Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just bought a baby Corn Snake today and the place I got him said he was fed on Monday. He pooped after a couple of hours of having him, so I decided to feed him. Now I know that they tend to regurgitate when being handle after a meal. I would really like the handle him though. How long should I wait til I handle him? He ate about 8 hours ago.

Thanks!

unfortunately, you will need to be patient because you should probably leave him alone til sunday morning. and when they're little, it's more important that you feed them and settle them in than handle them. after i feed mine (1 corn and 2 ball pythons) i leave them alone until they come out on their own, and sometimes that takes 3 or 4 days.
i know it's hard to wait when they're new. they're such cute little things =)

vik

It depends on several things (in my opinion), but if the snake is new and young I would wait at least 48 hours(72 would be even better at first). One of the biggest temptations for a new snake owner is to handle it too much, and to figure it's had "enough time" to digest its meal. The LAST thing you want to deal with right now is a puker...Then you won't get to handle it for a few WEEKS. Be patient and let your new snake settle in. There will be lots of time to handle it over the next few years. Duffy

>>I handle mine whenever I want.
If I feed on Saturday and feel like checking them out on Sunday, I do.
But, if you DO handle within 24 hours of feeding, be very gentle and do not handle for very long. Be more supportive of the snakes entire body.
Now, another thing...when handling around the third to fourth day after feeding you better be carefull. This is when there is a good chance of getting deficated on.
Watch for the tail to stiffen and raise slightly. If you see this put it back quick...LOL
If you have an overly nervous snake then it would probably be better to wait at least 48 hours. The calmer the snake the sooner you can handle...with care.
I have said this on other topics but it still holds true...Let your snake tell you when it can be handled.
The better you know your snake the better you can determine when it can be handled.
don't rush it...there is plenty of time
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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"resistance is futile"
Jimmy (draybar)

Would you still agree that with a NEW snake (especially a young one), caution should be the rule? I wouldn't even touch the little sucker for at least 48.

As far as getting crapped on...I like to make sure that when I handle mine during their "window of poop"...I handle them for just a few minutes then put them back. The activity often gets them going, so to speak.

Getting to know your snakes: Their habits, what they can and will tolerate, etc...I agree, that's the real goal. Then you can, indeed, do what works for you (or at least for your snakes!)
Duffy

>>Would you still agree that with a NEW snake (especially a young one), caution should be the rule? I wouldn't even touch the little sucker for at least 48.
>>
>>As far as getting crapped on...I like to make sure that when I handle mine during their "window of poop"...I handle them for just a few minutes then put them back. The activity often gets them going, so to speak.
>>
>>Getting to know your snakes: Their habits, what they can and will tolerate, etc...I agree, that's the real goal. Then you can, indeed, do what works for you (or at least for your snakes!)
>> Duffy

Yes Duffy,
I agree, caution should be the rule with a new snake!
I wasn't trying to refute your response just adding a little of my own personal experience, or should I say difference, to the topic.
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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"resistance is futile"
Jimmy (draybar)

All snakes are different.Getting them used to a new enviroment,shipping,all take a toll on a new snake.I can hand feed my amels and take them cliff diving with me.My hypos will bite and crap all over me and then eat.My bairds are nervous but not biters and if I fool around with either one withing 2 days of feeding they will both regurge.I think your both correct.While I dont think you should mess with a newly aquired snake I do.Who can resist the temptation to feed right away and then handle them later?LOL.Im getting another bairds female next week.I may or may not leave her alone..hehehehe..Paul

First off, welcome to the corn snake world. You'll have at least 5 by this time next year i'm sure. lol.

One very strong reccomendation I do have for you is this, READ A CARE SHEET! READ TWO CARE SHEETS! READ EVERY CARE SHEET YOU CAN FIND!!! (From a good source, of course.) It seems that you haven't read one yet, and you will learn a LOT about your new snake...the basic do's and dont's, along with the basic information you need for your snake to survive, in these sheets.

I'll post a few good ones below for you to reference.

Mine
students.uwf.edu/crt4/care.html
Kingsnake.com's
www.kingsnake.com/rockymountain/RMHPages/RMHnewpage11.htm

I'd reccomend to go to google and search for some more, but even if you just read those two, its better than nothing. May take 10-15 mins to read both (at the most)
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-Chris

The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

A fool doesn't learn. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Which one are you?

My Website
Rat/Corn snake care sheet I wrote

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Black Rat (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds (Jose and Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)

Care sheets are a great resource.But they sometimes dont take into consideration that all snakes arent created equal.You know that from your male baird.That's why this place and its people are the best resource I have found.Dont get me wrong.I do enough research on any snake I purchase to fill a book.But I dont get all the answers from reading them.I once preached caresheets and research and I still sometimes do.But like Jimmy told me a while back this is a great place to share ideas that have worked for some people.Doesnt mean there right or wrong just different experiances(sp)with how they have handled problems that can occur.And believe me there is a learning curve...Paul.

yeah, i'm not saying it's the one thing that will work for everyone, it just seemed that since he was wanting to handle the snake within 8 hours of feeding it, he never had read a care sheet saying wait 2 days or so. That's why I threw it in there.

I never said that it was going to be THE answer for every snake, just tryin to help answer a lot of his questions before he gets a chance to ask 'em
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-Chris

The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

A fool doesn't learn. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Which one are you?

My Website
Rat/Corn snake care sheet I wrote

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Black Rat (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds (Jose and Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)

we are all here for the same reasons.
Help people with our limited knowledge
learn from others knowledge
look at all the beautiful snakes everyone else has
AND SHOW OFF OUR OWN.

pretty simple
none of us have all the answers.
Although there are a few that come about as close as possible. (like Kathy L.)
Personal experiences, caresheets, books, clubs, friends and last but simply not least The Forums are great tools for all of us to gain knowledge through.

I just like to keep in mind that for every "hard-fast-rule" there are exceptions.

About the only thing I can say from hanging around these forums is it has been quite a while since I have seen a truly Wrong response posted.

So I will keep adding my 2 cents when I think I can help
I will always look for anything Paul (Gargoyle) has to say because it is obvious he has a lot of experience and I aprreciate his "wit"...lol
and "83" (I like that) I hope to see you continue with your advise and willingness to help.
I sometimes believe we can actually learn from some of our own responses.
Questions that we might not have given much thought but when presented on the forum we think about the problem, come up with likely solutions or ideas and add that to our own "bank" of knowledge.
That's what it's all about.

So ENJOY

Sorry to ramble on...just thinking out loud, so to speak.
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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"resistance is futile"
Jimmy (draybar)

I know your trying to help and I do always read your posts.I used to throw crap fits when people would come here and say,HEY I just bought a corn now what?I have him in a shoebox filled with grass and I cant get him to feed and the mouse seems to be tearing the flesh off his 7 day old body.I havent seen a post like that in awhile and Im glad.I dont even wanna bring up all the dumbsh$% things I did when there were no resources on wc reptiles.Ive sent a few snakes to there early graves.I didnt know about internal parasites back then or maybe things would have been different.I actually have prefilled panacur syringes now just in case.LOL.I look forward to your posts 83.Keep them comming.By the way how is your male bairds doing?
Paul

This is actually my 3rd Corn Snake. The first one I rescued, she got run over by a car. I brought her back to life, and my friend adopted her. The second one, I'll just say bad experience with Petco. And this is my third one.. the last one I had was about a year and a half ago. Thanks for the help though