Question:My snake will be about 2 yrs old in Oct.He has only been handled about 2-3 times by my ex boyfriend. He is only about as round as my pinkie finger and about 2 ft. long and i am scared to try and pick him up. I feel terrible becasue i cannot care for him like i should but i know he needs to be handled often before he gets bigger and can bite. He hisses everytime i try to get him and im not so scared that he will bite me because he is so little i know it wont hurt im just scared that he will get out and since i live in a apartment building i may never see him again or im scared of having one of my cats think its a toy. And i dont know how tight i can grab him because i dont want to smoosh him. Any advice on what i can do would be really helpful because i dont just want to get rid of him since i was the one that bought him in the first place and im not an irresponsible pet owner.FYI asking my ex to take him is NOT an option. ***THANKS***
Answers:
A 2 year old corn that's only 2 ft. long is severly undersized. My yearlings are bigger than that. Most cornsnakes are quite docile and it's unusual for them to be biters. I did have a female that was quite flighty and rarely handled her. She is now a docile adult even with limited handling. You might try wearing gloves when you handle him for a while. The gloves will make you feel more confident. Then allow him to just move from hand to hand. Hold him in a room where you can close the door to keep the cats out.
Your snake needs to be fed every 5-7 days while on pinkies. If he's eating something bigger, then every 7 days is sufficient. You should have cool and warm ends in his cage. Mid 70's on the cool, mid 80's on the warm. Make sure there are hides available on both ends. If you're feeding him in his viv, you need to make sure there's no substrate in there. I have a feeling that since you don't like to handle him, that you are. Pick him up by holding him mid body and if you are worried you might drop and lose him, hold him over the viv for a while or over the bed where you have alot of space to work.
Admitting that you can't take care of him properly and that you need to find a suitable home for him is not being an irresponsible owner. It's acknowleging that he needs better than you can give. If you can't handle him to feed him in another container, keep him in proper conditions or give him the amount of time he needs to thrive (and that is food, not handling...snakes don't require handling in order to thrive) than you need to find someone who can.
He sounds a little under weight, try feeding him every 5 days for a while and you can still find him a new home just make sure who ever takes him knows what their doing.
u can be scared the thing is to be sure of what ur doing so just slightly try to get ur fingers under the snakes body then just lift it up one handed it should wrapp around ur had and the hissing might be a bluff snakes often bluff a lot and yea try feeding it a little more often also pick it up often after the first time you will get more and more confortable with it and so will he/ she also a bite fron a corn snake is not that painful a house cats scratch or bite is way worst so just pick it up dont worry if ur scared handle it with glove the first few times then dont use gloves I was scared the first time now I handle my snakes as much as possible. also get a glass tank for reptiles fron a pet store a tank with a top so it cant get away if u dont want it u can leave it at a pet refuge they will now how to care for him/her. hope this helps.
well . . . this is pretty funny cause i'm in the same situation myself. my corn snake is two years old, two feet long, and very tempermental. don't be afraid to get bitten, it doe'sn't really hurt. just try to expect it because shock will be the thing that makes you want to drop it. but once you do have hold of it you can just grab it behind it's head then it can't bite you. but beware, when they get scared they can give off this really nasty smell! if you are really set on not touching it, the best thing for it would be to give it to someone who already owns snakes. don't put an add in the paper or anything because someone who has no experience with snakes may buy it, and that's just not fair to them. what you can do though is call some pet store or breeding place who might take it. good luck!
This is going to be a stupid question but are you sure it's hissing or is it just smelling?
Try sliding your hand under its belly and just lifting. If that doesnt work just grab his mid part with your fingers not hard enough to crush it but enough to hold it and just lift him, it won't hurt him.
After that he'll slither around in your hand trying to get away but he'll keep his body more or less wrapped around your fingers. After 5 minutes at the most he'll have calmed down and you'll be able to hold him without him trying to get away but he'll still be moving around.
My cousin had a similar problem, I was their twice and now it's a lot more friendly
As the other user mentioned, this snake sounds small for his age. I was given a snake that was under-fed and it is about 3ft. but very thin. He's eating well now.
In any case, most corn snakes have very docile temperaments and most snakes don't take well to being bothered when they're alone in their enclosure. I have several snakes and whenever I touch them, even the python I've owned for several years now, they recoil. If you run your fingertips along your snake's back a couple times before picking him up, he should be alright. If he continues to try to escape (e.g. burrowing or just slithering away), you should be able to slip your palm underneath his belly and lift him up. After that point, he should be curling his tail around your finger to keep himself from falling. They're usually pretty jittery when you take them out of their cage, but they calm down soon enough.
You shouldn't be too afraid of losing the snake in your apartment. Just keep an eye on the snake and if you're handling it, you should have even less trouble. Typically, a snake will just weave around a persons arm or maybe try to get onto something they can extend their bodies towards. If you're standing up with nothing the snake can reach around you, you should be fine and the snake should stay on you. You don't necessarily have to wrap your hand around it. That kind of motion just makes the snake even more stressed out, and thus, more apt to try to get away from you. If you give it space, he should be alright.
Of course, while you're doing all this, it's best to keep your cats in a separate room.
If you find that you have to get rid of him, there are plenty (and I do mean plenty) of people who would be more than happy to take in an albino corn snake. They're not all that uncommon, but they are very popular.
In any case, if you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask. :)
Good luck.
He is WAY too small!!! My 10 month old corn snake is 2 ft. 2 inches long. I feed her once a week on one pinky mouse. She's bigger around than my pinky. Put books on the cage so it won't get out. if your snakes curled up, scoop it up gently by putting your hand around it and lifting.
they are harmless so dont be scared and dont squeeze him
More Questions & Answers...