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A few questions.

Isabella90

Isabella90

New member
I bought my corn snake on Thursday. They said he/she was fed on the previous Saturday, but didn't eat, and then they told me I should wait a full week before trying to feed him/her again. That would be about two weeks, maybe three, with no food. Should I go against what the pet store said? I don't usually support pet stores and their trade of live animals, but I fell in love with my corn snake when I saw him/her. Anyway, I'm unclear what to do about feeding.

Also, I have heard a lot of people say not to handle the snake in the first week of ownership, is that to let the snake adjust to his/her new home? Is it actually bad to handle them so soon, and can it damage the building of a relationship between the snake and yourself?

I've never owned a snake before so I am just curious about this stuff.
 
The handling thing is so not to stress them. Feeding while stressed is more dangerous than missing a week or so. Two or three weeks without food isn't that bad. How old is the snake?
 
I don't know how old the snake is. I bought him/her in maine, and I'm not sure about pet store snake regulations with age if there are any.
 
About seven inches, give or take an inch. also, when is it safe to start handling a snake to not stress him/her out?
 
I know alot of people who will say alot of things. IMHO, if its been five days or they're out in the open plenty, its fine. I wouldn't hold before or after the first feed though. Also, I would feed one f/t pink every five days.
 
Lyion said:
I know alot of people who will say alot of things. IMHO, if its been five days or they're out in the open plenty, its fine. I wouldn't hold before or after the first feed though. Also, I would feed one f/t pink every five days.
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Why not hold before feeding? This is when most people weigh their snakes check them over...
Isabella your snake sound slike it is still very small (not bad though, just small) I would feed a very small f/t pinky. If they attempted a feed last Saturday and you got it on Thursday, I wouldn't attempt a feed until next Thursday. Feed it don't handle for a few days and only a little handling if any. Then feed 5 days later if there is no regurge. I would let it get 3-4 meals in before you actually start handling it.
 
I'm with Susang on this. A tiny bit of handling at this stage, to put in a feeding tub next Thursday should be fine. And minimal handling for the first few weeks to give the snake a chance to get feeding well. If you have a happy healthy snake you have 15 or so years of handling ahead of you and your snake will get used to you. If you don't get it feeding because it's stressed out by handling, the relationship is over before it could begin.
 
Isabella90 said:
I bought my corn snake on Thursday. They said he/she was fed on the previous Saturday, but didn't eat, and then they told me I should wait a full week before trying to feed him/her again. That would be about two weeks, maybe three, with no food. Should I go against what the pet store said? I don't usually support pet stores and their trade of live animals, but I fell in love with my corn snake when I saw him/her. Anyway, I'm unclear what to do about feeding.

Also, I have heard a lot of people say not to handle the snake in the first week of ownership, is that to let the snake adjust to his/her new home? Is it actually bad to handle them so soon, and can it damage the building of a relationship between the snake and yourself?

I've never owned a snake before so I am just curious about this stuff.
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The dark in bold is good advice. When you do feed it make sure that the pinky is nice and warm, serve at night in a dim area with out being disturbed. It helps a lot!

As far as the above in RED. You're not going to form a ""bond"" like you can with other pets. But the snake will build more of a tolerance for you.
 
Serious underestimation on the length, he/she is a little over a foot long, I hadn't seen him.her uncurled all the way, so I guessed at the length. He/she is more like 12.5 maybe even 13 inches.

No offense, Lennycorn, but I think it is possible to build a bond with any animal, no matter what kind. It takes a lot of patience, time, and resilience, but I think any animal is bondable. Check out the book 'Unlikely Friendships' about strange animals bonding to each other. If they can bond to each other, why not us? And I have a friend who has owned snakes that says the snakes she has been around have always preferred being handled by one person over others, isn't that a type of bond too?
 
A snake runs purely on instincts in a way that cats and dogs don't. Yes, they can show a preference for being handled by their regular keeper. That's because they've learned that this particular pink blobby monster won't eat them.

If you choose to interpret that as a "bond" then that's fine, but actually it's just their survival instinct which has been modified by weeks or months of patient handling by that persion. If you rehome the snake, they'll show the same behaviour with a new owner in a short space of time. They won't pine for their original owner.

To me, the word "bond" implies some kind of emotional or dependant attachment, which I don't believe exists with snakes.
 
My snakes definately show a preference for me handling them, they'll try to stretch towards me if my boys are holding them. Obviously right through their lives I handle them the most and they associate me with food! They have enough brains to recognise my smell and that's it. I could try to convince myself it's a bond, but as Bitsy said, it's just instinct and learning, not an emotional attachment.
 
I must say, it's still pretty cool when you see it in action. It's actually quite humbling to be trusted by an animal whose every instinct would normally be telling it to run away.
 
On a side note, my Sociology Professor said an instinct is defined as a behavior that can't be ignored. If a snake is ignoring it's 'instinct' to run, then couldn't that be seen as a form of bonding with one person?
 
On a side note, my Sociology Professor said an instinct is defined as a behavior that can't be ignored. If a snake is ignoring it's 'instinct' to run, then couldn't that be seen as a form of bonding with one person?
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Not in my view - instinct can be overcome by conditioning, which is what I believe happens with my Corns. It's behavioural modification rather than a bond.

A dog can be conditioned not to bite other dogs, when instinct tells it to view them as competition or a threat. It doesn't therefore have a bond with other dogs, it's just been conditioned that if it doesn't bite other dogs, it'll get a treat.

Must admit I'd query that interpretation of "instinct" by your Prof unless it was heavily qualified for use with animals. As a sociologist, he'll be applying it to humans rather than animals.

But as I said, each to their own. Certainly interpreting what you see and experience as a bond is going to work in the snake's favour (unless you want to rehome any time).
 
No rehoming. I was skeptikal about my professors definition top because I have also studied psychology and behavior modification. I agree that it could be conditioning bit I have known animals and people that bond in the strangest ways. I still think it is possible :)
 
I don't think a snake will ever truly bond with humans, I have two snakes that get handled the same, one TOLERATES it fine and is curious whereas the other just wants to be left alone. You hardly even see her in her tank.

They do have their own personalities. But maybe yours will be one of the outgoing ones :)
 
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