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I need a pep talk

T

TaraRose

New member
Ok you snake lovers. I need some encouragement. Tomorrow I have decided I am going to touch the snakes. They have been here for about 5 days, and they seem pretty settled in. I am quite nervous as you can imagine, but I will do ok. Right? :sidestep: I'm sure being nervous makes them nervous, so how can I not be nervous???

Right now Okeetee has her head poking out of the little coconut hidey thing and she is just sitting here watching me type..she keeps inching closer and closer to the glass. Ill bet she is thinking the same thing about me that I am thinking about her: "what if it eats me?!", but she is braver than I am. Or is it possible that she is seeking attention?

And of course no thread of mine can come without some questions!! First being they have the aformentioned coconut hidey thing, which is about 3 inches (or less) in diameter. How can TWO 3 ft long snakes fit inside a 3 inch coconut half? And why are they both in there? (and yes, they are both in there..I lifted it up and checked)
 
Go get 'em!

They are both in there because the temp in that location is ideal for them at this moment. Many people new to the hobby assume that if two snakes are rolled up together, it's because they like each other. The truth is they both want to be in that spot!. If they are similar in size, it's a stand-off. If one was bigger... well, that's why you don't keep two snakes in the same tank.

Be brave! Take a deep breth. Animals can sense fear, so be strong! When you're ready, just go in there, and pick one of them up. Be assertive, but gentle. If you come in slow or hesitant, they will think you are a predator trying to sneak up on them. Lift them 1/3 of the way down from there head, supporting their belly. Let the head go where it wants.

Make sure the lid is secure so the other snake can't escape. Hold out your arms and let it crawl from one to the other. It may be jittery at first, but it will calm down if you are calm.
 
Well...let's first hope they aren't trying to mate. That would be bad...There really should be a minimum of 4 hides in there for them. 2 on each side of the tank, so they can hide and thermoregulate, and they don't have to crowd under the same hide. You don't even have to go out and buy any hides. Plastic coffee conatiners, paper towel roll tubes, tupperware dishes lined with washcloth or papertowels, cereal boxes cut in half and laid down, a length of cardboard folded into a "tent"...anything that they can crawl into and feel protected and hidden.

As far as handling them goes...try petting them first. Lift up the top of the cage and the hide and just stroke them gently along their backs towards the tails. Make very slow and gentle moves. Don't jump, don't worry. Just slowly and gently stroke their backs with one finger until you three are all comfortable with each other. In fact...if she's looking at you...try it now. "Coo" to them like a mother to a baby. Make them feel secure, while at the sime time, the "cooing" will settle you, and make YOU feel more calm. You don't have to jump right in and grab them and start letting them crawl all over you. Just touch and pet them. Let them get used to you at the same time you are getting used to them. Mutually, you will all realize that no one is going to get hurt, and everything is going to be just fine. It really will...I promise...
 
Man you guys are good pep-talkers! I wonder if I stick my hand in there if they will come out. Oi...I will keep you posted...

As for the hides..I was thinking about that today. I am almost done with my papertowels so I will just take the rest off and use the roll. It might make me feel better about seperating them if they actually use different hides (I know I am silly..who knew you could actually like a snake? :p )
 
Well, I stuck my hand in there and they didn't want much to do with me. Razor had his head sticking out of the coconut and he put it back in. There light is off for the night and so I guess I'll try again tomorrow when it's morning...

On a side note..I cut an egg carton in half and put the tops on either side of the tank. That should be big enough them, right?? I will be really interested to see whether they use seperate hides or not.
 
Joejr14 said:
The question is, why are we cohabitating two adult snakes?
Click to expand...

Read this posters previous thread Joe...

I mentioned to her in chat a few nights ago the implications of co-hab :shrugs: - It just doesn't work. I learned from personal experience Tara.
 
just go in there and be gentle and make sure ur not nervous as your doing it....

what i always think is that even when a snake is fully grown ur ALOT bigger than him or her so imagine what its like for the hatchlings and young snakes

its all about your body movement and letting the snake know you are not going to hurt them...as with any animal
 
I'm sorry but this has to be said 1, your scared of snakes you even said this before you got them. 2, you cant even afford a 2nd Viv what if you had a sudden vet bill how would you pay that. 3, you have been given so much wrong info from your teacher maybe you should have done a bit more research before getting them i spent 2 years thinking about if i should get a corn snake and reading about them. are you sure these are the right pets for you
 
tyflier said:
"Coo" to them like a mother to a baby.
Click to expand...


While I admit to talking baby talk to all my pets, including my snakes, let's get real here. Snakes have no ears. They are not gonna respond to "cooing" unless you have mouse on your breath. I do agree with most of your advice, calm yourself before handing your snakes.

I am concerned that we still have snakes in the same viv. If you have two three foot along adult corn snakes cowering inside a three inch coconut shell :rolleyes:, you have two extremely stressed snakes. By the way, the volume of two 36 inch long 1.5 inch snakes is approximately 127 cubic inches (pi times the radius squared times the length times 2 snakes). The volume of a 3 inch coconut shell half is exactly 7.065 cubic inches (4/3pi times the radius cubed halved). Unless they changed the laws of physics, you got smaller snakes or a bigger coconut shell. Seems more than your fear of snakes is inflated here. :shrugs:
 
yeah that's what i was thinking too...unless the snakes are super skinny...a single adult corn wont fit in a coconut shell hide. they might burrow under it, but they wont fit in it.
i use coconut shell hides for my little 18-20 inch babies...my yearlings do not fit in one, and they are nearly 3 ft long and at least an inch or so thick.
i think you are exaggerating just a tad my dear....and i know it's probably fruitless to even try and convince you, but please separate these two...Target is having a sale on sterilite tubs...a 15 QT will cost you $3.99. that should be sufficient to house one of your corns. and if they are indeed adult corns, get a 32 QT.
good luck with them...and be brave. if they bite, it really doesnt hurt much...mine dont even break the skin.

and well...i know you mean well in trying to help out but if you really can't afford to meet the needs of these two, please rehome them. I foster animals but I know what I can and can't afford/handle. I have turned away needy animals by referring them to someone else who could care for them better than I could. just for the fact that my hands are full and i can only handle so much...and I'm not wealthy by any means. I take in consideration what the animals needs are, if they need extensive vet care, I pass! But I do everything in my power to contact everyone I know who would be able to help. By keeping these two together in one habitat, you are doing them a major disservice and are risking their health.
Check out craigslist.com and other classifieds for cheap habitat setups, or go to the store, pick up a sterilite tub, get an inexpensive UTH, line the bottom of the tub with paper towels, put in a water bowl, and two small hides and you have a habitat!
 
I guess I don't understand someone taking in pets that they are not comfortable taking care of. I will admit to having mice I'm deathly afraid of, but my daughters take care of them. If it were up to me to take care of them properly and handle them NO WAY IN HECK would that happen. I know you wanted to give these snakes a home but it truly doesn't sound like your able to give them the right kind of home

1: because you truly aren't comfortable with them

2: because you don't have the finances to give them both the proper home that they deserve.!

no matter what, I wish you would truly think about why you took these animals you truly aren't comfortable with.!.......
 
Tara, you've handled them in the presence of the previous owner, right? I'm sure Tara isn't the only first-time snake owner to be a little nervous about handling. There have been people on here _terrified_ of little hatchlings, much less nearly-adult corns. Or even me- who has been bitten countless times- I recently got scared of one of my snakes and although I continued to handle him, I went through a period of a few days where I'd seriously shake like a leaf! (Luckily, I got over it!!!)

Nanci
 
For those of you who supported me I would like to let you know that I handled both snakes this morning for about 20-30 minutes each and we did great :) They were both very happy to braid around my hand and arm and just hang out for a while. I even let Okeetee hang around my neck for a little bit. They did not offer to bite or act scared or aggressive at all, which was a very big releife for me. Now they are back in their home using seperate hides. I am very comfortable handling them now, so thank you for the support :)

On another note, I don't think I asked anyone to determine whether I could be financially responsible for these snakes and/or provide them a proper home. And for those of you who are harping on cohabitation, have you ever had any experience with it or are you just parroting back what you have read on this forum?? Maybe you should read my other thread that I posted about cohabitation before you decide I am being an irresponsible pet owner. Everytime I post a thread, regardless of the topic, there several people on here who insist upon telling me that I need to rehome the snakes, that I am being irresponsible, and that I am "not providing them the home they deserve" and I am sick to death of it. Again, thank you for those who actually provided useful information and did not try to shove the way you think I should do it down my throat.
 
All I can say, though I've had no expierience with cohabitaion. I can only expect those 2 would mate, and you truly may be sorry about it, since it sounds like the female isn't truly big enough to lay eggs. I guess the final decision is truly up to you, but you have heard from MANY corn owners*( and I am not one of them in any form of the imagination). So if in fact something happens your female becomes gravid, then egg bound and needs vet assistance, Please don't come on here and ask what went wrong!
 
bill38112 said:
While I admit to talking baby talk to all my pets, including my snakes, let's get real here. Snakes have no ears. They are not gonna respond to "cooing" unless you have mouse on your breath. I do agree with most of your advice, calm yourself before handing your snakes.
QUOTE]

The "cooing" was more for her than the snakes. The act of "cooing" is soothing to humans, and when an individual is consciously making these sounds, it is nearly impossible to be anxious. It's basic Human Psychology. Soothe the voice and the mind follows...
Click to expand...
 
  1. Opinions contrary to yours can be as supportive as opinions in accordance with yours.
  2. In my opinion, nothing I've read in this thread suggests that someone is trying to force their opinion "down your throat".
  3. I guess one person's research of the advice of the top breeders and hobbyists in keeping corns is another's "parroting".
  4. How do you truly know that your snakes were "happy" to braid around your hand and arm? I wasn't aware that creatures with pebble-sized brains were so capable of expressing emotion.
regards,
jazz
 
I think snakes _do_ respond to sound. When I watched Snakes On A Plane with Addy, she'd jump every time there was lightening/thunder! And when we turn the TV on, Choco comes out of his hide and begs to come out. If you read that thread I posted, you can see that snakes _do_ have internal ear organs which receive sound through a couple of different mechanisms, such as through the skin to the lung to the inner ear. I "coo" to my snakes all the time. I can't imagine handling them and not talking to them!

Nanci
 
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