How to deal with a hateling?

[Clepsydre]

My friend his going to live in the US for a year or two. He asked me to take care of his corn Ekans. The problem is that he told me Ekans always bites, strikes and wont let him be picked up. My own corn is really different, so i dont know what to do. Should i pick him up a lot or leave him alone? Put his viv in an empty room or one that i use so that he see me often? Any other things i can do to tame him?

 

[Chip]

Hold him, hold him, hold him and let him bite, bite, bite. They will stop, even the worst of them. Although the worst of them will start back when you take a break from regular handling. Adult bites don't usually hurt, and you can't even feel a baby. The whole thing is getting over that a snake is biting you! I have a bunch of pictures posted around here of corns and kings trying to eat my hand, it's kind of cute when you get used to it.

 

[Charlotte]

^ Yeah, that. If you're really nervous, wear thick gloves, like work gloves. Handle him every day, even if it's just to pick him up for a minute and then put him back. Sounds just like he's not super tame.

 

[Chip]

:laugh: Hopefully you won't need thick gloves! The thinnest pair of latex surgical gloves would stop a baby corn's tiny teeth! It's almost impossible to handle a tiny snake with thick gloves, also.

 

[Clepsydre]

Thanks for the tips, im not scared at all of the bites. I was scared of making the situation worse by stressing the snake while handling him.

But the better thing being handling him and getting bit a lot it will be a pleasure

 

[codymi]

when handling an unfriendly snake i find it useful to whisper obscenities and question it's mothers lineage. eventually they get used to the handling and i've vented my frustration.

 

[Nanci]

He may not even bite you! Snakes react to different people in different ways.

 

[Chip]

^^^ Very true!

 

[Brionuhh]

Agreed with Nanci. My corn is the nicest little worn ever, but he went in defensive mode when my old roommate went to get him out of his tank. I would just hold Ekans regardless of if he's going to bite you. Also, if he looks like he's going to, don't hesitate. Just snatch it up.

 

[beccabozz]

when handling an unfriendly snake i find it useful to whisper obscenities and question it's mothers lineage. eventually they get used to the handling and i've vented my frustration.

:roflmao: This literally made me laugh out loud. I'll have to remember this when dealing with my hatelings.

 

[ZiggysMom]

when handling an unfriendly snake i find it useful to whisper obscenities and question it's mothers lineage. eventually they get used to the handling and i've vented my frustration.

:roflmao::roflmao::roflmao::roflmao:

Nice.

 

[chris68]

How you are when around any animal dictates to some degree how it reacts to you. I "rescued" this snake from a neighbors apartment. They were terrified of it because "It bites everyone!!!"

It bit me one time, as I lifted it out of the cage, I thought the poor girl who called me was going to faint. He let go, I took it home and he never bit anyone or even struck a defenseless pose again. I would go as far to say if you are in a really negative mood your more apt to get bit, or pooped on, or have one being handled more nervous than when your not :*)

 

[lilmike227]

:-offtopic:-offtopic:-offtopic sorry for gettung off topic but i just wanted to point out that ekans is an awsome name

 

[MindsEyeExotics]

haha yeah i second that, ekans is an awesome name. I have one named Mew and one named Arceus and i've also never heard the word "hateling" but that's a good description haha..but on topic, can't say anything else that hasn't already been said

 

[Chip]

Is ekans the name of an Ewok or something? Cuz if it's just snake spelled backwards, it's on a par with naming a dog God in the weak sauce department from my vantage point.

 

[MindsEyeExotics]

It's a pokemon but yeah, it's just snake spelled backwards, I love pokemon but I think they could've put more work into the names sometimes

 

[Clepsydre]

Thanks for all your tips and comment. He isin fact named after a pokemon wich in my opinion make him even more adorable! Ill post update soon.

 

[Chip]

It's a pokemon but yeah, it's just snake spelled backwards, I love pokemon but I think they could've put more work into the names sometimes

That's hilarious. My nephew was coming up during the Poke days. I know "Pikachu, I choose you" as a quotation, but I could never tell you what show it was from or which ewok was Pikachu.

 

[Weda737]

Best I can tell you is be confident, like the others said, bites don't hurt and once he realizes it's not going to get him anywhere, if he even bites at all, he should stop. I've found with my smaller snakes, a young locality black rat(bites) and a pueblan milk (no bite, just flailing and musking wildly) I have a lot of luck with starting small, lift them out of their tub/tank/whatever and just hold them hovering a few inches above their substrate, let them calm and when they sit still for a few seconds gently lower them back in and the session is over. If the snake is any bit cooperative then the best thing to do is hold it close to you, be firm but not rough. The snake should feel more secure held firmly close to you, and just sit there, just hang out with it for a little bit, 10 minutes or so, then calmly put it back to bed in its viv. I'd try this every day, short sessions. Sometimes they simply are not in the mood for anything and you may have to skip a day. But better to skip a day than to lose any trust you gained by being too forceful. Use what you already know about a snakes body language and go from there. I think you got this.

 

[toxiclight]

Our first clutch was named after Pokemon. We still have Glaceon, Espeon and Onyx (two blizzards and a charcoal). Glaceon's a little hateling, but it's so cute when she tries to nom on a thumb! Espeon started out a hateling, but with patient handling, he's the nicest one of the three we have here.