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Better handling methods?

SarahP

SarahP

Crazy Snake Lady Trainee
Is there a way to make the whole picking up the hatchling thing less stressful for us and the snake? I know that snakes are mostly instinct-driven and thus don't really "gentle" or get used to being plucked up by the hand of doom, but anything that we can try?

Lilith immediately s-shapes and it freaks me out, and frustrates the husband. Any better approaches? We're not digging her out of her hides. We wait til she comes out and stretches out at the front of the tank.

Any suggestion is welcome.
 
Actually, it's been my experience that ambushing them while they're in their hide is easier on both parties. Because that way, they're all curled up and you just pick them up as if you where picking up a ball or something, and not by the tail or mid section.

Being touched on the tail/back end tends to freak snakes out a little. Some more than others.
 
I have 2 snakes and while one is the happiest little thing when being handled, the other is somewhat erm...not! there is no attacking or S shaping just as soon as you pick her up and get her in your hand she makes a full speed effort to get out of your hand (and i mean high speed) anyone any ideas of why she does this? is it just nervous as i only had her 2 days. the other one will sit in my hand and everything without a care in the world and i got her at the same time and both same age
 
Some snakes are just more nervous than others, especially babies. You said you got it two days ago, my advice is to let it get used to it's new home for a few more days before handling it. I usually give new additions 4-5 days without bothering them, then feed them and wait for 48 hours before handling. Especially babies which seem to be more scared. If you think about their whole world just turned around, They are in a new place with different smells and tend to be nervous.
 
Tango_Sprite said:
I have 2 snakes and while one is the happiest little thing when being handled, the other is somewhat erm...not! there is no attacking or S shaping just as soon as you pick her up and get her in your hand she makes a full speed effort to get out of your hand (and i mean high speed) anyone any ideas of why she does this? is it just nervous as i only had her 2 days. the other one will sit in my hand and everything without a care in the world and i got her at the same time and both same age
Click to expand...

I bought a corn a couple of years ago and after I gave her a week to settle in started handling her and when I did she would violent whip and thrash around trying to get away from me. I took the great advice of some breeders and experienced snake owners here and left her alone for several months. I only got her out to feed. Once she realized me handling her briefly always resulted in food, she started to relax a bit. Then I would handle her on non-feeding days for 10-15 minutes at a time and return her. 6 months later she became an angel and now loves being handled!

Patience is key. Good luck!

To the OP, I agree with Vicki... sometimes it's easier to catch them when they are sleeping. Cup them in your hands and then keep them moving hand to hand. Start with very brief periods of handling them. We also had luck keeping our baby corn tanks in the main living areas of the house. They could see us regularly and get used to us from the safety of their vivs and I do believe it made handling them easier.
 
All good advise. I have found each snake to be different. Some freak out while others are calm. Most seem to settle down after you have held them a minute. Cornsnakes are pretty calm in general and will settle down if you handle them from time to time.
 
As I tell my kids while teaching them to handle the snakes... "it is possible to get bitten, just don't freak out when it happens." I've watched my kids learn how to handle the snakes and realized mine (snakes, that is) seem to get more antsy when they (kids, that is) hesitate or act nervous. Just go in with confidence, and don't let up on the confidence even when you do get bit. I did like the advice of ambushing them while they're in hides. That's how I frequently do it. There's been a great many things already said thats hard to improve upon also. Hope all has been helpful.

On a side note: it is understandable how such viscious little babies can intimidate ;) just playing.

Leim
 
Even if it S-shapes, it probably won't strike. Be firm and not nervous, and it should all work out. Delay isn't really a good thing either. A trick to conditioning biting snakes into being better when picked up is to throw a bit of aspen on them to let them know it's you. But if the snake isn't striking, just pick it up! 90% of snakes that aren't used to handling will S-shape, and usually they are just 'backing off', not getting ready to strike. You just have to be firm and confident and pick it up, once it's in your hand it will not strike you. After you've done this 10 or 15 times you will never be scared again to pick it up lol.
 
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