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New baby from store

J

JenReed

New member
Hi everyone! I've seen a lot of threads for new owners, just wanted to make sure I didn't miss info somewhere. I've had my amber stripe for almost three weeks now, and my husband got him from Petco so I'm not sure on his age. I'm guessing not quite three months since he's still so tiny, haven't weighed him yet.

Anyway, my little guy seems fairly afraid of me. I know he still needs time and handling, but he really backs away from me before I even open his viv. Then he rears up, like he might strike, then that makes me nervous, which I know he can feel...it's a cycle. I just don't want to stress him too much, he's such a little guy. Any advice?
 
The thing to remember is that, to a snake, a human is a potential predator. Snakes are instinctively frightened of humans, and although with habituation the fear response can be greatly diminished and eclipsed by other drives such as hunting behaviour or curiosity, it never goes away completely, and some snakes will continue to see their owners as threats forever. Of course, babies that haven't been handled much are much more nervous than well-handled adults, and it's very likely that with time and patience, your baby will relax and react much less vigorously to you, I only say this so that you can have realistic expectations - I've handled my corn virtually every day since I got him as a yearling, and he still shies away when I approach, that's just how he is.

Anyway, of course it's important to go about trying to handle properly so that they can become accustomed to it with minimum fuss. A lot of this is psychology on the part of the owner; one of the worst things you can do when trying to handle a nervous snake, in my opinion, is dither. Just approach confidently, open the viv, reach in completely ignoring any defensive posturing (s-shaped pose, hissing, tail-rattling) and pick him up in one easy swoop. If you pause with your hand near him, he will see it as a predator about to attack and get more worked up. You need to get him into your hands before the 'defensive mode' really sets in as, usually, having been picked up, snakes will realise they aren't about to be eaten and switch into 'exploring mode' instead.

But if you are made nervous by his posturing and pause, everything will spiral downhill - it's a cycle as you say. Try and get yourself into the mindset that you don't care if you're bitten. Think about it; would it really be all that painful if such a tiny creature bit you? It probably wouldn't even break the skin, right? In my opinion, the less you care about being bit, the less the chance you actually will be bit!

Hope this helps and best of luck :)
 
Actually I believe given enough time and handling, a young snake can and will lose its fear of people.

I have a snake that seems to eagerly perk up when I walk into the room. He does not back away, hiss, hide, or rattle his tail when I approach, rather he actually comes to the door of his cage and waits for me to open it.

He will crawl right into my hands. When I place him back into his cage, if I hold him over his water bowl, he will drink water while still in my grasp.

If I rub him gently under his chin or along the top of his head, he will stretch out as though he enjoys it and if I should stop he will give me a look as if to say, "Don't stop now."

The way He and I (we) accomplished this was simple. I understand that a small corn snake can not hurt me, so there is no reason for me to fear him. I show no fear to him, I just reach into his cage and pick him up. He did try to get away the first few times, but after a while he also learned that he didn't have to fear me. So we developed a mutual trust of each other, and now he's about a year and a half old and he's just like a puppy dog. He wants to come out, and hang out with me. I can wrap him around my neck and wash dishes or go for a drive, or walk down to the mailbox, and he just hangs out. He'd stay there all day if I let him.

Your snake can become like that too, but it will take time and a lot of gentle handling.

Some people will tell you that some snakes just never will get tame and will remain wild, nervous, and defensive forever.

Maybe so. But I've had 5 snakes (2 boas, a Ball python, Cali King snake, and presently a Corn snake) over my lifetime, and every one of them has been a sweetheart. But they had to "Understand" that I was their friend and I was not going to hurt them.
 
Thanks for the suggestions, guys! I just don't want to give the poor guy a heart attack from stress. He eats just fine so I know he's okay. I'll keep these in mind and give us both time.
 
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