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How do your ~1yr olds behave?

restes

restes

New member
My Arancio is coming up on 11 months old.

I am a bit unsure of his personality because...
Usually when I try to get him out of his tank he panics. If I am able to get him out he tries to flee like mad for at least 30 seconds. He then will calm down and cruise across my hands unless I give him too much room or freedom and he tries to make a break for it again.
He rarely just curls up and relaxes with me, and I've handled him for 30+ minutes before in hopes of this.

So do yours relax? Do I just have a feisty natured snake? Can I do anything to help this?
 
If you have been handling him regularly for his entire life with you then he is probably just an 'eager to explore' critter. Just like humans I think animals level of activity varies, I have very active corns who are always out and about trying to escape lol and I have some that are content to hang out in their hides most of the time.
 
My 2 are 13 months and they will sometimes sit but most of the time they just explore.

And just remember that all of them have different personalities.
 
All but two of my snakes are in the yearling range (a few a little older, one a bit younger): personalities vary. I have one that is spastic 90% of the time when he first comes out. Sometimes he settles down, other times, he just wants to go, go, go.

The bigger yearlings...one is calmly explorative, the other is variable. Sometimes she is perfectly content to coil around fingers and sit there, other times she wants to be anywhere but where she is...until, of course, you try and return her to her viv, in which case she has no interest in returning home. Most of them are explorative to one degree or another.

I have one snake that is perfectly willing to do nothing but chill when you get her out (she's 5 years old though) while her partner will not sit still no matter what. That includes in his viv...he is constantly moving. We have poles stuck through the sides of his bin, and he's constantly roaming and climbing on them in there as well.
 
alright, Maybe I will learn more about that as he matures.

But my biggest concern is with how frantic he acts when I go to get him out. He whips around, squirms, ect when I lift him. He usually does ok when I elevate him with the hook but once my hand touches him he freaks. If I do successfully get him out he tries to escape for a bit then calms down and is active, but calm and not too fast.

I guess I am searching mostly for advice on how to calm him or better ways of getting him out. I have taken advice in other threads but maybe I am just missing something?
 
Why are you picking him up with a hook? That is not customary with a cornsnake. maybe that is very frightening for him!
 
Well I have had better results with the hook and then trying to move him with my hands. He seems to get really nervous when he sees my hand in the tank.
i don't ALWAYS use the hook but the results are rarely better without it.
 
When I pick up my snakes, I generally go very quickly. The smaller ones are invariably under their hides, and I just lift the hide, set it aside and scoop them up...I get a few fingers under them for support and use both hands for them. I don't go so quick that they can't see my hand moving toward them, and they do act like they know what to expect. Steady, calm movements. If you're nervous or jerky, they pick right up on it. My bf's been nipped a few times, and he's a bit hesitant when he tries to pick up the ones who've tagged him. They know the difference.

Are you nervous at all when you pick him up without the hook? It's possible your own hesitation is transmitted to your snake, but once you calm, he does too?
 
I go in calm and swiftly (not striking speed or anything but you get what I mean). He freezes up when he sees me and panics when I touch him. :(
 
restes said:
I go in calm and swiftly (not striking speed or anything but you get what I mean). He freezes up when he sees me and panics when I touch him. :(
Click to expand...

Some snakes just go wild when you pick them up. I think I would ditch the hook, at least if you are picking him up with your hands he may get more used to the smell and know "I'm not being eaten (probably)!". My Chai, who is 2.5-3 years, still goes a bit berserk when I try to pick him up. I usually have to take everything out of the bin to get him because he will dig under the aspen, grab onto things, flail wildly, etc., you'd think I was trying to drag him into the gates of the underworld! I find if he is just sitting calmly under the hide, I can lift it fast and grab him and he's okay. If he catches on that I am trying to pick him up that's when he tries to escape!!

One thing I think that helps with on-the-go snakes is to give them something to kind of hide in, like a hoodie hood/pocket or towel.. usually I find when the snakes are most active they are making a b-line for the nearest dark spot!

Chai I think is an extreme example, as a teenager-snake he was a real terror. I think as your snake gets bigger and bigger he will be a lot easier to pick up!
 
Thanks Miqote!

I actually picked him up with my hands today relatively fine. I kept a relatively restrictive grip with the one hand I stuck in the tank just so that he couldnt move TOO fast and I pulled him right up. I maintained the grip and let him run across my hands for a bit then he was great! I was even able to set him on the bed (next to a tape measurer for that program) and he didnt run too fast :p

Over all a good experience. He has his days just like us I guess!
 
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