Hey lovely people,
Ive owned bp for a few years now and am snake sitting a rainbow boa. Ive been given a tiny cornsnake. I have done the research into its care (i say it as i dont know its sex) but would love to know from experienced corn snake owners any tips.
Im in the process of turning all my snakes bio active. Also will the tiny devil grow out of trying to eat me?
I havent a clue about itâs morph.
Have included a few pics of the evil one.
Cute little guy! He looks like a nice bright normal to me. Care is pretty simple: you want a hot spot of about 87 degrees for proper digestion, lots of small, tight hides, a water dish, ground cover, and ideally some climbing opportunities. He will probably grow out of his bitey-ness with consistent handling, but there is the occasional jerky corn! At his size, you can feed every 5 to 7 days, a single mouse thatâs between 1 and 1½ times his body width. Or if youâd rather weigh him with a gram scale, I can give you a more precise feeder recommendation. Like most snakes, he will be an escape artist, so make sure not to give him any opportunities. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask!
Not a corn snake expert, but I just want to second this! The stories about tiny baby snakes escaping seemingly secure enclosures are myriad. Definitely make sure there are no little gaps he could squeeze through. And they can squeeze through smaller spaces than you might think!
Your new little one is awfully cute. I especially love the last pic. So tiny yet so angry!
I have a corn snake (Jelly Bean) and it is the very sweetest little thing! This little one will take a ft fuzzy right from my hand and eat it on my lap. However I donât make a practice of this for safety reasons! lol! Imho I think corns are the perfect starter snake for beginners. I you can properly care for a BP and an BRB you should have no problem caring for a corn. Albeit a grumpy one! Lol! Corns are also very husbandry forgiving and generally very hardy. They donât grow very large and wonât break you with the food bill. But in my experience they are consistent eaters. I have never seen a grumpy corn so your little guy is an enigma! Lol!
Best wishes to you!
Thank you all for the replies! Much appreciated.
The evil one hasnt refused a feed since ive had it and it has a small mouse once a week.
I do think i may take it to my local reptile shop and get them to sex it. Feels wrong keep calling it âItâ
Love your description. You have excellent advice on care and keeping. Keeping temps correct helps with disposition, too.
It will. Corn snakes are very rarely aggressive. Youngsters can be nervous and/or defensive. Looks like yours is perhaps currently of the opinion that you want to eat it. Some think he best defense is a good offense. It will calm down when it understands that it is safe. Make sure s/he has plenty of hides. Fake plants, paper towel cores, even crumpled paper scattered in its enclosure can give your little one a sense of safety.
Be consistent in handling your little guy. Do it regularly. Scoop it up gently if possible, but donât move too slowly. A nervous snake isnât soothed by your hand moving slowly toward it, as one might do with a nervous dog or horse. The snake is more likely to interpret this slow movement as the stealthy behavior of a predator trying to sneak up on it. Locate it, open the enclosure, and pick it up as calmly as possible. Donât give up because itâs being difficult; you donât want to reward that behavior.
Wash your hands before and after handling. The snake might pick up the scents of other pets or even food on your hands, which can affect its behavior. If youâre persistent with handling sessions several times weekly, your little one should settle soon.
Good luck!
Thank you for the great advice.
To ve gonest I think I was a bit intimidated by how small the evil one is but we are both improving on the handling, only two strikes at me last night once ive picked him/her its all chilled.
I have some live plants i need to repot and then ill put some in with evil one.
Youâre very welcome! Sounds like you and your baby are learning about each other. Thatâs great! Your description sounds like normal defensive behavior.
Hereâs another thought. Since scent is so important to them, you might leave something with your scent in the snakeâs enclosure. It can get better accustomed with your scent in its safe space. An old shirt is fine but it doesnât have to be anything that big. A face mask is fine, or a sock. (Whatever you choose, expect it to be pooped on. ) i donât have any scientific data to back this up, but the logic is sound and it has seemed helpful at times in my experience. Canât possibly hurt.
@caryl I have never heard or thought about this idea! But it surely makes a lot of common sense! I am going to try this with my striker boy Banana Mac!
It seemed logical to me, so I have done it with some nervous newbies. It seemed helpful. No way to empiracally quantify it, but I think itâs a good thing. Iâve also done it with new or nervous mammals. Thereâs science behind scent and safety with mammals. We know snakes use scent in feeling at home and secure in their territory. Itâs one of those things that should be helpful, canât possibly hurt so why not? Lol
I would be interested in learning if it makes a difference. Good luck, Caron!
I agree it canât hurt! I will certainly let you know if it works. First I need to figure out what to use. The face mask sounds goodâŚâŚâŚ
@caryl its a really good idea. I do this when my queens (breeding female cats) have kittens i put an old sock in the bed with them and change it every few days. It helps the kittens get use to my smell. Only downside ive found is one kitten now nicks socks
Picked evil one up last night and he forgot to strike at me lol and he was a lot more active in his viv.
Scent matters a lot to most creatures. Iâve left shirts in stalls with horses, various clothes in crates for dogs and cats, socks and masks in snake bins.
And now Iâve got to ask - what kind of cats do you breed? Kittens are high on the list of the most adorable things ever. Queens are generally fantastic mothers, and a litter of kittens is usually less disastrous to have around than a litter of puppies.
Glad your not so evil one had a lapse of memory. May this continue!
I breed bengel and ragdoll crosses. Kittens are adorable and I have 3 queens due around the same time so going to have a house full of fluff balls. These will be the last litters for my girls.
Puppies are cute but they are so much more hard work.
Im planning on breeeding bp its been in planning since before lockdown and i wont be having a first clutch for at least 2 years. Have 3 new balls arriving in the next month.
Aww, nice. You are going to have so many adorable babies that I donât see how youâll be able to stand it! Definitely going to need pics of them.
And @caryl yes @justlou1s3 Definitely post pics of the kittens! The cross of those breeds sounds interesting!
I also agree to a normal, albeit a light colored one. Even if you donât handle them a lot, Iâve found most little guys grow out of the bitey phase. If they donât, they might just grow up to be one those jerks, LoL.
I hoping he will grow out of the biting but if he dont ill just have to get use to it
When he was dropped off to me I didnt even know, they just knocked on my door. I actually thought it was an adult corn as the viv was 4x2x2 massive hide and the owners where like we cant keep it cause its not eating and keeps biting.
I only got to see him once i had him in my flat and they had legged it. I laughed my head off when i saw how small he was.
He only had a hide a fake rock and some silly little log tube. Plan today is turn his new smaller viv semi bio and try and give him some stuff to climb.
Once his bigger ill upgrade him to a bigger viv.
He hasnt refused any feds with me and yeah he bites but he doesnt even break the skin. Ive had Fred my bp spend 10 mins munching on my thumb before his let go.