Unruly snake, HELP!!!

[Kopfjaeger]

Hello,

My son's black motley cornsnake, Lars, has been a handful to handle lately. I'm sure it stems from the lack of time my son has spent working with him.

We purchased Lars at the end of April. He is about 20 inches long and eats two or three fuzzy's once a week. We remove him from his 20 gallon enclosure & place him in a large plastic container to feed. After feeding he rests for two days before we attempt to handle him.

The trouble has been handling him. My son's last cornsnake, Frederick, was so docile and lovable that Lars' behavior scares my son a bit. Recently I've been really stressing that Lars needs to be handled more than the once a week handling that my son has been doing. My son is 12 and Lars' behavior necessitates me becoming much more involved. Normally I retrieve him from his enclosure and attempt to calm him before handing him off to my son. I have to admit, he is not much of a pleasure to handle!! Upon being picked up, he thrashes wildly from side to side. He has this "corkscrew" move that is super annoying & makes it difficult to hold. He seems to calm a bit when I place the upper portion of his body on either the floor or a table while I gently hold him. After a minute or so, he is calm enough (barely) to hand over to my son. He has picked up a new nasty habit. two days in a row, he has pooped on my son while handling him. Lars last ate on Friday afternoon. On Monday was the first time he was handled since the feeding. After a few minutes of handling, he Lars pooped on my son. It was same story on Tuesday even though Lars had already pooped in his tank.

I'm sure the "new habit" is a fear reaction. I'm attempting to explain to my son that Lars needs to get over his fear of being handled and a bond of trust needs to be forged.

I've gotten a ton of great info from this site! I'd like some advice about handling Lars since I realize my son is growing tired and very leery of the behavior that Lars is exhibiting. If my son can't bond with Lars, and vice versa, while Lars is 20 inches long, he will be a nasty handful as he gets older & larger.

Any advice or words of encouragement are very welcomed!!

Sepp

 

[dwyn127]

Lars may just be one that doesn't want to be handled....period! I've got some that tolerate being held, some that would leap from my hands if I didn't hold on and a couple that come right out of their tubs onto my hands.

Best advice I can give is don't put him down when he poops because he'll learn that's how to be left alone and will do it more often.

Good luck.

 

[danielle]

The warmth of your hands can also elicit pooping and yes of course fear, but its just a little poo wipe it off and handle him after so he knows his poo isn't the secret to being put down like mentioned. I have one boy who is quite active to handle, but he does calm enough and is getting better about it with age- some are more calm and some more active naturally. If he isn't biting I assume he may be more on the active side, but give him a year and he'll calm more with age and regular handling. If your nervous they sense it so try to be calm and move slow with him keeping him well supported- in time he'll relax!!