Menolly07
Juvie Member
I have a corn snake I have taken home. This poor, little guy had been at PetCo for at least six plus months (but less then a year -thank PetCo for the precise age information >.< -). I only know that he has been there for six months because one of their reptile guys has been an employee of PetCo for six months, and this guy was there when he was hired. When I saw the snake I was actually struck with him. He kept coming right to the cage glass and tracked my hand. I crouched down and had a chat with him, as I'm prone to doing with basically any animal that notices me. The sign on his cage said that he'd been there to long and to ask for details.
The snake has some docility issues and is a difficult handle. He is bitey and rattles his tail. He's very aggressive and not at all as docile as some of the other corns I've handled. I'm not at all worried about bites, I mean, I have been bit by bigger and badder things. Short of frequent and gentle handling is there anything else I can do to assist in helping him adapt to his new home and, hopefully, settle in and become a happier, better adjusted snake?
Currently, I estimate he's less then a year old. I plan to feed him separate from his living quarters. His tank is currently my beardies old 20 gallon warmed with an UTH on one side. I'm using aspen bedding with a thermostat set to read 88 degrees on the glass, but I'm unclear whether that's correct or not. To reach the ambient air temperature I get the impression I'm meant to meet on the warm side of around 88 degrees my instinct tells me I ought to be trying to meet a much higher glass temperature. However, I understand that he'll want to burrow into the bedding, and I don't want him to scald himself on too hot glass. Additionally, I also have a temperature probe and a water bowl as well as a hide. He's been eating peach fuzzies, thawed, once a week. I plan to stick to that because they say he's been eating really well.
I'm not handling him yet. I'm giving him several days to re-acclimate to his new surroundings. I'm hoping that, in part, the lack of a constant stream of people, children especially, right at his level will help him settle down a little. I have the patience of Dr Doolittle when it comes to animals, my husband says, and have a history of taming feral cats. I'm hoping soft words, slow movements, gentle handling and lots of it will do the trick, but it anybody has any other ideas and could double check my husbandry for errors I'd appreciate it!
Thanks!
Oh..... And his name is Boots.. It was either that or Fluffy.
The snake has some docility issues and is a difficult handle. He is bitey and rattles his tail. He's very aggressive and not at all as docile as some of the other corns I've handled. I'm not at all worried about bites, I mean, I have been bit by bigger and badder things. Short of frequent and gentle handling is there anything else I can do to assist in helping him adapt to his new home and, hopefully, settle in and become a happier, better adjusted snake?
Currently, I estimate he's less then a year old. I plan to feed him separate from his living quarters. His tank is currently my beardies old 20 gallon warmed with an UTH on one side. I'm using aspen bedding with a thermostat set to read 88 degrees on the glass, but I'm unclear whether that's correct or not. To reach the ambient air temperature I get the impression I'm meant to meet on the warm side of around 88 degrees my instinct tells me I ought to be trying to meet a much higher glass temperature. However, I understand that he'll want to burrow into the bedding, and I don't want him to scald himself on too hot glass. Additionally, I also have a temperature probe and a water bowl as well as a hide. He's been eating peach fuzzies, thawed, once a week. I plan to stick to that because they say he's been eating really well.
I'm not handling him yet. I'm giving him several days to re-acclimate to his new surroundings. I'm hoping that, in part, the lack of a constant stream of people, children especially, right at his level will help him settle down a little. I have the patience of Dr Doolittle when it comes to animals, my husband says, and have a history of taming feral cats. I'm hoping soft words, slow movements, gentle handling and lots of it will do the trick, but it anybody has any other ideas and could double check my husbandry for errors I'd appreciate it!
Thanks!
Oh..... And his name is Boots.. It was either that or Fluffy.