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i was online...

N

norbert03

norbert and aelfric
yesterday looking for a new snake to purchase because i have a new viv for norbert and i noticed that a lot of the breeders were selling adult corn snakes. when i bought my snake i was offered another albino snow that was an adult (3-4 feet long), he was returned because the owner had very little time to handle him and the snake was becoming quite aggressive. i refused to handle that corn because i found him to be very intimidating even after the man selling him seemed to be doing very well with him. i went for norbert who was a baby at the time...now he's growing quite rapidly. i am slightly concerned that he will become more difficult as he gets older, but i do handle him quite frequently, nearly every day. he's still little, just a taddy bit fatter. i have had nightmares about norbert attacking me (lol) and escaping and such. i'm kinda rambling right now...okay...my question basically is...does picking a snake up and handling it become more difficult when they are older regardless of how much time and effort you put into taming them when they are young...and...this may be a silly question...but does a bite from an adult corn snake inflict more pain than one from a young corn snake? i have heard from several people that most non-venomous snakes whether large or small do not inflict much pain unless they get you in the right spot...between the finger nail, nostril, buttocks. final question...would you recommend purchasing older snakes or is it best to get them while they are young so that they become calmer? one site was a reptile auction...that's where i saw adult snakes...and i thought...why is someone trying to get rid of these snakes? i figured they were former pets that the owner no longer wants rather than snakes that were bred for the sole purpose of being sold. any help will be appreciated. thanks in advance :)
 
First of all, I've not been bitten yet, knock on wood, but getting bit by an adult snake will hurt. I've seen bites from adult boas that have left the handlers hand something of a mess. For the most parts bites can be avoided by using some common sense. Don't handle rodents then your snake without a hand washing in between for example. So, IMO, to say that a bit from an adult snake would not hurt would be inaccurate.
Something to think about, and I'm not trying to insult you, is that if you are this worried about handling snakes, maybe they are just not the pet for you. No matter how much you work with them, there is always the possiblity that even the most docile animal will bite. Be it dog, cat, or snake.
Anyone who tells you that you can train a snake, or any other animal, so that it will never ever bite you is wrong. Anyone who tells you that the bite from an adult snake, venemous or not, will not be painful, is wrong. Anyone who keeps animals accepts that risk as part of the deal. If you like snakes, keep them. Just use common sense when handling them.
 
i am not offended...

by anything that you said, it makes sense. if a person fears an animal why should they keep it as a pet? i don't fear norbert at this point and i don't expect to when he reaches adulthood. i am occasionally aware that he is not interested in being held and that he will strike so i refrain from sticking my hand in his cage unless i must. since i've never had a snake reach adulthood (i've only had one other) i think my concerns are not out of the ordinary...i have been bitten by my snake as well as by many other pets that i've had in the past. if it happens it happens, if it hurts i'll take care of it. i certainly know that you can't train a snake not to bite, i would never attempt that, but taming an animal and training an animal are different. by handling him frequently i can get him used to my scents and he will eventually calm down while being handled. i can't give him a dog biscuit everytime he doesn't bite me, say good boy and expect never to be bitten. duh.
 
Darin,

I don't necessarily agree with what you said about snake bites. It all depends on the type of snake. I've been biten by an adult corn snake and there is not much to it. I've been "hurt" worse pulling weeds in the garden. A boa or python on the other hand could leave a much nastier bite. Different tooth structure and a definite size difference.
As for "taming" a snake, it's definitely possible. A lot of the adult corns that are "nasty" come from breeding programs where their human interaction is very limited. Can you imagine a breeder like Kathy Love handling all of her snakes? She probably has several hundred adult breeders, if not more. Corns will calm down if handled frequently, they just have to learn that you are not a predator out to eat them.

Just my 2 cents.

Mike
 
thank you...

i had assumed that what he said about snake bites was not totally true. boas certainly get significantly larger than corns and the pain inflicted by a boa can't be compared to that of a corn.
 
I got my corn snake as an adult. The previous owner hadn't really had time to give her proper care and she was barely held before I got her. I've had her for a year and all me and my friends have handled her with no problem. I think as long as your snake knows you and you are handling him, and he shows no aggresion it doesn't make sense that suddenly once he reaches a certain age he'd become agressive towards you.
 
eeek...yea...

a minor sting. i will admit, if a bite from norbert inflicted the pain a tetenus shot does (which caused me to faint and throw up) i would have to get rid of me slithery pet.
 
Norbert,

I really wouldn't fret too much. I have 4 adult snakes which I purchased as adults and have never been bitten by any of them. Of the 10 times or so I've been bitten, it's been by yearling or younger snakes.

And to be honest, it the shock of it biting you that's worse than the pain. You instinctively jump, and no, there's no controlling that. You just have to make sure you don't drop the snake when you jump. I found the first time I did that it peeved the snake off more, and when I went to scoop her up I got bit 3 more times. =P

I've had cat scratches feel worse than a corn snake bite, and that's the honest truth. Its just the shock of the snake biting that gets you mostly. The pain is minimal at best. If it gets you on the outside of your hand or arm, I don't even feel it really. However, getting bitten between fingers hurts a little more.

I've found that when I'm confident in handling the snake and act assertively towards it, the snake doesn't ever really act out other than some random thrashing. Once it realizes it cannot escape, it calms down. But the moment I'm hesitant about the snake and reach in, I'll get nabbed. You can usually read each other's brainwaves and see how their reactions are and whatnot.

Snakes are individuals just like us. Most are docile, some are a tad nippy, and some have evil coursing through their veins. I had a Charcoal Ghost that I swore was the "Spawn of Satan" he would bite and bite and bite...he'd even make the point to come out of his hide and strike at me through the glass if I was walking by. What I ever did to him, I'll never know. He found a new home after a year of getting bitten..and to my knowledge he's never bitten the new owner at all.

I handle my snakes rarely other than routine cage cleaning or feeding time, and I haven't been bitten in over a year now. So once they get used to you they'll usually calm down. On the rare occasion you get a hellion..get some yellow dishwashing gloves pronto. ;)
 
I agree with what you guys are saying, I may not have said what I meant as clearly as I wanted to. My point was just that as long as you keep animals there is a risk of being bitten; granted there is more risk with some animals than others. Also, for someone to tell him that a non-venemous bite would not involve any pain was kind of silly. Sure some will hurt more than others, but there is some pain involved with just about any adult snake bite I would think. Again, more with some than with others. That being said, I go back to what I said before, If you like snakes keep them. We all understand the risk of being bitten is there and we accept it. We practice common sense and deal with it if it happens. In the mean time I just hope that if I do eventually get bitten its one of the corns and not the boa or gtps. :)
 
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