4-5month old corn snake handling issues please assist.

hey all i just recently bought a baby abbot morph corny ;] having some issues though, once i get him out of the cage about 10seconds after hes fine and calm.. but getting him out can be a nightmare... today he struck at me twice.. and he wont just climb onto my hand if i put it in his tank.. :[... what should i do?

Hi and Welcome. He's scared that is why he is striking, he may tail rattle, hiss and even flatten his head to scare you away. If you approach from the side that may help. Have you let him settle in his new surroundings before handling?

In a word? Wait.

Hatchlings are always freaked out. It's normal. You're about a billion times their size. Imagine if some giant thing suddenly plucked you out of bed one night. Personally, I'd be scared too.

Give him some time. Handle him for short periods of time only (once a day for maybe 20 minutes), except after feeding or during sheds. He'll calm down with age.

I dont know anyone with a snake that will just crawl onto there hands. Its normal for babies to act this way, they calm with age.

ok thanks for the welcome ;], and hes 5months old the lady said, hes roughly 15-16inches max, growing daily, ive had him about 4-5days, but just normallly how do i go about takeing him out of his cage?hes always balled up in his rock cave, when i lift it up, he stares my hand down ready to strike, eventually he moves and i lift him out by his mid section gently ;[ but eventually will he just slither on me like ive read ? or is that all lies?

I wouldn't expect a hatchling to just slither onto your hand. Each snake is different. I've heard of hatchlings curling up in someone's hand and falling asleep, but most aren't that calm.

If you've only had him four or five days likely you shouldn't have held him at all. It's always best to let them settle in and eat a few meals with you before handling (except to put in feeding tub).

If you'v only had him five days, he is still going to be very scared, and getting used to his surroundings. Id keep handling down to a minimum for about a week, some people will beg to differ, but the last thing you want is a stressed snake, which creases the chances of a reguge. If getting bit bothers you, you could try wearing gloves until the snake has calmed down.

ok, yeah, ive heard leave him alone, and to handle as much as possible so hes a calm freindly adult, but what the heck do i do, if he goes into striking position again? he curls up like a boa and literally follows my hand with his head, ive put my hand near him and he'l slither up stick his tounge out then kinda run away or just move away.., i know its really soon, and i dont mind getting bit if thats what its going to take, but how do i pick him up when hes curled up and ready to strike?

Just grab 'em. Don't hesitate. But be gentle. They are the most afraid when you are picking them up. Once they are out they almost always calm down very quickly, because they realize your hand wasn't trying to eat them. So try to get that scary part over quickly.

Just be confident, try approaching him from the side and scoop him up, supporting as much of his body as possible. let him slither from one hand to the next. please Remember though no handling for the 1st week.

Also, wear gloves if you are afraid. Cheap cotton gloves work fine. That way you won't flinch when he strikes and he won't be able to bite you through the gloves. You will be more confident. As he gets used to handling and gets older, you can remove the gloves. There is no shame in wearing gloves, it really helps.

awesome advice guys thanks, :], he really is a nice lil guy, even though i shouldnt have handled him yet :[ (i now learned) hes only tried strikeing me twice and that was when i was trying to pick him up, today though once i did get him out, he was the freindliest he ever has been, while i was typing on the computer i put him in my sweatshirt hoody pocket to see what he'd do, and he slowly went to the edge of my pocket curled up lengthend his head along the crease put it down and went to sleep ;] i was so happy lol, i think hes thankful that i took him out of that dreadful enviroment he was in.. when i brought him home, he had a bit of dried skin on the tip of his tail and i have a leopard gecko which ive had for about 5 years now, so i know how bad that is, i immediatly took him out of his cage, and calmly with my fingers wet, rubbed the water on the tip of his tail... to later see that skin fall off along with a bit of the end of his tail!!!! :[!!! poor bert... (thats his name), but yeah.. thanks again for advice guys