if you don't handle them alot.. is that bad?

sorry if it's a dumb question.. its just because mines been shedding.. and isnt done yet because humidity was too low.. so i misted the tank but hes still not done.. and we fed him. so i cant touch him for another 2 days..

so just wondering if its bad to not touch him for a long time

From what I have been told and what I am thinking myself, when they are young like this, it might be better not to handle them until they have a great feeding schedule down and settle for awhile.

After this week, I will not have handles Ziggy (except to take him out for feeding) for almost a month. Because of a corn's tempetment, I think that once they have had some really good meals with you, and you have had them for a month or more it would be safe to handle them and they will calm down very quickly.

On a side note, when they go into blue they get really cranky. Even our sweetest corn get a little cranky when we handle him when he is going to shed.

My .02 cents worth, I tend to agree with handling them very little when they are small, wiggley and fast. I had five hatchlings this year every feeding day was a trauma for me and the snakes. I would put them in their feeding box, they went out the other side, I would put the lid on parially, almost squsihed ones head off. So I put paper towel in their tubs and feed them in there tub. I handled them between feeding, so much less trauma. Now they are getting pretty easy to handle, no flailing, or flying through the air. I think they just need time to become accustomed to their surroundings and know we are not the monster. susang

Delilah

I know I'm not supposed to, but I have been doing this since I bought Delilah, back in October. There isn't a time that I won't hold her. I don't hold her, like everyday, but there have been times when I hold her right after eating, right before a shed, ect. ect. She has never bit me, or even attempted to, and she has never regurged or refused a feed. Just my piece, ~Erin~


((Does this mean Delilah is just a really good tempered snake???))

From what i have experienced and heard, it seems as if a hatchling corn will act any way it pleases, be that squiggly/nippy/calm. It doesn't matter a whole lot how much they are held when little. In fact, less handlign may cause less stress-related nipping/food refusal/sickness. As they get older, though, it is good to handle as much as you deem fit to keep the snake handleable. That said, my hatchling okee was bad to handle and is better now with consistent handling. I think it really depends on the snake's attitude in general.

Oh, and if you are worried about being bitten when your snake is done shedding and you want to hold it, simply wear cotton gloves, then remove them when your snake calms down. No shame in wearing gloves!

thank you !!

For the record, snakes could care less whether you handle them or not (they'd actually prefer not). There would be the tendency for them to be more calm if handled more often, but there's also the rare corn that hates being handled no matter how much you hold them. I have not seen any recognizable differences between those that are handled more often than others. (I have a couple that are handled almost daily by classroom students compared to others that are handled at cage cleaning, picture, or weighing days.) :shrugs:

As for handling when they are hatchlings, it's simply a function of getting used to it (ie. practice). Over time you can get a feel for those that are going to 'bolt' and those that are calm. As for getting them in deli cups, yeah, practice makes close to perfect. Besides, if they didn't want their heads/tails squished they'd learn to get them out of the way! :sidestep:

D80

Im no expert but wont the snake struggle to get that shed off now its been fed?

Quite the opposite. Both times chompy has shed has been within 6hours after eating, Theory being that the skin has to stretch to accompany the pray and this stretching helps to loosen the old skin.

I handle mine on average 20 min a day 3 days a week,
but not for 2 days after feeding. I have never had one bite me
(except my old King, but he bit all the time). I enjoy handling them
and they calm down after being held awhile too.
With the size of my hands they usually back off when being
picked up but are fine once in hand. I actually have some that
crawl into my hand. I enjoy my snakes and all 15 are healthy,
so I'll keep up what I do.

Mmm, besides not handling 2 days after eating, nor the first week you get a snake... my personal opinion is the more you handle, the calmer the snake will be when you handle (with reasonable limits, of course!)

I'll bow to others with more experience, but I have raised up at least eight corns from babies to full adults (well over 300g), and another four to "teenagers" (~200g), as well as a couple kenyan sand boas... the corns and kenyans I handled lots when babies are now adults that are mellow to handle, and to remove in and out from their cages. Even though in the last year or two I haven't handled nearly as much. The few babies I didn't handle much (1 adult and the 4 "teenagers"), as well as a pair of adults I got from a breeder that probably weren't handled much either, are much jumpier to take in and out, hold, etc.
The corn itself would probably prefer not to be handled, given a choice, and it's absolutely okay not to handle for a few days, even weeks, but I would say that for it to make a nice pet handling at least once a week for 30 min or so is a good idea.

I like putting the deli lid on halfway, then putting the snake's head in there and giving it an 'escape' opportunity right into the deli cup.
Though I have too many to handle all of them often anymore, I have noticed feistiness seems to be rather hereditary, the skittish ones often have skittish clutchmates and parents, same thing with the mellower ones!

shed'n my skin said:

I like putting the deli lid on halfway, then putting the snake's head in there and giving it an 'escape' opportunity right into the deli cup.

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Yep, that's pretty much what I do. Shove their front half in and grab their tail so they pull their back half in after them.

Though I have too many to handle all of them often anymore, I have noticed feistiness seems to be rather hereditary, the skittish ones often have skittish clutchmates and parents, same thing with the mellower ones!

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My feistiest clutch ever came from two very mellow parents that I paired this past season. EVERY one of the hatchlings were terrors. I kept one from the clutch, and she still gets me now and then.

Roy Munson said:

...
My feistiest clutch ever came from two very mellow parents that I paired this past season. EVERY one of the hatchlings were terrors. I kept one from the clutch, and she still gets me now and then.

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Wow, that's crazy, who'd have thought, sure doesn't seem logical.