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New snake owner... handling/feeding

J

josephamor

New member
So I've had my new baby corn for a week now (I got him last Friday), and I handled him the first two days, then found this forum and learned you should give them about to week to settle in before messing with them.

So this morning I decided to try and get him out and maybe feed him (I have no idea what his previous feeding schedule was but I've had him for a week so I figured it was ok to try feeding him today. When I reached in for him though, he dashed away and curled up into a ball in the corner of his tank, wedged down behind a rock. Since then he's moved back into his hide, but I was wondering if this was normal behavior and I should take control and pick him up anyways, or if it's best to leave him be for a little while longer?

He was active for the first couple nights he's been here, but after that he's stayed mostly in his hide, which I understand is normal behavior. I want him to get used to me picking him up and handling him, and I'm also worried he might be hungry since I don't know when the last time he ate was, but I don't want to terrify him and freak him out.

Any advice is appreciated... This is probably just something small that I don't need to freak about, but since this is my first snake, I want to make sure it's ok before I make the wrong decision.
 
All completely normal. They're not keen on being picked up generally - in the wild, everything would be out to eat them! As they grow and get used to you, their confidence increases.

As it is, you should carry on and pick him up gently, even if he tries to get away. Many of them will calm down once you're holding them. It's the initial approach and picking up which seem to spook them most.
 
As said by bitsy, normal. As they get older and larger, they'll let you easily handle them all the time. Our one corn comes out from one of his hides all the time when we're in our living room and he'll come towards me if I stand near his tank, he comes upward on the glass towards the screen and wants to come out. Our other corn isn't as active in general, but always lets you grab him and loves to slither around in our hands, around our shoulders and head area, etc. The poor little guys (like you have now) are just scared, so their instinct is to bolt. When you do take out your new snake, I would not put him down on the floor or anywhere, as he may take off (and they're fast!); I'd stick to hand holding only until he calms down and gets a bit larger (just my opinion). Our two snakes are just over two years old now.
 
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