• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

How can I deal with, Mr. Ornery?

Ares2010

Ares2010

Ex Snakephobian
Last week I got a new baby motley snow corn.. he's cute as all get out.

But since he arrived, he's been scared witless. I know this is why he is being defensive because he thinks he needs to protect himself.

He stays in his hides except for when my sister took him out and fed him.. not without him striking the tongs before he got the pinkie.. lol He struck at us the first day we got him and put his little bowl in his tank in which he crawled out of and went straight to the hide. None of us attempted to hold him yet. He ate just fine on Saturday, but we are going to have to try to get him used to being handled.

Someone told me a way I could possibly make things easier for him to calm down, but I would like to hear from others also.

So, in your opinion and experience, what can I do to get Mr. Ornery (his name is actually, Zeus and boy does the name fit) to settle his ass down and let us try to start handling him?

The person that told me some advice already said to approach him with confidence with an open palm and then gently grab him.

I wanted to know what others have to say so this will be as painless (hopefully) as possible for both us and Zeus.

We love the little guy and want to help him know he is in no danger.

My other corn, Ares, is laid back (if you can even describe that in a snake) and lets anyone hold him..

Thanks in advance
 
btw, we are aware that he needed time to settle in so that's why we didn't bother him before feeding him Saturday.
 
I was taught by my breeder to approach all snakes with my hand up in a "stop" position. That way if they are going to strike it will be harder for them to get a good grip. Handling your little guy a little each day will help him get used to it and you.
 
Just gently snatch him up who cares if he bites he's just a baby. The more you hesitate the more worked up they get and the more likely you WILL get a bite. Get him on the first grab and let him explore you:)
 
I've seen videos of before and after. These people just suck up the bites and hold every day for minutes at a time. No matter what you're probably going to get bitten a few times before he finally realizes it is safe.
 
Nanci said:
I wouldn't feed a baby snake with tongs- that is probably terrifying as well.
Click to expand...

I've used a needle nose pliers from day one. Not saying you are wrong, just that this is what i've done

I agree with danielle, it's just a baby, a little bite won't hurt. And you will teach him that a bite does not mean that he gets his way :)
 
My 2010 butter was in blue but I didn't notice it until I had him out of his viv and he was not at all happy with me. I didn't notice he was biting me until I looked at my hand. LOL
 
Nanci said:
I wouldn't feed a baby snake with tongs- that is probably terrifying as well.
Click to expand...

Excellent Point, Nanci.. therefore, I won't use them anymore.

We made progress last night. Just have to handle him a little each day.

And this morning, when I was dressing for work, I looked over at his tank and he was actually slithering around in it instead of hiding... so that's a big step in the right direction.
 
With my nasty babies I hold them everynight, except after meal of course, for 10 mins and only me. I am the one that takes care of them and I don't do well with nasty adults so I want to brake them while they are little. Once we have done our bonding then at that point I allow my husband and after just a few holds with him they are usually ready for anyone to reach in a grab them.

The first time you get bit by a hatchling you are going to laugh, it feels like sand paper. I recently got a hatchling grom Dave Harms and she was NASTY. Her mom is to and I was starting to get afraid that it was bred into her but after a week of just me holding her she calmed right down and is my biggest (well littlest, she is smaller than my hatchlings) love.
 
I've noticed that my corns are calmer and less twitchy when the lighting in the room is dim. It's really amazing how they calm down in lower light situations. Maybe you could give it a try.
 
Thanks, I will try the dimmer light.. and handling him a bit each night as well.

Thanks guys, for all your suggestions.
 
Nanci said:
Yeah, but why?
Click to expand...

Well, it was a youtube video that told me to. I don't know who it was and i know that most of the time youtube is wrong, but i found youtube videos before i found this site and that was about the only thing i learned from youtube that hasn't really been disproved or hasn't caused a problem. So it just kinda stuck, i haven't had a problem with it, and now it's just habit.

Oh yeah!!! They said so they don't associate your hand with food but a tub or paper plate would work just as well, Tongs are just the example they used, so i use them. I've never had a problem so i never changed it
 
****UPDATE****

Mr. Ornery (Zeus) is now.. CONQUERED

My sister and I got him into her hands last night and he did just fine.. not striking or biting.. so far anyway. LOL

Here he is in my sisters hand:

Zeus1.jpg


zeus2.jpg



See that spot on his head? I am not sure if it's a bruise by bumping his head during traveling to me or if it's a mark of his naturally. It hasn't gotten bigger since we got him last week.. but hasn't gotten better either.

Do any of you know if it's a bruise or just a mark on him?
 
Yay!! I glad that he settled down for you. Thank is great.

It looks like the spot is something in his color judging by his sides. Where did you get him from?
 
cmalchow said:
Yay!! I glad that he settled down for you. Thank is great.

It looks like the spot is something in his color judging by his sides. Where did you get him from?
Click to expand...

Thank you. We were so relieved because we wanted him to be happy and now it seems he is much more relaxed.

I bought him from John (Colorado Corns). I bought two baby corns from him and we are very happy with them.
 
You might want to double check with John and make sure that he had that spot before shipping but it does look to me to just be a pigment spot.
 
Success! I'm so glad. I know that Sienna, my first snake, was very twitchy when I first got her (about 2.5 months ago). Now, she is so calm. She's like another snake. Well, I should say she's calm with me. She knows me. But when my husband holds her, she's twitchy. She needs to get used to him, too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top