| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| stotty01 |
Posted - 27/05/2010 : 18:03:58
hey all 
when it comes to finally handling my snake  how shall i approach it to get it out??? |
| 4 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| stotty01 |
Posted - 29/05/2010 : 13:33:12
wow thank you :D no its fine that you have wrote alot as atleast i know what i will be doing and i will be confident :) thank you once again |
| Kellog |
Posted - 28/05/2010 : 02:47:48
Hey Alex, well done for asking and getting yourself prepared for that first handling moment....I bet you are so excited and nervous .
I have made some notes about handling over time, so sorry if this is a bit long but hopefully it will be helpful:
I am not experience with handling hatchlings or little ones, but I have had an adult that was not handled at all well by his previous owner so had to ‘start from the beginning’ with him, the way I would imagine you would with a hatchling.
One thing you need to remember is that corns are not used to being handled, dont really want to be and do just adjust to us handling them and then come to enjoy the time outside the viv, being able to explore etc.
I always fiddle with my snakes' substrate whenever I change their water, so every morning....just airing it and checking for poo, but it is a really good way to spread my smell around their viv. Also, when I go to handle them I go in slowly, and again I fiddle with the substrate a bit because that way I am getting their scent on my hands, which I think must help in keeping them calm. It also warns them that you are in their viv so they are not surprised.
Neither of my corns come onto my hand....wanting to be picked up. It is a case of me choosing to pick them up from wherever they are in the viv. I know some of the forums' corns do this, but not all....so dont worry if your snake doesn't. When you do pick it up try not to come at it from above, but rather scoop it up from the sides....that will scare it less.
Very calmly and confidently scoop it up, using both hands and being careful to support it so it isnt dangling. Hold it firmly and gently as it WILL try to escape from your grip - but that is a natural reaction for it and you must not react to it but continue as you are. Hold it fairly firmly but gently to bring it out of the viv. Once you have it out, sit with it (covering your lap with a towel is a good idea in case it decides to poo on you) and just let it run through your hands, moving one to the other to the other and so on. It may seem flighty and scared to begin with...but again, you have to realise it is natural and something both it and you have to get used to. You must just be very calm and steady with your movements. Dont have it out for more than 5 minutes, and return it gently and calmly to the viv. Repeat again and again and again....(except for 48hrs after eating of course!)....and you will begin to notice a difference in its behaviour as it gets used to being handled and will begin to tolerate it. As it gets used to it so will you and your confidence will grow. You can then lengthen the amount of time you have it out and allow it to begin to explore your body and then around you...but that is a long way off. At the moment it is a case of quality not quantity.
It will be able to tell you are not confident and that will make it more stressed. It is a case of you needing to 'fake it until you feel it'....behave calmly and gently, with no sudden movements, and it will respond positively to that. Its reaction when you go to pick it up will be a fear response....but that will lessen with time.
Now I can talk from actual experience. When I took on Silvesta, his previous owner only handled him a few times a week, with a glove after being bitten, and he was very obviously underfed. When we went to see him the owner got him out with the glove and Silvesta was all over the place trying to escape....I immediately took him from his owner (with my bare hands) and within a few minutes his movements had calmed down. I think he was truly picking up on the vibes of his previous owner that he was scared of him. Since having him I treated him as a hatchling, giving him the week to settle in and then only handling him twice a day for a maximum of 5 minutes. To begin with he would try to escape when I went to get him out of his viv (and caused total chaos spreading substrate everywhere!) but now he will let me pick him up without fleeing from me. The handling sessions have lengthened and he has become accustomed to me running him through my hands and letting him roam my body. I am now able to let him explore a bit, although I always keep a hand on him because he is exceedingly fast and I know that if he decided to he could escape before I could get near him to catch him.
It really is a case of time and patience and quality of handling rather than quantity. Take it slow and trust yourself....only when you do that will it trust you.
Again, sorry for how much I have said....but hopefully some of it has been helpful.
xxx
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| stotty01 |
Posted - 27/05/2010 : 18:28:28
much apprecitiated :D thank you |
| simonw |
Posted - 27/05/2010 : 18:11:48
Excited and a little nervous at the same time?...I still remember that feeling from 11 years.
Gently picked up from the middle. If he/she gets in the striking pose, a calm flat hand helps. For strikers, I usually distract with the flat hand (they can't see what to strike, so generally don't) and pick up from the middle coil with the other hand.
Also it's useful to bear in mind that a corn snake strike is usually with a closed mouth and if they do open their mouths it doesn't hurt...but it comes as a shock as it's so fast.
Hope this helps
Have fun :)
edit: typo |
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