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Can't handle snake.

C

CTCorn

New member
:cry:

We are having issues with our snake pooping on us every time we hold her or have her out of her cage. She is three years old now. Does anyone have an ideas how to correct this? The snake belongs to our 12 year old son and he doesn't want to hold her anymore and I understand why! Has anyone heard of this happening? Someone told me it was because she's nervous. We wait for a couple of days after she eats. She will do it even after she has already gone in her tank!
 
Sounds like the snake conditioned you to place him back. Try using a toewl and don't place him back after he poo's. :shrugs: :shrugs:
 
Hi fellow Connecticut corn keeper. :)

Yep, it sounds like the snake is nervous. That crapping/musking business is usually a defensive measure. Corns are sensitive to a variety of stress agents. The fact that the snake is still eating and digesting is a good sign though. The key is figuring out what is causing the stress. Here's a list of possibilities:

1. Cage conditions: does he have appropriate places to hide? Is his enclosure in a high-traffic area? Are the temps where they should be? I'm assuming that he's not being housed with other snakes. If he is, that can be a stressor. I was just musked this morning by a corn that has never musked, even when she was a hatchling. I brought her with me to a house she's never been to, where there were dogs, and myriad other unfamiliar scents. She's usually in a rack, but her enclosure was out in the open last night/this morning. Something set her off.

2. Odors: is your family/son using any new detergents, soaps, body washes, or perfumes/colognes? Any new pets in the house? I bought some Vaseline Intensive Care Aloe hand lotion that my snakes HATE.

3. Miscellaneous: can you think of anything, including the items listed above, that has changed in your household around the same time that this behavior started?

It may be unpleasant, but I wouldn't recommend ceasing all handling. Be gentle, and keep the sessions short. Do not return the snake to its enclosure immediately after a musking/crapping incident, or the snake may begin to associate this behavior with a positive outcome.

Good luck.
 
Poo!!

I agree, with both... the snake is nervous as well as conditioned :) One suggestion, in addition to using a towel, is to soak him a bit upon taking him out... put him in a bucket of tepid water and let him "swim" a little. Don't leave him unsupervised. This typically encourages poo - then it's in the water and not on your son... positive activities... all good. Then gradually increase time of handling every time and eventually everyone will be re-conditioned...

Good Luck!

-Tonya
 
Hi, right now my snake is being very agressive, her eyes turned cloudy today, so shes going to shed soon, is hostility something that all snakes have when they are shedding? Because she simply will not let me pick her up, she will coil up and strike at me and when i try to touch her she slithers away and coils up again.
 
Old World said:
Hi, right now my snake is being very agressive, her eyes turned cloudy today, so shes going to shed soon, is hostility something that all snakes have when they are shedding? Because she simply will not let me pick her up, she will coil up and strike at me and when i try to touch her she slithers away and coils up again.
Click to expand...
People will be reluctant to answer your questions in someone else's thread. You should start your own. :)
 
Thank you to all of you for your replies. I appreciate it. My son's snake has been doing this pretty much from the time she was a "baby" for lack of a better word. We have a cat and a dog. She is in a tank in my son's bedroom so it's quiet most of the time. We have been using a towel so if she goes, she goes on the towel. You are right, we do put her back in the cage after she goes. I had no idea a snake could "condition" us to do something. Can you tell we are new to this?? We will try putting her in the sink first, using a towel and keeping her out after she goes. Nobody has handled her in months because it was just messy every time, it's so sad. My son will pet her and talk to her. Should we start taking her out slowly? 10 minutes at a time or something? Can someone suggest a "schedule" for us?

Thank you!!
 
To be honest there does not seem to be a sheduale that works for all snakes you seem to have to take it at their pace. and adjust handling times and increase them slowly as the snake allows.
 
CTCorn said:
Should we start taking her out slowly? 10 minutes at a time or something? Can someone suggest a "schedule" for us?

Thank you!!
Click to expand...
This would be a good start, just 10 minutes a day and just build up from there. Let the snake get comfortable with you and you should be fine.

Also this is going to sound like an off the wall question to ask but its something I noticed. Is your son hyperactive?
Why I bring this up, a very good friend of ours bring will her son over to see the snakes and every time he is around they poop. I actually had one snake get neverous around him and regurged and the snake wasn't even touched. It was the oddest thing and it was only the that one time.

Just try to be calm and relax with your snake. You snake will then in turn be calm and relax. You will be surprised how easy they pick that stuff up. I tend to hold my snakes and I am calm. Even my more tempermental snakes are calm with me.
 
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