, because they claim that your paying for a healthier snake and a tamer one. one that has eaten mutiple time and has been cared for, and handled. I don't know if it's true or not, but i know i got my snake for $20 at petco and it's very tame and docile. She still runs a little, but no biting or rattling, and it's been less than a week with her.

Most breeders charge LESS than petstores do. Petstores buy their corns from the breeders wholesaled or almost the same price you would pay yourself. Usually the snake will be healthier due to the fact that it came from someone who ''should'' care more about the snake rather than the money, like petstores do.

[Em Wright]

I personally don't buy any pets from petstores. I find a breeder, period. When I was looking for a dog about 7 years ago I contacted a few petstores with the options I wanted... my first choice was a pug, the only pug I could find was over $900, some years after that (I ended up getting a Blue Heeler from a breeder, which suited me a lot better) I found a pug from a breeder for $300. Big difference. ;)

As for Mali's temperment, I bought her from a breeder (Dakota Corns) and have never been bit or rattled at. She tried slithering away real slow like the first couple times I tried to handle her, but now she just waits for me to scoop her out of the tank. She likes to explore my hand while I surf the web or watch TV. She's a good 'kid'. :D

[onelifetolive45]

True, but that's why a lot of breeders charge more than the pet stores, because they claim that your paying for a healthier snake and a tamer one. one that has eaten mutiple time and has been cared for, and handled. I don't know if it's true or not, but i know i got my snake for $20 at petco and it's very tame and docile. She still runs a little, but no biting or rattling, and it's been less than a week with her.

I don't think that you see the error in what you typed here. Allow me to explain. You stated that breeders charge more than pet stores(all of us with more than a week's experience know this is untrue) this is an incorrect statement but I think I know where you are coming from. You bought a normal cornsnake I am assuming from your petco, you paid $20.00. Most, if not all, breeders will charge about $10.00 for a normal. I sell mine for $7.00 so I can sell them quick. When you see the high dollar prices that breeders have it is because those animals are far from normal cornsnakes. It's all about genetics my friend, and once you really delve into this world of cornsnakes and all herps for that matter you will have a better understanding of the market. Just takes time. To the OP congrats on your new snake!!

[Jimmysan00]

Most breeders charge LESS than petstores do. Petstores buy their corns from the breeders wholesaled or almost the same price you would pay yourself. Usually the snake will be healthier due to the fact that it came from someone who ''should'' care more about the snake rather than the money, like petstores do.

I bought my normal corn for $30 which is roughly the same price of most breeders online, but i didn't have to pay shipping and handling. I've seen normals for $40 and up. Maybe i'm looking in the wrong places. I agree that pet stores do not care for their reptiles as well as a breeder would. But I didn't want to wait for a corn to be shipped and money was tight after buying my setup for the snake. So i kinda was forced to guy the corn for $30 it was even on sale, lol.

[Em Wright]

Normals with good genetics would be more expensive, at least in my opinion. If they have the ability to produce desirable morphs if bred to the right mate, then yeah, of course they're going to be more expensive. It's like a dog with champion bloodlines.

Or at least that's how I see it. :shrugs:

On the other hand, there are some people who may overprice their snakes. Unfortunately that happens with anything. Pets or otherwise. :(

[Nanci]

The only normal I ever bought was Mr. Bacon, $85 plus shipping! Well, he is het opal stripe, and proven. And cranky- likes to revert to the wild and bite!!! I should spend more time with him.

[Saffleur]

The only normal I ever bought was Mr. Bacon, $85 plus shipping! Well, he is het opal stripe, and proven. And cranky- likes to revert to the wild and bite!!! I should spend more time with him.

He can spend time with me Nanci if you're too busy ;)

[onelifetolive45]

I bought my normal corn for $30 which is roughly the same price of most breeders online, but i didn't have to pay shipping and handling. I've seen normals for $40 and up. Maybe i'm looking in the wrong places. I agree that pet stores do not care for their reptiles as well as a breeder would. But I didn't want to wait for a corn to be shipped and money was tight after buying my setup for the snake. So i kinda was forced to guy the corn for $30 it was even on sale, lol.

Mind if I see where you saw a breeder selling normal corns for $40.00 and up??:awcrap:

[Jimmysan00]

http://www.bigappleherp.com/Normal-Corn-Snakes-Captive-Bred-Babies
http://petworldlawrence.com/reptiles-corn_snakes.html
http://www.gotpetsonline.com/cgi-bin/Eware/view_ads.cgi?fcad_id=76334

[Em Wright]

To my knowledge those are basically online petstores. Those are not private breeders such as Dakota Corns or many of the other people around here. Sorry to say, but that hardly counts, at least in my opinion. :shrugs:

[Jimmysan00]

I didn't know, sorry.

[tstephe3]

well my first snake was a present from a petstore. (Crush) he was a amel motley/cube, he's all kinds of stuff. but if i remember right he was $60. i found out about a reptile show about 45 min away, and go with friends and we help pay for gas etc.. but my first purchases were my miami and anery i got both of them for 25 or 30 dollars. it was crazy. then i bought a kingsnake for 30 which at my local store runs 60 to 80 dollars. this past weekend i bought a reverse oketee that hopefully will eat a fuzzy, so a bit larger for 50 dollars. if u dont want to order off line definitely go to a show. but at the show ive been going to ive seen normals at 15 as the cheapest. there are a bunch of different prices.

my opinion you are getting a better snake from a breeder. cheaper, but u also kno it has eaten.

[tstephe3]

oh and my leucy rat.. haha forgot about him, was 45. which online they run for 80 plus shipping.

[onelifetolive45]

http://www.bigappleherp.com/Normal-Corn-Snakes-Captive-Bred-Babies
http://petworldlawrence.com/reptiles-corn_snakes.html
http://www.gotpetsonline.com/cgi-bin/Eware/view_ads.cgi?fcad_id=76334

All of these are just resellers, they buy the normals for probably $5.00 and mark them up.

[onelifetolive45]

Didn't see Ice's post sorry

[Em Wright]

LOL that's okay. I was just thinking of posting 'yay I love it when I'm right', but thought that sounded a bit too.... snotty is maybe the word I'm looking for? ;)

:cheers:

[onelifetolive45]

Na it's alright everyone goes through the stage where they just get into this hobby, and want to post everything they know(even if it is a weeks worth of info). Everyone does it and it is perfectly fine, it shows how excited people are about these incredible animals. The real test is after the first year how many of the newcomers are still around??;)

[Em Wright]

I hope to stick around for a long time. Since first getting interested in cornsnakes I've gotten to the point of being quite into them. So much that my other hobbies have been brushed under the carpet. :p

And sorry it took me so long to respond, I read the post when I didn't have time to post and then forgot until now. :)