Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought my corn on 7-31 my guess is that he was a few weeks old at that time or less, i try to hold him as much as possible so he can get used to me but every time i reach in to pick him up he tries to get away it never fails...once he is in my hand he seems to calm down alot..but the fact that he gets all squirmish and does
everything possible to get away makes me nervous and therefore harder for me to pick him up..do they get less "squrimish" as they get older and easier to handle or do i have to basically freak him out every time i try to take him out? any previous experience with this problem or any suggestions are welcome thank you

i think it all depends on the snake, it being a baby i would guess it would be a little more nervous.
but then here are 2 examples of 2 different snakes.
naaza, he was my first snake, he is perfectly fine with being picked up, i open his enclosure and take him out and he is calm the whole time, he will coil around my wrist and just sit there.

degei, she was my second snake, she is squirmy the whole time i hold her pretty much most of the time for the first few minutes, then she calms down, she is way bigger than naaza, the thing with her is if i go from above to pick her up she freaks out, from the side she is fine with being handled.

note, the red and gray snake is naaza
the orange and red snake is degei

also id like to point out, that if you notice i have the pic of naaza he was sitting on a pillow.....
degei i have to get photos of her inside the enclosure, i tried to set her on the pillow and she took off.

I have tried to pick him up from the side but it is tough with the viv i have, its a 10 gallon and opens on top..when i go in to take him out i have to pick up his hide spot then i put my hand near him so he knows im gonna touch him because i dont want to suprise him..when i go to grab him he usually tries to get away and im just afraid of him trying to bite me..lol i know he is only small and it wont hurt but the fact that i dont know what to
expect bothers me...basically speaking i dont know how to "properly pick up and handle a snake" this is my first one

well so far degei my corn that doesnt care to be handled hasnt even attempted to bite me....... they try to get away first, only thing i have noticed is they will "rattle" their tail to scare you off..... i think if you keep working with him things will work out, once he grows a little.

yea thats what im hoping for! it seems like its much more difficult
after not handling him for a day or two..it makes feeding time and
shedding time kinda aggrivating because right when it seems like we have some kind of "connection" its time for him to eat or shed both require that i not hold him for at least 2 days which brings me back to square one..

yes i know what you mean but it does get better, sounds like you are on the right track because you arent giving up atleast, at first i was terrified, now after months of having them i am not worried about handling my snakes.

yea its weird because i am in no way afraid of snakes expecially corn snakes..but i think its a combination of A. how mysterious and
unpredictable they are, and B. im not used to handleing snakes and he is small so im just afraid of scaring him and or hurting him, so
by me being gentle and trying not to move to fast when picking him
up makes my hands shakey..

i know what you mean i was llike that at first with naaza, and i see photos of people securely holding their snake, now though im comfortable holding him

yea thats exactally where i want to be

you will get there

n/p

can you email me one because im getting my new corn tonite and i dont know if it will be a calm snake
-----
jake

my addiction:
2 normal ball pythons (lazlo and izzy)
1 amelenistic corn snake (mazy)