Okeetee personalities

Hello,

This is my first post, but I don't have a big intro to offer. Basically, I'm thinking of getting my first snake, which I have been hoping will be an okeetee corn hatchling. There is a fetching number on Kathy Love's site, and I sent an enquiry with a few questions on it.

One thing she said that gave me pause was that okeetees are the most nervous of the corn types, and in some cases even with all of the right handling never become as docile as the other types.

I have looked at a lot of corn snake varieties and examples since getting this sudden but strong desire, and I personally think that they are the best looking of all them. Mind you, I think most of the others look great too, but she also said okeetees tend to be the hardiest and good feeders too, which is great for a first-timer like myself, and I already kind of fell for a specific one (presuming he is still available).

So, my question: if I end up with one of the perennially nervous or stand-offish ones, how bad are they? What is the likelihood that I will end up with a corn snake that I can't hold and have crawl around on me? At this point, I am figuring I'll take a chance, but I'd like to be as mentally prepared as possible.

Thanks,
-Sean

My OKeetees are great. mine are not shy at all. Get it , you will be glad you did.

The 'good feeder' aspect would outweigh the possibility of a nervous snake, in my opinion. I have two from Kathy's lines and they are not overly nervous, and neither has refused a meal. They tend to be larger, versus some other types of Corns, so keep that in mind. I think every Corn snake owner wants to have at least 1 Okeetee, so that sounds like a good place to start.

Come to think of it, out of the snakes that I have so far, my female Okeetee is the jumpiest of all, however just upon picking her up out of her viv, she calms down realitively quickly and handles just fine.

Feeding time, she is the only one that rattles her tail and hisses before she strikes her food that I hand her with my tongs. Its really cute actually.

So considering all this, she is not aggressive by any means, just "Quirky", I love her just the same.

Best of luck with your decision.

But may I strongly recommend you go for it LOL! You'll be happy that you did. :cheers:

Hehe, my Okeetee(ish) lady also rattles when I open the viv to feed and she already smelled rodent! Or if I want to pick her up, but she get away and I try again.... but she never strikes!

Individual personalities are basically a crap shoot, so get the type you really want and keep your fingers crossed. With corns the odd are in your favor at least.

My 04 male Okeetee (my avatar) is the calmest and and most outgoing snake in my collection. He's almost always in view, either up on his branch or on top of his hide. When I open up his tank he slithers right out, and up my arm.

My 05 female Okeetee is the nastiest corn I've ever seen, or even read about on this forum! She tail rattles and "really" tries to bite me just about every time I need to handle her. After a meal, she'll sit out in the front of her tank and strike at me if I'm ten feet away. She'll continue this behavior for about 1/2 hour before finally heading into her hide, and I won't see her again until the next feed.

Get a corn with a good pedigree from someone like Kathy, and you can always trade or sell it for a calmer one if it doesn't work out as a good hand pet. If you catch the corn bug, you're going to wind up with more than one anyway..

Good luck, and welcome to the forum!
Scott

congrats on your upcoming first cornsnake...............also, it seems like you have done an excellent job on preparing before you buy (alot of people just buy and then try to figure everything out). personally, the okeetee is my favorite and it was my first one, but i have since lost her and am buying two more within the next 2 weeks. so i can't really tell you about the attitudes of mine right now, but when i did have her she ate at every meal and i might have had less than a handful of problems trying to get her out or hold her. please post some pics when you get yours and enjoy the forums. be sure to use the search feature at the top of the home page and the FAQ section about 10-12 subject lines down. welcome............ :wavey:

I agree with Scotty - most personalities are a crap shoot. I would like to add that personalities can and do change. Some of mine have gotten more calm, or more jumpy. I appreciate and enjoy all different personalities and behavior. Luckily I have calm snakes when I'm feeling like a lot of handling, crazy and silly snakes that I can also enjoy. I also agree with Lore - I strongly reccomend that you GO FOR IT!!!!

I bought a pair of Okeetees from Kathy this year too! You cannot go wrong with getting your Okeetee from her (no monies were exchanged for this endorsement - other than what I paid her...hehehe ). They are stunning They both are pretty feisty, but calm as soon as I handle them. See this thread: http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38190

It would be quite likely that your guy would be from the same clutch as my girl or guy...

Good Luck in whatever you choose, be sure to post pics of your new corn in the Photo Gallery!!!

-Tonya

I have two Okeetees. One is super tame and has never been a problem at all. My other one, from Kathy by the way, can be a bit feisty at times but no big deal. She settles down after awhile and has never bitten. I think you would do fine with an Okeetee, especially one from Kathy L.

MaizeCrazy said:

I bought a pair of Okeetees from Kathy this year too! You cannot go wrong with getting your Okeetee from her (no monies were exchanged for this endorsement - other than what I paid her...hehehe ). They are stunning They both are pretty feisty, but calm as soon as I handle them. See this thread: http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38190

It would be quite likely that your guy would be from the same clutch as my girl or guy...

-Tonya

Click to expand...

Dang Tonya, those are very pretty snakes. I feel my doubts melting away...

-Sean

I got one of Kathy Love's female Okeetees a little over a month ago, and she does like to strike. I think it's funny since most of the time I don't even know it's happened. With increased handling she's calming down some and I'm sure she'll be fine in a few months. She's also easily the best eater of my 4 corns.

Teratoma said:

Dang Tonya, those are very pretty snakes. I feel my doubts melting away...

-Sean

Click to expand...

Thanks a bunch Sean.

Really, don't worry too much about little ones that are jumpy and strike. All these little ones are reacting to is this big person reaching in for them. In the wild NOTHING reaches for them that isn't going to eat them, so their instincts tell them. If you given them time to settle into their new environment when they come, then handle them slowly and regularly, they will become conditioned to handling. The only ones I've really had serious trouble with are ones that I've purchased that are 1 or 2 years old and never been handled.

My 16 year old daughter finally decided that she just wouldn't look when she reached into a hatchlings cage. She KNOWS that when they strike that they either don't open their mouth or when they do actually bite it only feels like rough velcro on her skin. She hates the sudden movement, she can't NOT react. But if she blocks the snake from her vision, then she can't see when it does strike. It's increased her confidence 100 fold. She looks and says, "silly hatchling" when she realizes it's struck at her.

Good Luck!

Tonya

If an Okeetee is what you want, by all means get one. I have an 03 okeetee male from Howie Sherman that's a little over four foot, and is just a super laid back corn. Most corns are going to grow into very tractable, calm adults. I have to agree that if you were going to have just one corn, you've got to have an okeetee. Pic below of my 03 male, held by my daughter.

Of my two Hunt Club Okeetee's the male is real mellow, and the female is pretty fiesty. She's actually come out of the tub at me to bluff and rattle lol. She handles easy tho once out...

Gorgeous Okeetee Steve!

I have 4 locality Okeetees that I got from Mike Heinrich and I find that they are the most finiky eaters as well as the most aggressive. They are pure lines back to wild caught animals though so perhaps they've kept more of the wild lines. The one female is quite calm, but the other female has only recently calmed more and is more handleable. She used to strike, tail rattle and musk. The male for the most part is pretty calm, but lately he's been a piranha! Don't know what's gotten into him My fingers actually! All have calmed as they got older though, so I wouldn't worry overmuch. Kathy's animals are pretty awesome.