| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Bluenicoli |
Posted - 26/10/2011 : 18:37:14
Hi all!
Well the trip to the garden centre for my girlfriend to look at hamsters ended with me falling love with corn snakes! A few weeks later and I am the proud owner of a beautiful little Snow Motley corn called Norman. He's a dream snake so far, if a little shy, and shed cleanly the very first night I had him.
The next day he fed (but didn't let me watch) five days later another feed which I was able to watch and was amazing! He then waited until lights out for his next feed (and literally did it as soon as the light went out!) and two day ago he strike fed for the first time (very proud moment!).
That feed was his first two pinkie feed and he gobbled them both up. Since then he has been really inactive so I think he might be starting the shed process, but it does seem quite soon after the last one. Does that sound about right to people? It's really hard to tell with a Snow...
Also I haven't handled him much as I've read it can put snakes off feeding and he is a wee bit shy. Any advice on handling? I basically want to hold him all the time!
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Pics to follow.
Nic
P.S. My girlfriend never got the hamster but is now the proud owner of a beautiful Carolina Stripe called Paige! She got the bug quick... |
| 14 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| gingerpony |
Posted - 28/10/2011 : 13:58:42
heya and welcome  |
| Bluenicoli |
Posted - 28/10/2011 : 08:26:40
Wow thanks for the warm welcome guys! And some great advice/links! I think i let him settle in for about five days before i handled him and waited two days after his first feed. And it's been just over a week since his last handle. In terms of the shed i think it was a false alarm (although he did appear to be rubbing his face on his hide which got me quite excited!), he's now out and about again so i wonder if he was concentrating on digesting his first two-pinkie feed!
He seems to head for his hide if i linger around his tank for too long. I've read that it's not good to lift their hides to handle them as that's their safe place and it might cause stress. I've never lifted it up but wonder if i might have to if he always heads in when i try and pick him up?
My girlfriends snake, Paige, is so different and it's amazing to see their different personalities so soon! She's pretty much unfazed by us and lets us handle her quite nicely.
I'll get some pics of both of them up soon. There are some beautiful looking corns on here!
Thanks again everyone! |
| thistle |
Posted - 26/10/2011 : 22:44:12
Hi, welcome to the forum. |
| scottishbluebird |
Posted - 26/10/2011 : 21:38:51
Hi and welcome |
| kdlang |
Posted - 26/10/2011 : 21:26:00
Hi and welcome. Congrats on your new addition. Sounds like you are doing a great job. Have a read of the care sheet and there are lots of stickied threads that are well worth having a read through, even if just for future reference. |
| tordyjo |
Posted - 26/10/2011 : 21:21:33
hi there |
| Figs |
Posted - 26/10/2011 : 21:03:49
Hello and welcome!  |
| Kez |
Posted - 26/10/2011 : 20:59:01
Hi Nic and welcome to the forum 
As Garrie said, it's wise to leave your new snake for 7 days to settle into their new home before handling. After that, you can handle as regularly as you like; it shouldn't put the snake off of feeding, but you definitely shouldn't handle within 48hrs of feeding as this can cause regurgitation of their food.
I handle Maizie 5 days out of 7, usually for around 15/20mins at a time but sometimes up to 30 min. Each snake is different and I usually get an idea of when Maizie has had enough because she keeps trying to hide in any crease of my body, like under my armpit or if my arm is bent, she nuzzles the crease between my lower arm and upper arm  Then I know to put her straight back in her viv.
Hatchling snakes shed quite regularly whilst they are growing and if Norman seems quite inactive and is hiding a lot, you may find he has gone into blue (pre-shed). You may notice that his eyes seem a little cloudy, but with a snow it's not so easy to tell. Just keep an eye on him and bear in mind that if he is in blue or in shed, he might not be quite so happy to be handled. If his eyes are cloudy, even though you may not be able to see it, his sight will be unclear and so he may be a little more defensive. That said, a lot of snakes, including Maizie, are still quite open to being handled but you just need to be aware that fast movements may make him feel vulnerable as he cannot see that it's you. Something else to take into account if Norman is in shed is that some snakes don't eat when they are in blue or in shed. If he doesn't take his food on the next feed day, that may also be another indicator that he is going to shed.
Sounds like Norman has gone to a loving home and is a lucky little snakey keep up all the good work and enjoy your new pet. You'll soon get to learn about Norman's behaviours and what they mean
|
| nusnakemum |
Posted - 26/10/2011 : 20:32:04
hiya and welcome |
| Mamma |
Posted - 26/10/2011 : 19:55:03
Hi there |
| paulie78 |
Posted - 26/10/2011 : 19:49:13
Hi and welcome to the forum :-) |
| garrie |
Posted - 26/10/2011 : 19:24:52
Hey Nic, welcome to the forum
The shyness sounds like a pretty normal thing for a young snake/new owner - it will take time for Norman to get entirely used to you - providing you are doing all that the Care sheet says then you are doing a great job (re: settling in period, housing size, temps etc) - for reference, if you didn't give him the settling in period, then it isn't too late - it'll just mean that you have to go without handling him for a week (frustrating, i know)! Ignore this if you have, but it'd just mean he should be even more relaxed and less stressed.
Otherwise with regards to shyness; if he is in blue, then again it is expected and pretty normal - if you are still handling him then you may well have had a clue by the "feel" of him, rather than dullness etc due to him being a snow. There is a good thread here to help with that.
Other than that all I can say is...get some pictures on here so we can see the little fella! |
| Okeetee Mick |
Posted - 26/10/2011 : 19:15:39
Hi, welcome to the forum |
| gmac |
Posted - 26/10/2011 : 19:07:51
hi and welcome |
