Is it too Late?

Noob Here. I've had my corn snake Piper for half a year, and she's 1.5 years old. When I first got her she was very flighty and would musk me every time.

I read from some article that I should only handle her if she lets me touch her, but whenever I offer my hand she slithers up to it, gets one whiff of human, and backs away to a hide.

Since then I have only handled her once a week, mostly out of feeling bad for scaring her. Big mistake, I imagine. :face_palm_02:

My question is, is it too late to change her flighty behavior after months of very little contact? I'm going to establish a better routine regardless, but I was wondering if I can hope for improvement.

If I could figure out how I would change the title to reflect the situation more...

Almost all of my younger subadults are flighty little turds. One seems to have inherited her dam's remarkably calm demeanor, but the rest will attempt to fling themselves from my hands upon being picked up. Iif you persist with confident handling on a regular basis, they usually calm down over time as they begin to realize your presence is not a threat. Confidence is key!

Dragonling said:

One seems to have inherited her dam's remarkably calm demeanor, but the rest will attempt to fling themselves from my hands upon being picked up.

Click to expand...

This is exactly how mine acts. Very relieved to hear, and I'll be more confident going forward, thanks!

Be sure when you pick her up you are confident and not pulling back or being twitchy. I’d try to handle her at least 10 minutes every day (unless she’s just eaten, if she’s nervous you don’t want her to throw up) and gradually increase the time if she’s responding well. She’s probably learned that if she hides you will leave her alone, so it needs to become “Oh, I’m being picked up. This is happening”. If you put her down because of musking, that reinforces that behavior because being put down is what she wants. Snakes aren’t super bright, but they can make associations like that.