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Questions about my new baby.

P

patcollins

New member
So i have had my charcoal corn snake for about a week. he has eaten and deficated allready so i am not to worried about that. however handleing him has become quite tricky, my hands are a bit clammy and he starts squirming like crazy every time i pick him up, but when i hold him with mittens he is happy as can be, any suggestions?

I am also unsure of the sex, it said female on the box at the petstore but the have hundreds of reptiles nd all baby corns are fed at once so the lids could have easily been mixed up. Is there anyway to tell without going to the vet.

also i have a rainforest exoterra small heat pad under half of the cage but it is covered by newspaper. i also have a lamp i turn on during the day. the temperature can reach up to 35 degrees celcius when the lamp is on but when the lamp is off at night the temp can drop to about 18. will this be okay for it?

also is there any way to tell how old the snake is. its about 16 inches long.

and last but not least. should he be moving very quikly. when we put him on the bed he just slowly slitters around. he also crawls up the glass walls all the time, will this berhavior eventually stop?
 
your lil guy is just getting used to you it should take a month or so.. babys are usually nervous around humans untill they can learn to trust us.. in the wild they are easy prey the whole holding thing again your skin is different in smell and texture again time is all you need but just make sure you wash your hands before and after you hold him. post pics of the snakes tail and someone can give you an eduacated guess.
 
Nobody is going to be able to "give you an eduacated guess" on the sex of your snake by looking at its tail. Check this out: Kathy Love's Videos. The "popping" one is what you will be able to do. Be gentle, as you can hurt your snake if you squeeze really really hard.

If it is 16" it likely hatched last year. We would call this an '08. Without exact records there is no way to get a better guess than that.

By the way, welcome to the boards and...

welcome.jpg
 
I also have a new active corn, but he sounds perfectly normal to me. If the snake wasn't wiggling away and was overly docile I would be weary. Younger animals are always more nippy and active because to them you are a big scary thing they want to get away from. If you handle him weekly in a few months he will calm down probably- they just need time to get ysed to you as you need time to get used to them. Even with age my neighbors older corns are curious and slither all around flicking their tongues at everything to check it out. I too want to see pics now if you don't mind!
 
Maybe try using hand sanitizer before handling to make your hands a bit drier? :) I'm not sure if that's the problem, but it might help! And you'd be clean!
 
patcollins said:
So i have had my charcoal corn snake for about a week. he has eaten and deficated allready so i am not to worried about that. however handleing him has become quite tricky, my hands are a bit clammy and he starts squirming like crazy every time i pick him up, but when i hold him with mittens he is happy as can be, any suggestions?

I am also unsure of the sex, it said female on the box at the petstore but the have hundreds of reptiles nd all baby corns are fed at once so the lids could have easily been mixed up. Is there anyway to tell without going to the vet.

also i have a rainforest exoterra small heat pad under half of the cage but it is covered by newspaper. i also have a lamp i turn on during the day. the temperature can reach up to 35 degrees celcius when the lamp is on but when the lamp is off at night the temp can drop to about 18. will this be okay for it?

also is there any way to tell how old the snake is. its about 16 inches long.

and last but not least. should he be moving very quikly. when we put him on the bed he just slowly slitters around. he also crawls up the glass walls all the time, will this berhavior eventually stop?
Click to expand...
Temps:

35 C is 95 F - this is too hot. It should be mid to high 80s (F) on the warm side.

Also, where are you measuring the temperature from? You should be measuring under the substrate above where the centre of the heat mat is (the hottest place the snake can get to). If you aren't taking the temperature from here with a probe thermometer, you may find that it is in fact even hotter than 95.

Try and sort this out as soon as possible; there are lots of threads on regulating heat on this forum, or you can post again in here.

Good luck!

P.S. The cool side should be mid-high 70s, so as 18 C is only about 64 F, this is a little cold, however it is the hot side that you need to regulate with priority, as too hot temps can be dangerous.
 
No alcohol based sanitisers.

asymons said:
Maybe try using hand sanitizer before handling to make your hands a bit drier? :) I'm not sure if that's the problem, but it might help! And you'd be clean!
Click to expand...

I have read on this forum and some others that alcohol based products give off a scent that its unbearable for snakes. Therefore alcohol based sanitizer will cause you problems. It can be used to make them release after a bite thats how unpleasant it can be.

On this forum I read about it here.

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=77183&highlight=alcohol

Varying opinions but I would still avoid it if there is any chance that it might cause your little guy discomfort.
 
my hands are a bit clammy and he starts squirming like crazy every time i pick him up, but when i hold him with mittens he is happy as can be, any suggestions?
Click to expand...

When you're nervous, you give off a chemical signal called "pheramones". This is undetectable to humans, but some animals, like cats and dogs - and Corns! - are very sensitive to them. Your Corn can "smell" your nervousness, thinks it's at risk of being injured when picked up, and reacts by trying to get away.

By wearing gloves, you're blocking the pheramones - the snake can't sense your feelings and is happier to be picked up.

Gloves are a great way to get used to each other. Once you've become used to how fast and wriggly they can be, your confidence will build up to the point where you'll be comfortable to handle without the gloves. I've always thought gloves are a good "getting to know you" accessory for nervous first-time owners. I think you've already hit on your own temporary solution!

Your snake will soon come to associate your normal smell with being safe and secure when picked up.
 
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