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New corn snake! How should I handle this?

B

Bulletproofvic

New member
I just got a new corn snake 5 days ago and it was on feeding day so I didn't hold it but today I decided I should try and even though I've dreamed about this day for 7 years (when I first started begging for one :p) I got super nervous that it would attack me (I know it's very unlikely but still) so I went to go pick it up but all it does all day is bury itself under the aspen so I have to dig it out to pick it up, and by that time I think it might be freightened (i might just be imagining it) but I have a hook to pick it up with so after many tries I finally got it out of the cage but then I freaked and didn't know what to do because it was wiggling around so much (even though I've read a million times how to handle it) so I stupidly put it on its cage lid where it slid away and hid in my drawers for a minute or so until I realized I was being stupid and picked it up and returned it to its cage. How should I get over the fact that it's wiggling around so much because I really want to hold it without it escaping again? (Sorry for the long post :/)
 
Practice practice practice. I was nervous handling wiggly unpredictable hatchlings too, but with time it becomes no big deal. I had only held a couple babies before at a show before I went to work for Reptiles by Mack where I was handling 500+ per day. Those first few days were terrifying! At some point I started to prefer the feisty ones, cuz at least they held still while they were chewing on me!

You'll get to know your snake in time, and when you start to relax so will it. They can sense our hesitation and it makes them just as nervous. :)
 
the babies always assume something big is a predator. Your snake is more scared of you than you should be of it.

First of all, your snake is not "going to attack" you. Corn snakes don't do that. It might however bite you. (All snakes do that). Don't worry, it doesn't hurt.

It just wants to get away and be safe. That's why it hides and buries itself. That's why is squirms when you pick it up. The only way to get past this is to pick it up anyway, and the more you hold the snake the calmer it should get, provided you don't hurt the snake while holding it. Most of us like to use a "Hand over Hand" approach and allow the snake to move and explore and as it crawls forward place the other hand under to catch it. The snake will get used to your feel, your smell and the way you look, and eventually won't mind being picked up. But it could take a while.

Even when full grown many years from now it will still bury itself and hide. All snakes like to hide, even the pet ones.

My snake actually watches me now when I enter the room. He seems interested in what I am doing, and if I open the cage door, he will crawl out into my hands all on his own. But when he was a baby, he acted just like your's. It just took a lot of time and work for him to like me and trust me.
 
One way to pick them up is to scoop them up out of the aspen with one hand while holding your other hand as a backstop. You can kind of cup your hand to do that.

I advise against using a hook with a corn snake. Hooks have their places with venomous or very, very agressive snakes. A corn bite doesn't really hurt. If it draws blood it is a teeny drop. A bite is more dangerous for them (it can hurt their little teeth) than for you. Their instinct is to flee and hide. I've had one bite from my first corn and never even a strike towards me since. That tells you it was my inexperience and not the snake at fault.

So scoop your baby up with confidence and calm and your snake will learn from that! You will get there. Congrats on the beginning of a long and happy relationship!
 
The only time one of mine tried to bite was right after a feed, she was still in "hunt and kill mode" and my fingers smelt like pinky lol!! In my experience any kind of hesitation on your part makes things worse! Believe me the more you work on it the easier it will become! With anything it just takes time for your snake to get to know you and love you, and they do love just like any pet!!


Nicole
 
They are squirmy as babies. Just make sure you hold it over a table or your lap in case it squirms out of your hands.

They will calm down with time. That said (and I currently only have Kings), there are days when the snake just wants to be left alone. You will learn to read the animal.

As for snake hooks, sometimes it is easier to get mine up quickly that way. I think the hook can be safer for a tiny snake. Since the snake can learn patterns, a hook can be an effective way of indicating that a handling session is wanted; it's not feed time.

I try to be consistent, but I can never seem to find my hook quickly. It is always somewhere on the desk - amid the usual clutter of knitting needles, rulers, spindle shafts, shed sticks, loom rods, etc.
 
My little man, Pretzel was a major biter when I got him. He was 8.5 grams and thought he was part cobra and part rattlesnake. Almost every time I got him out the little worm would bite me. Honestly had I not been looking I wouldn't have even noticed, lol. With persistence, practice, and patience he is now a sweetheart and loves to be handled and a whopping 16.6 grams :)

When I first started I kept the handling time short 2-3 minutes but wouldn't put him back right away after a strike/bite (didn't want him learning that it got him what he wanted). Once he was getting more used to it I upped the time I handle him to 5 minutes and so on and so on. Now I can handle him for 30 minutes or more (we watch snakebytes together on Youtube :p )
 
I finally did it without freaking out! I held it for about five minutes but I didn't want it to get stressed so I (sadly) put it back. But I can't wait to hold it again!
 
I work at Harp's Pet store and something else to remember that might help with handling a new snake is, when you go to pick it up try to scoop it up from the bottom along the side of its body rather than trying to pick it up by directly reaching over it and grabbing it. Normally if a snake is being attacked it's predator is coming in from above it so your snake could feel threatened. If you carefully scoop it up from underneath it, it'll be more calming for the snake. I'm not positive to how true this is (my manager told me about it when I first started) but after using this tactic I've been bitten a lot less.


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ajwilliams3 said:
I work at Harp's Pet store and something else to remember that might help with handling a new snake is, when you go to pick it up try to scoop it up from the bottom along the side of its body rather than trying to pick it up by directly reaching over it and grabbing it. Normally if a snake is being attacked it's predator is coming in from above it so your snake could feel threatened. If you carefully scoop it up from underneath it, it'll be more calming for the snake. I'm not positive to how true this is (my manager told me about it when I first started) but after using this tactic I've been bitten a lot less.


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Click to expand...

I've had great success with the scoop method.
 
Bulletproofvic said:
I finally did it without freaking out! I held it for about five minutes but I didn't want it to get stressed so I (sadly) put it back. But I can't wait to hold it again!
Click to expand...

That's okay! Short intervals are fine. As your snake gets older and bigger s/he will calm down. I believe snakes get to know their owners as well. Some of mine will be calm as cucumbers while I'm handling them, then for a new person they get more slithery. Corns are pretty active, AND they also hide a lot (especially at first) in their vivs, so your snake sounds perfectly normal!

Another tip for handling calmly is wearing gloves. Might sound a little silly, but just knowing that if you DO get bit it's not going to be on your skin might help a little until you gain confidence.

Good luck and Welcome! :cheers:
 
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