It's ok to do it?

[bataco]

I've never done it but I was wondering if I wanted to handle my snake, it's ok to take him out of his hide? or I have to wait till he gets out =O

 

[Allison]

Yep. Just take him out gently.

 

[djfreebase]

He should be fine to handle now, he may be a little flighty when you first take him out. Handle him for about 5-10 mins then put him away. you can gradually build handling times to about 30 mins. as the snake grosw in confidence.

 

[Plissken]

If I waited til my snakes were out to handle them, I'd never get to touch them at all.

Taking a snake from a hide does it no harm at all.

 

[bataco]

oh yeah! hahaha I'll handle her now =D =D =D =D =D thx a lot =D =D =D =D

 

[Hypancistrus]

If I waited until my snakes were out of their hides to handle them, the only one that would get handled is Rio. :bang:

 

[NFS07]

Handle her over the tank or a bed just in case you drop her or she gets away.

 

[Mr.AJ]

Good luck.

 

[kathylove]

But don't ever put him back when he is "misbehaving" - striking, biting, acting crazy. Wait until he settles down and is behaving the way you want him to. He should be rewarded (going back "home") only when he is doing what you want him to. Each time you handle him and put him back, you are training him - one way or the other.

 

[bataco]

he's standing still without even wrinkling his tongue, what does that could mean

 

[NFS07]

Standing still?

His he cold to the touch? It may take him time to get used to you. Just hold him for awhile and if he is still being good put him back and leave him be.

You might have a calm snake on your hands, which is nice.

 

[bataco]

Yeah he's pretty calm! and nervous too... He moves around my hand and makes knots around my fingers like all the snakes do haha but then he stands still like if he was comfortable =P yea he is a little bit cold to the touch but not too cold

 

[Roy Munson]

It seems that my Cali, Florida, and Mexican black kings are like this. They hate being extracted from the tub, but once in hand, they wind around my fingers and just sit there. However, this is a daytime thing. At night, they are as exploratory and on-the-move as any corn. :shrugs:

 

[bataco]

haha that's exactly what happens to my king! he just don't want to be taken out and later he is all around my hand, I haven't take him out at night, I'll try it today to see if it's different, how old are your kings?

 

[Wylie]

Yeah he's pretty calm! and nervous too... He moves around my hand and makes knots around my fingers like all the snakes do haha but then he stands still like if he was comfortable =P yea he is a little bit cold to the touch but not too cold

Sounds good! My snake will move a little bit, then he'll just sit there for like 5 minutes at a time. He's very calm. Sounds like you might have a calm laid-back snake too! Like everyone was saying, just gradually increase the time you handle him and take things slow. Let him learn to trust you. My snake and I are still getting to know each other too.

 

[kathylove]

As far as the "learning" goes in corns...

In my experience they will learn basic things in order to get what they want. They can learn that putting them in a particular container means getting fed. Or that they have to stop striking to get put back in the cage. Or conversely, that striking a lot will get them back home very quickly!

I believe I even read once that a researcher did some sort of learning experiment with a snake and a maze, but I can't remember the details, or whether it was posted here. Maybe somebody else remembers better.

From what I have observed, they do learn cause and effect in ways similar to dogs and other animals. The differences are that they may not learn as quickly. And that it would be difficult to use food or treats as a stimulus, since they don't eat very often.

 

[Roy Munson]

haha that's exactly what happens to my king! he just don't want to be taken out and later he is all around my hand, I haven't take him out at night, I'll try it today to see if it's different, how old are your kings?

My male Cali, female Florida, and one of my female MBKs are '05s. I also have a pair of '06 MBKs. My sister has an '06 MBK male. Since you're interested in Calis, here's a pic of my lav-albino:

 

[bataco]

I'm glad that my snake's not a bitty one and I hope he gets used to me soon! Dean that albino is beautiful! I'll post some pics of mine again soon ;D

 

[Cflaguy]

Kathy....

But don't ever put him back when he is "misbehaving" - striking, biting, acting crazy. Wait until he settles down and is behaving the way you want him to. He should be rewarded (going back "home") only when he is doing what you want him to. Each time you handle him and put him back, you are training him - one way or the other.

you've never met my Florida King. LOL.

 

[Mr.AJ]

I believe I even read once that a researcher did some sort of learning experiment with a snake and a maze, but I can't remember the details, or whether it was posted here. Maybe somebody else remembers better.

It could be "Spatial learning of an escape task by young corn snakes, Elaphe guttata guttata" by HOLTZMAN D. A. ; HARRIS T. W. ; ARANGUREN G. and BOSTOCK E.

Spatial learning is critical to most animals for many behaviours necessary to survival. In vertebrates, most studies on spatial learning and memory have been conducted in mammalian and avian species with few studies on reptiles. We examined spatial learning in the corn snake Elaphe guttata guttata by training 17 young snakes to find the one open shelter in an eight-hole arena, where the entrance was not visible from the arena surface. Over a 16-trial. 4-day training period, snakes showed (1) a significant decrease in the mean latency to the goal (2) a significant decrease in the mean total distance travelled, (3) a significant increase in the percentage of the total distance travelled in the quadrant containing the goal, and (4) a significant increase in movement in the goal quadrant above chance. Although no differences were found in the number of errors made over the training period, snakes made fewer errors on all days than expected by chance. This study shows that snakes can learn rapidly a spatial-escape task that is relevant behaviourally and suggests that entering a shelter reinforces this learning. Mechanisms of orientation for the task described are discussed.

The full text is available on quite a few websites, or you might find it on google scholar.