Mandy the normal corn snake

Ouch but what a great way you explained it so people new to the hobby will understand.

albertagirl said:

Eek! Good story though. She's just letting you know she's still got some spunk in her yet.

Actually, this is one of the reasons it never made sense to me how people say feeding in cage leads to bites. I figure, feeding in separate containers probably leads to more bites for exactly this reason. Now you have to handle your snake, who has just eaten and is still surrounded by the smell of rodent, to put it back in it's cage. I still feed in a separate container, but that particular reason has nothing to do with it.

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Funny thing, but I was so happy to see that spunk! It is gratifying to see her gain weight and confidence in her forever home. I have no doubt she was well fostered, but it's not the same as a full time human mommy and a viv designed to be everything you may never have had.

I like the separate container, but you do have to handle safely post feeding. I just didn't read her correctly. Just when you think you know what you are doing... lol.

axis1 said:

Ouch!!

Sorry you got tagged by your little sneaky one! Hope she didn't hurt you OR herself! They CAN get a little enthusiastic, no?

It's a REAL good thing you know what you do about your snakes and about there nature, in general, as I am uncertain everyone who owns one would be so understanding. (There ARE some REAL winners out THERE!!) I guess the world ain't all rainbows and bunny farts!

Glad you ARE who you ARE!!!

And THANX for the warning!! (In the pinball game of life, some people's flippers are farther apart than MOST!!!).

oke:

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Thanks Axis. We are both fine. In spite of her mouse meat covered teeth, neither of us show any signs of damage.

Tavia said:

I had close to the same thing happen a few weeks ago, sweet as pie Orlando (Trans Pecos) was hanging out from his hide when I got into his cage to spot clean it. I noticed he was showing "hunting" posture but he is usually such a finicky eater and has such a good disposition, that I ignored it and he reached out and nailed my hand when it got too close. Didn't hurt but was my fault for not paying enough attention and making sure he knew that he wasn't getting fed right then. Good news though, he's been ravenous the last 3 weeks and I've moved his feedings to every 5 days instead of 7, might actually get up to the size he should be for his age if he keeps this up. Echo also has more appetite now too, though she was always a bit better eater.

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Glad Orlando is doing so well! Sounds like he's in the kind of "blooming" stage that Mandy is in. Also glad to hear Echo is coming along. Yep, I wasn't paying enough attention either. In retrospect, the signs were there if I had been paying attention. It is never the snake's fault.

jet_set_willy said:

Ouch but what a great way you explained it so people new to the hobby will understand.

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Thanks. That is the main reason I told the story. There is something positive in admitting your mistakes so others can learn from them.

I just love Mandy to pieces and I have a new respect for her feeding response!

DollysMom said:

Funny thing, but I was so happy to see that spunk! It is gratifying to see her gain weight and confidence in her forever home. I have no doubt she was well fostered, but it's not the same as a full time human mommy and a viv designed to be everything you may never have had.

I like the separate container, but you do have to handle safely post feeding. I just didn't read her correctly. Just when you think you know what you are doing... lol.

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Yes, snakes doing what snakes do, it's the whole point! Even when that spunk ends with teeth in you... you learn something new, and have appreciation for their natural behaviors. It's all part of the joy of keeping animals. Of course it helps that their bites don't really hurt and can't do much damage.

I like the separate container as well, but it does require some caution. I laugh with you, because I have the same thought frequently! Just when you think you know what you're doing, they teach you something new!

Yes, albertagirl. Maybe I should change my tag line from "trained by my snake" to "in training by my snake". In any case, the idea is that you need to be open to learning from them. Yes indeedy-do, snake is what they do and they do it very well, lol.

no mouse with a candle sticking out of his....... umm.... never mind

kdickens said:

Gail .... you did nothing wrong that's for sure. Like you said ... a snake is a snake. Just doing it's own 'snaky' thing. I'm sure it was a surprise though! Glad you didn't bleed out Loopy will normally look around after feeding as if to say, "You mean that's all?" So I give him a couple minutes to settle down before I pick him up to move him 'back home' again. I imagine I'll get tagged too one day even though we hope not. He hasn't even tried to snap at me ... yet! (as a side note ... he was 1 year old yesterday! No birthday party though.)

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Thanks Ken, and

:dancer::dancer: Happy Birthday, Loopy! :dancer::dancer:

Glad it didn't bleed out! :roflmao:

Karl_Mcknight said:

no mouse with a candle sticking out of his....... umm.... never mind

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Oh ye of little faith. I haven't gotten to Clyde and Cleo's birthdays yet, lol. :laugh:

Today, I was watching Mandy explore the living room and it just struck me (again) what an impressive and beautiful animal a full grown corn snake is. So I took this picture. It doesn't fully capture the awesomeness of it all, but most of you here either have or will experience this, so I know what I mean is understood.



It's funny because she "snuck" past me while I was cleaning up a healthy poo. Since I had just vacuumed the floor, I decided to let her go where she would, just intervening if she was going someplace I couldn't reach her or that I see as dangerous. She is so graceful and so inquisitive. She's also very, very strong. It's not like I didn't know this, but there is knowing and there is KNOWING.

Later, I put her around my neck in order to finish filling and replacing her water. She was flipping her tail in my face like she was a cat. It was so funny. She almost stuck her tail in my nose, lol.

Anyway, the longer I have her. The more I love her. Adopting her was a decision I made slowly and with some trepidation that I could do right by a third snake. Now, three months later, I have no doubt that adopting her is one of the best decisions I ever made in my entire life.

kdickens said:

When you see her like this you can see how large she really is! Quite impressive and really pretty. Great photo!

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Thank you, Ken. It was one of those moments I just sat back and said, "wow."

She is beautiful.

And she looks really long in this picture.

DollysMom said:

Today, I was watching Mandy explore..........
Later, I put her around my neck in order to finish filling and replacing her water. She was flipping her tail in my face like she was a cat. It was so funny. She almost stuck her tail in my nose, lol.

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I can totally identify with that as I frequently carry Rufus around my neck, (He and I both seem to like that) and he will intently watch me while I clean his water bowl, sometimes stretching down to inspect and supervise. And if you have not tried this yet, you might want to see how Mandy reacts - next time you take a shower or bath and wash your hair, put her around your neck. Rufus loves to explore my wet hair after a shower and he crawls all through it, and yes he is a tail flicker too.

DollysMom, you are the perfect mom for Mandy.

Karl_Mcknight said:

She is beautiful.

And she looks really long in this picture.

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Thank you. She is and she is!

Karl_Mcknight said:

I can totally identify with that as I frequently carry Rufus around my neck, (He and I both seem to like that) and he will intently watch me while I clean his water bowl, sometimes stretching down to inspect and supervise. And if you have not tried this yet, you might want to see how Mandy reacts - next time you take a shower or bath and wash your hair, put her around your neck. Rufus loves to explore my wet hair after a shower and he crawls all through it, and yes he is a tail flicker too.

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Everytime I put Mandy around my neck I think of you and Rufus. I usually just do it for short times when I have to take care of something I need my hands for.

I hope this is not TMI, but I have and do handle my snakes after showering when I have still wet hair. When I'm not pressed for time it's a great time to relax with them. A bath robe makes a great snake climbing surface, too.

As to tail flicking, this is the first time I've ever been flicked in the face. It was so funny, but I had to keep my mouth closed while laughing for fear of getting a tail in my mouth, lol.

DLena said:

DollysMom, you are the perfect mom for Mandy

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Thanks, DLena. I think the same way about you and you snakes, especially Gypsy.

My blood pressure was down significantly at my physical last week. The nurse practioner asked me what I was doing differently, because I've also lost 30 pounds. You should have seen her face when I attributed the changes to snake ownership as of February 2016. When I'm tense or upset, I reach for a corn snake instead of a corn chip! Gypsy is the perfect hang-out buddy. She hangs out on my desk watching me or when I watch tv, she'll sit still forever if I slide my fingers along her belly scales. She likes her new life, as I'm sure Mandy does! And I sure do love mine; it's a perfect win-win.

DLena said:

My blood pressure was down significantly at my physical last week. The nurse practioner asked me what I was doing differently, because I've also lost 30 pounds. You should have seen her face when I attributed the changes to snake ownership as of February 2016. When I'm tense or upset, I reach for a corn snake instead of a corn chip! Gypsy is the perfect hang-out buddy. She hangs out on my desk watching me or when I watch tv, she'll sit still forever if I slide my fingers along her belly scales. She likes her new life, as I'm sure Mandy does! And I sure do love mine; it's a perfect win-win.

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I'm so sorry I missed this post a few days ago! I agree about snakes being good for your health, mental and physical. I just feel a smile inside when I look at them.

Here's Mandy today. I look over at her viv and here's what I see. Too cute for words. Perfect example of what you are saying DLena!

Awww Mandy is beautiful! Your such a good snake mom

Ty Pogie! Mandy is awesome, IMHO.

She does love you, you know. I do think we matter to them.

DLena said:

She does love you, you know. I do think we matter to them.

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I know

Out of words here.

Mandy is absolutely precious!