Savanna settling in.....

[Jeanne]

I was curious, do savannas tend to need extra time for getting use to thier new home? I had a feeling his hiding might be stress, so I covered his cage with paper so he cant see out and it is harder to see in unless you look in from the top.... my savanna dont hide all the time, but he does seem to hide a good portion of his time currently..when he is not hiding he is cruising around his cage a little, or sitting under his basking site.

How long do you reccommend letting this guy settle in before I begin handling him?

I so cant wait to start interacting with this guy...

[Pork Chops N' Corn Bread]

I would let him settle in for a couple weeks. Just with you feeding, cleaning, and changing water, he will start to trust you more and more. I would just wait till he doesn't hide when you put your hand in the cage. Soon enough he will come to you then thats when I would start handling. Just my experience with my sav.

[mr~python]

leave him alone until he's okay with you near his cage, meaning he doesnt run to hide or sit there totally still with his eyes closed.

the best first step to take is just sitting near his cage and reading a book, etc. dont look at him when you're doing this, just let him look at you. have you seen the link to making a monitor handleable?

[Jeanne]

have you seen the link to making a monitor handleable?

Actually, no I had not, I think I missed it. LOL


Since I covered the sides of the cage, is it a better idea to have it uncovered to let him get used to movement within the room he is in, or am I on the right track right now with covering his cage? I have noticed he is now coming out more since I covered his cage though.

When I get into his cage for feeding, watering and cleaning, he does not run away everytime... seems to be his norm to sit there and watch you.

[mr~python]

ok, ill dig it up for you. its a great read. http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=1110696,1110696.

leave the cage covered. right now you want him to settle into his new cage and become comfortable with his surroundings. that should be the main objective.

its a good sign if he's not running from you everytime you're near or in his cage. just dont try to handle him right now. it could break his trust in you and you'll have to start over.

[Jeanne]

Thanks Marshall!