Adopted snake question from newbie

Hi everyone! I'm so glad I found you!

Our family has just become corn snake owners due to my daughter's love of a corn snake at her high school which we cared for over Thanksgiving break. After a wonderful experience with "Rosie", we decided to get a corn snake of our own. We just adopted 4 yr old "Severus" who had been living with another high school student who is going off to college. He was extremely sweet, curious and gentle at his old home, but since we got him here, he's been tense and nervous. He hides under his rock whenever we come near his tank (you call it a viv? - we're still learning!) and looks out at us. Once, when my daughter waved at him, he struck at her wiggling fingers through the glass. We haven't tried to take him out. We were wondering how long we should leave him alone before handling him - we don't want him to feel threatened by us. Should we feed him? Should we not feed him? Rosie was so relaxed because she's used to a classroom full of noise and people, maybe Severus just needs some time to get used to more action than the other girl's bedroom (he's in our family room).

Any advice with this transition would be greatly appreciated!

Welcome when ever getting a snake you should leave him/her alone in there tank for about a week-2 weeks. That anger on the other hand is very strange, where you have him (if in a fast action area of the house) could be stressing him out. If you have let him set for a week or longer then I should feed him, let him sit for about 48 hours or 24 hours and then if he is still stiking then cover his head and try picking him, he might just need you to show that you won't harm him.

Did you go handle the snake befor you got him?

* would feed

Is he still in the same viv he lived in before, or did you provide a new one?

He's undoubtedly nervous after the move. I would let him settle in for a week, then feed him, then let him digest for three days, then handle him. He should be eating one medium adult mouse every 14 days or so.

There is a sticky down in my forum, Nanci's SnickerSnakes, on this site, which goes into more detail about the acclimation period.

I don't think striking at waving fingers is indicative of anything. Many of my snakes would do that. In fact, I just had a snake around my neck for whatever reason and went to type something, and he struck at my hands on the keyboard.

Thanks for the answers!

Yes, we did hold him before we brought him home and he was wonderful - sweet and curious and not at all aggressive. He's still in the viv he lived in at his old home, so the only thing that's changed is the outside environment.

He's due to eat in two days on Thursday, but it sounds like you're both saying we should wait longer because of the move? Is that correct?

Nanci said:

In fact, I just had a snake around my neck for whatever reason

Click to expand...

This made me chuckle for some reason....

I wouldn't consider him aggressive, just nervous/scared. Give him enough time to settle in and he should be just fine. IMO him looking out at you is encouraging. He is watching your daily lives curiously. He's just scared from the move.

Give him a full week then feed. Missing a meal while he's settling in is just fine.

How is the setup in the tank/vive? Sometimes with an unregulated heat source the snake can become overheated and defensive (which can come off as aggressive).

However, I would most surely think this behaviour is primarily because of a new situation, new home, new smells, and new people.
Once settled after half a month or so, regular handling should calm him right down that's not to say that you can't handle him/her sooner if you wish, but I'd advise about a week before handling or feeding.

It may be difficult, but try not to compare your new snake to Rosie so much. Keep in mind that like people and other pets, every snake has their own personality. Overall corns are quite easy-going, yes, but to each their own. It may take quite some time for Severus to be himself around you I would think as well.

Best of luck to you and your family with the new addition!

Thanks, everyone. He was out a couple of times today and did not go back under his rock right away when we came over, so I think that's progress!

Good to hear he's settling in nicely and fairly quick. Should be back to his regular self in no time

Welcome to our Forum maryannef, I'm glad to hear your making progress, your in good hands here, these guys have talked me through a couple dicey issues with my baby corn.

Sit back and leave the driving to them ! <wink>

My new Corn exhibits the same behaviors (minus the striking) and he's practically fearless. It's just a matter of a new place, new activity, new scents, etc. Like everyone else said, give him some time to adjust and he should calm down.

How much cover is in the Viv? We added some vine and sticks to our tank and Igneous started spending more time outside his hides. I figure they see open spaces like we see ledges, always a bit scary no matter how safe it actually is.

That's a good idea LazyLemming. I was afraid to add anything new, but maybe we'll think about that.

i agree with what people said above

Even with a "nice" snake I would never wave or wiggle my fingers in front of it. Unless I wanted to get bitten lol.