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Need Advise....

Tasia122

Tasia122

New member
hello everyone...not sure if this goes here but if it doesn't please move...

Okay i have a friend who has a normal amel snake who's is probably around one years old i think (not really sure on age) but she was at my house with me and i was handling my snake while she was there and she replied " you know i never held my snake since it was about 5 months old" i guess she was trying to ask me what to do. she says she feeds her snake in her enclosure and doesn't want her snake to bite her..but she also said her snake never see's her put food in the cage unless it goes under her hide.. so she needs help with this... i personally don't know what to tell her...can anyone help please? and when I'm over her house and i just open the top to the snake enclosure she doesn't seem like she is threating at all i think she is just a scary person.
 
There is debate about this, but most people usually feed their corns in a separate container to avoid confusion. That way the snake knows that the feeding box means "food time" and your hand reaching in means "handling time".

Corns can get grumpy for a number of reasons. Ask her to check her husbandry. Are her temps correct? Does the corn have enough hides? If it doesn't then it may feel vulnerable and strike out.

If it isn't a matter of a grumpy snake but simply of her being afraid of being bitten, she can certainly wear light cotton gloves to take the snake out for a while until she feels more confident. There is nothing wrong with that! I ahd to do so for a while with my little Okeetee, and now he has learned not to bite, because I won't put him down if he does.

Also, younger corns tend to be more nippy because in the wild they are very vulnerable when they are small. Your (or her) big gabbing hand is seen as a threat until it gets constant handling and learns to trust being picked up.

She can help it be more comfortable by sliding her hand underneath it instead of grabbing it from on top. When a little snake see this big hand coming from on high, it is obviously scared by it.

Once she has picked it up, she needs to handle it until it calms down, then place it back. Make handling sessions longer and longer as both grow more confident.

Just a note: Corns snake bites are not particularly painful. The scary part is them lunging at you. Gloves will help dispel this fear quickly.

Wish your friend good luck!
 
okay so i told her to do this...she syas she washed her hands throughly and that when she picked him up she is jumpy will she get over this? she also said that it doesn't seem like he was going to strike/bite her... but i don't think she is a grumpy snake in her enclosure she has 2 hides a heat mat on one end ab=round 75-80 degrees and has climbing branches and a big water dish she also gets fed once every week like my snake does and she is very healthy.
 
Some snakes are just jumpy, but they usually calm down after a bit of handling. I'd say a large proportion of young corns act jumpy if they are handled. They usually grow out of it with consistent, gentle handling, but some don't. The trick to to move slowly and avoid "grabbing" at it if it moves quickly, but be there to catch it if it does. Keeping fingers away from the head and neck area helps too. You can let it slide over the hands like you would an insect. One hand under the other and in front of the other (that wasn't a great description..sorry). Corns are less jumpy about being gently touched from under the belly than on the back.

If she is worried that it could fling itself from her hand she can start by handling it right above the tank so that if the snake does escape, it will just go into the tank.
 
Remember, if the snake hasn't been handled a lot, a ton of handling right away could stress it out! Start with 5 min, ten 10 min etc.

Good luck...er...taming?
 
yea i already know i don't want to stress the snake out but i just thought it was funny to see her with the snake b/c thy both are jumpy i held her snake no problems at all it is very docile it's just that she is jumpy b/c this is her first snake it was her best friends and he had passed so she kept the snake...i told her soon her nerves would calm down and they'll be best friends
 
sry forgot to put the pic hehehe...

Desire
663343182_l.jpg
 
You could try taking one of your big tame adults over for her to handle- if you have one! Say, "Oh, this snake never bites, I've had it for X years, I even let little kids handle it." Often people who are afraid of a certain snake are not afraid of a "guaranteed" gentle snake.
 
yea i do have a tame snake i had him for a year she knows about him but she never held me always just me she never wanted to but she will get over it or i'm going to take the snake home with me
 
Well, it is a very pretty snake! I hope that she enjoys it, but it is good that you are willing to take it in if she does not feel like she can handle owning a snake.

The other thing she may want to do is start researching corns if she hasn't already. Learning more about something always lessens one's fear of it. She should come and join this website/forum and look around and see that there are many people out there that enjoy snakes. That will probably help her.
 
ooo, it is a pretty snake!

I have a jumpy snake, I've been handling him for 10 - 15 minutes once a day (except after feeding) for months. He's starting to show improvements now, so I hold him until he starts getting antsy (well, I don't want him to know acting antsy = getting put back home, so I hold him a little longer). It's taken a long time, but I do see some progress! I hope your friend gets over being jumpy. Snake bites don't even hurt, one that small won't even be able to break skin. There is nothing to be jumpy about.

FinFang is my super star calm snake, he wins everyone over. He is....a people charmer.
 
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