childs hatchie

[scottnfranky]

howdy, just a quick note,i have a children hatchie coming this weekend just wondering how often can it be handled as i want a quiet snake when it gets bigger,it acualty its for my son and me !!! i only see my son on weekends and he cant wait........scott

[TWENTY B]

leave it to settle in for a week, the move can be a stressfull time for them,
as they are young try and keep it to 10mins every day or 2..

she may be a bit nibbly now, but she should grow out of it

[beeman]

Give it a week or two to settle in and make sure its feeding well , has plenty of places to hide
and then handle it occasionally. Rember they dont like to be handled but they will learn to tollerate
it.

[notechistiger]

I actually disagree with the second part of what beeman says, because my spotted (who was perfect from the start, mind you) will come out onto my hand as soon as I open the enclosure door, which to me says that she enjoys being out and handled. And honestly, how can anyone really know what they're thinking? I think it all depends on the snake, just like people - some enjoy company and others don't.

The amount of time that you handle it depends on the snake. As said above, if it's feeding well and is given a week or so to settle, then get it out (even if it does try to bite, and actually latches on, don't worry - it won't hurt, and it'll probably let go quickly), and see how it reacts to your smell and its new environment.

If it's quiet, and doesn't seem edgy, then keep it out - there's no reason if you can't. However, if it seems very agitated and continuously tries to strike, you may have to put it back after a minute or so. Because you are asking how much to handle it, I'm assuming this is you first snake, just remember that sometimes snakes start out very aggressive and/or defensive, and it only really takes some determination to calm them down. Just think of how scared you'd be if everything was giant compared to you, and that huge pink thing kept sticking hands in your home and kept touching you. You'd probably be terrified.

It only really takes time for the snake to realise that you're not going to eat it, and then it will calm down. Just be patient.

Also, how old is your son? He's going to have to understand that he's not going to be able to interact with it quite so soon. If it's just getting used to you, the last thing it needs is suddenly someone new. Once you're confident that the snake is relatively calm (preferably very calm) with you, then you can introduce it to your son, and of course teach him of how to handle them properly, so he doesn't stress the snake.

I remember when I asked my little brother (who's three) what kind of snake he wanted, and he pointed to a scrub python in the middle of this page that I had, I thought "That snake would like annoying, little brothers...", but when I asked mum she said I couldn't buy him a three-metre long python that was capable of eating him...

Nah, I'm kidding, I never asked mum.

Anyway, I wish the best of luck, and hope you put up some photos of your new hatchie after it's had some time to settle.

~ notechistiger

[scottnfranky]

thanks so much for your reply........................scott

[Bonustokin]

Scottnfranky, they can get stressed from being moved and not being use to their new environment..... Its hard not to get them out for a handle, but you really need to leave your new hatchy alone for a week or more, until it starts feeding for you..... Once feeding, that is a good sign it has settled into its new environment and it can start to be handled once or twice a week or 5-15mins at a time.... Do NOT handle until its feeding regularly for you though mate, otherwise you will more than likely run into trouble...
Good luck
Bill.

[scottnfranky]

Thanks for all the replys its great to know that people wanna help with there suggestions.....