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How long is too long?

L

LittleL

New member
I brought a corn snake about 2 weeks ago now and to be honest, i haven't really handelled him that much (probably once when i first brought him home and once before his last feeding, but only for about 2 minutes)

Its feeding day today and i want to handle him before i feed him tonight....

I just wondered, how much is too much when it comes to handelling? i want my boy to get use to (considering we haven't really had chance to bond together yet).. but in the same token, i don't want to over-handle him and pee him off.... i just wondered what would be a good amount of time to handle him and how often? should i be getting him out more than for a few minutes, once a week?

He seems fairly 'friendly', although i must admit that i am a little nervous holding him, hence why i haven't held him much but thats not putting me off and i do want to get him out more and bond with him...

Any tips to help me out so i relax more and put less stress on my corn when i take him out tonight? my boyfriend tends to take him out the tank for me but he just rushe's in and grabs him (which the corn doesn't seem to mind) but i don't want him to associate a hand with being grabbed etc...

Cheers
Lau
 
Will I am no expert but I was told for about 5 mins a day <except during digestion> for the first week. And then graduly move up the mins as time goes on. But each snake is different. I had Anubis for 20 days today and he is comfortable enough for me to handle him 1/2 a day. Hope that helps. But there are lots more in here who are more knowledgeable then me. So I'm sure they will help you as well.
 
After a short settle in period I'll handle mine for as long I want, usually 5-15 min. I don't think it would be a problem to handle them for up to 30-min or so, or a few 15 min periods. Just get a read on how they are doing stress wise. If they start to freak out put them away. If they are calm than all is well.
 
It all depends up to the snake and how he/she is feeling that day.

Some days Mr. Icky is a little hyper and all he wants to do is get outa my hands and roam around on my sleeves and try to run away. Some days he will sit contently in my hands watching TV with me.

I don't handle Mr. Icky for 48 hours after a feeding.

Id say there is no set limit on how long you can hold your snake. Just pay attention to his mood and you will be fine.
 
Nothin' to it but ta' do it.
Reach on in there and take him out when you want to hold him.

Is it a baby snake or an adult? If it's a baby it wouldn't hurt if he did bite... If it's an adult, I'd bet you ten bucks he won't bite.. I remember how scary it looked though, first time I touched my first one and he kinda' jumped and turned to face my hand. Made me a little scared for a while till I finally just buckled down gritted my teeth and got determined.
Had him about a year now and he's never even tried to bite me.
Good Luck!
 
Oh! And I think it's ok if he get's to associate your hand with being taken out of the viv.. Just as long as your gentle when you hold him, it's not a bad thing.
 
I don't know a whole lot about snakes as I'm really new to the hobby myself. I would like to offer my experience so far though. Mine's very calm almost all the time, so I have held him at least once, maybe twice a day for about 15-25 minutes at a time. When he gets squirmy and tries to go straight to the floor, I put him away.

As far as picking him up, I just reach in the tank (I don't go in from above and just pluck him out, I come in front of him so he sees my hand before I touch him) and grab him right about in the middle of his body. When he sees my hand before I touch him, he doesn't startle or try to slither away.

Just my two cents....
 
Leeroy is usually hyper for the first couple minutes and tried to escape into the couch, but then he calms down and I hold him for about 10 minutes
 
My niece's snake is the first snake I every really held. I always liked snakes but it was her snake that convinced me to get my own. I remember when I first started to handle her snake I was a bit nervous. (I don't know why that was :shrugs: .) By the time I got my own I was not so wary of them. It really, truly, surprised me when I bonded with my first snake. I didn't expect that to happen. It was fascinating to me to realise I could understand the snakes moods and wants the same way I could recognise when my dog wanted to go outside and that I felt the same emotional bond with a snake as with a dog or cat. It wasn't something I forced myself to do. It just happined. I love snakes <3 lol.
 
The snake will become used to handling even if you handle it as little as 2x per month. That's been my experience. I had one that was terrified of me, but I was only able to handle it rarely. It went from thrashing around and freaking out, to being totally calm in my hands.

And don't worry about the snake biting you. I was afraid of Clinton when he was little. He would hiss and rattle at me, and I would jump. But now (even though he's at least 4 feet long) I'm not the least bit afraid of him. I'm used to his moods and if he decides to bite me, well, big deal. Someohow once you get used to the snake it's not a big deal. If it's a young corn, you won't even feel it. If it's a big corn you will bleed, but it still won't hurt.
 
Last summer I got an Okeetee from Kathy Love that was very skittish and nervous, would strike all the time. I only handled her on feeding days. By the time she was 6 months old she was as docile and calm as any of my other corn snakes.
I don't think daily handling is necessary, and when they are very new and young it might stress them out even more.
 
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