Handling, H2O, & Swimming?

EtR_Bliss · Feb 23, 2008

Okay... I have three separate questions:

1) What are good handling times? (Time and length-wise) Basically, does it matter what time of day you handle the snake? (can you take him/her out of a hide for handling?) And what is a good lenght of time to handle? (Hours, minutes, ? - is there a "too-long" handling time?

2) H2O... I have four tree frogs, and I have to condition the water to remove the chemicals and chlorine... Do corn snakes require a water conditioner as well? If yes, are there special ones for snakes? (I have one for amphibians) Or can we use straight tap water or filtered tap water (for example - a Brita filter or whatever)?

3) Swimming... I have read that some people excercise their snakes by letting them swim... Can this happen in a larger container of water (including a bathtub)? How big is a good size to let them swim? How deep should the water be?

Thanks ahead for helping me out and putting up with my questions

. I'm getting closer to getting our new house, and therefore closer to getting my corn

... All I have to do is keep studying, and convince my boyfriend to let me have a snake

lol

popcorn · Feb 23, 2008

EtR_Bliss said:
Okay... I have three separate questions:

1) What are good handling times? (Time and length-wise) Basically, does it matter what time of day you handle the snake? (can you take him/her out of a hide for handling?) And what is a good lenght of time to handle? (Hours, minutes, ? - is there a "too-long" handling time?

2) H2O... I have four tree frogs, and I have to condition the water to remove the chemicals and chlorine... Do corn snakes require a water conditioner as well? If yes, are there special ones for snakes? (I have one for amphibians) Or can we use straight tap water or filtered tap water (for example - a Brita filter or whatever)?

3) Swimming... I have read that some people excercise their snakes by letting them swim... Can this happen in a larger container of water (including a bathtub)? How big is a good size to let them swim? How deep should the water be?

Thanks ahead for helping me out and putting up with my questions . I'm getting closer to getting our new house, and therefore closer to getting my corn ... All I have to do is keep studying, and convince my boyfriend to let me have a snake lol

well first we need to know how big is your snake and what kind they are....for me...i have a baby butter corn . i usually handle her an hour or so...she got better than the first couple weeks when i got her! she is now getting used to it~there is no problem that you take her out from a hide...i pretty much handle her everyday,except on the feeding day and the next 48 hours.so she can have time to digust....

H2o....i use spring water for her...try not to use tap water...it contains too much heavy matel and bad things that will harm the snakes.flitered water would be fine too~ as long as human can drink it..no problem for the animals.

swimming...i usually let her swim in a bathtub/container fill with spring water (don't make it too hot or too cold) as room temp will be fine...it helps when they are really to shed also can kill the mites on the snake if you soak him long enough....lol they will usually poop in the water too~ (thats even better)the water should be no deeping than 2-3 inches...well really depends on how big is your snake....i am using my baby corn as an example to help you

correct me if i m wrong~ and i hope you can convince your bf to like your animals as everybody in this forum does....good luck

EtR_Bliss · Feb 23, 2008

Cool thanks

I don't have a snake yet, so I don't have a specific size... If anything, I will also have a baby corn snake

(I'm sure I will be able to win over Brian and get the snake... it worked before on the four frogs that I have :rofl: (he didn't want to have them in the beginning either... he had some bad experiences with pets when he was younger, that's why he's a "hard-@$$" when it comes to pets...

) but I think he'll be okay... he loves the froggies now

)

popcorn · Feb 23, 2008

EtR_Bliss said:
Cool thanks I don't have a snake yet, so I don't have a specific size... If anything, I will also have a baby corn snake (I'm sure I will be able to win over Brian and get the snake... it worked before on the four frogs that I have :rofl: (he didn't want to have them in the beginning either... he had some bad experiences with pets when he was younger, that's why he's a "hard-@$$" when it comes to pets... ) but I think he'll be okay... he loves the froggies now )

lol~ good luck~ he loves you and he would do the same to your animals~ just let us know if you have more questions~ we will try to do our best to answer you~:rofl:

bitsy · Feb 23, 2008

OK, assuming you'll have a hatchling, my answers would be:

1) Handling. Keep it to a minimum, especially when you first get him. He'll need a couple of weeks to settle in. After that, a few minutes at a time, when you need to take him out of his tub for cleaning duties. Just enough to have him learn that you're an OK guy and not dangerous. You can increase handling times as he gets older and more confident. But don't handle for any length of time after feeding, or you risk a regurge. Bear in mind that the majority of snakes don't actively want to be handled - for the most part, they don't seek out human interaction, so handling-for-the-sake-of-it is purely for your benefit.

2) Drinking water. If it's fit for human consumption, then it's OK for snakes. Some folks don't have confidence in their local supply and use bottled water, some use tap water but left out overnight before use, to allow the chlorine to evaporate. Mine have always been given tap water straight from the tap and my 20 year old (and my two 16 year olds) are doing just fine on it.

3) Swimming. I wouldn't recommend it for a hatchling. Some adults benefit from it if they're a bit overweight, out of condition or constipated. The trick is getting the water temperature right; remember that a Corns' ideal max temp is lower than a human's body temp, so the water should always feel lukewarm to you - never warm or hot. Also, make sure the bath is absolutely clean, with no traces of cleaning products, bubble bath etc. I've never felt the need to try it, so perhaps someone else can advise on the practical aspects.

Hope that helps.

Lennycorn · Feb 23, 2008

I wouldn't recommend swimming as a routine in snake husbandry. It seem to just stress them out. And not for a treatment of mites either.

EtR_Bliss · Feb 24, 2008

Cool, thanks everyone for all of this info

(and you definately don't have to worry about me handling after feeding

I have read about the whole regurgitation thing and to wait 3 days to play it safe before handling... the only "handling" I would do then is the few seconds it would take to put the snake back in it's viv from the feeding container.

lol)
And yes, I plan to get a hatchling/yound snake under 1 year old

As a side note - This is a very awesome website/forum, you get a ton of collaborative knowledge that is fast and very insightful and helpful. Thank you everyone that contributes to these forums! Yay to everyone!

Lennycorn · Feb 24, 2008

EtR_Bliss said:
Cool, thanks everyone for all of this info
(and you definately don't have to worry about me handling after feeding I have read about the whole regurgitation thing and to wait 3 days to play it safe before handling... the only "handling" I would do then is the few seconds it would take to put the snake back in it's viv from the feeding container. lol)
And yes, I plan to get a hatchling/yound snake under 1 year old

As a side note - This is a very awesome website/forum, you get a ton of collaborative knowledge that is fast and very insightful and helpful. Thank you everyone that contributes to these forums! Yay to everyone!

EtR_Bliss · Feb 25, 2008

Lennycorn said:
Here's a 1/4 tom more collaborative knowledge...

WoW! :eek1: that is a "1/4 ton" of info...
Thanks, I will definately look through all of that bit by bit.
Thank you

Handling, H2O, & Swimming?

EtR_Bliss

Hatchling

popcorn

Popcorn w/ extra "BUTTER"

EtR_Bliss

Hatchling

popcorn

Popcorn w/ extra "BUTTER"

bitsy

Owned by Corns since 1991

Lennycorn

Just see the truth

EtR_Bliss

Hatchling

Lennycorn

Just see the truth

EtR_Bliss

Hatchling