Does anyone not leave new snakes alone for a week?

[Skittles1101]

I agree that every snake is different and some will handle it well while others will boycott food, stress out, etc. I personally don't handle mine until 2 days after the first time they eat for me. IMO, it's not worth risking the potential stress just to handle my baby that I now own and have a lifetime to handle them under better circumstances.

[fluffpuffgerbil]

Yeah, I see. She's working her stress out by herself now. XD

And it's true, I will have a lifetime to hold her, I suppose. :3 (Tis hard to leave a new pet alone when you've been waiting forever to get it though, but I'll deal with it)

[Mohegan]

When I first get new animals, I quarantine them for 1 month, and do not handle them for 2 weeks after I first get them. With established animals, I wait 2 days after feeding before handling (unless it's a notoriously snippy snake, we label them with Ws on the tub and give them an extra day or two before handling).

[DellaF]

In the seven day time period it might help to leave her alone just to see if your husbandry is right. If she is doing a lot of roaming during the day then something maybe wrong. Maybe you need to adjust the temps, move to a quiet place etc. etc. Seven days isn't a rule but it's not a bad suggestion either.

[fluffpuffgerbil]

ATM she's not roaming about.... apparently she was held while I was out catsitting for an hour...Our friends dropped by real quick on a walk and my sis brought her out so they could see her....
ATM the husbandry seems fine, except for humidity a little high.
Coolside: 78.4
Hotside: 93(could be lower I suppose, but that doesn't seem too awful)
Humidity: 74%
She's just lying there, part of her in her tub, part of her out.

[Sugarbone]

I see you said he might get stressed from not being held? Or from being held? I couldn't tell. Snakes humor you holding them usually, and don't actually enjoy it like a dog or cat. Just let him settle in

[muzikfreakah]

One of mine (a normal female hatchling) ate on the same day it arrived from a plane trip. I let him rest for a day to digest the food and handled her, she is supre fine. I feed them twice a week. She is on her fifth feeding with me already. No problems here.

Same goes for my normal female, who I fed the day after she was delivered. No they are on the same feeding sched.

[Chuckels]

I don't wait at all. I handle all of my snakes. I'd honestly only wait the 7 days for a snake that is more delicate than a Ball Python. A Green Tree Python hatchling would definitely not be touched or handled for 7-10 days. They are by far the most delicate snakes to handle to begin with at the hatchling stage.

Trey

[fluffpuffgerbil]

I see you said he might get stressed from not being held? Or from being held? I couldn't tell. Snakes humor you holding them usually, and don't actually enjoy it like a dog or cat. Just let him settle in

Heh, well, what I think I said was that she seems stressed after I put her back in her tub after she's held.
I don't even know why she's stressed right now.(Coolside is at 79!,Hotside 91.2, humidity 76%!)
I know the snakes just tolerate it. Actually, the cats hate being held. XD The better thing would be that the snakes don't like being held like a bearded dragon enjoys it.


It's actually nice to hear people don't wait and their snakes still are perfectly fine! I would like to hear someone who didn't wait and couldn't get their snake to eat at all.(I haven't heard anyone say that yet. They either wait the 7 days or hold and their snakes eat... Unless I missed someone's post saying they didn't wait and couldn't get the snake to eat.)

[rabernet]

Heh, well, what I think I said was that she seems stressed after I put her back in her tub after she's held.
I don't even know why she's stressed right now.(Coolside is at 79!,Hotside 91.2, humidity 76%!)
I know the snakes just tolerate it. Actually, the cats hate being held. XD The better thing would be that the snakes don't like being held like a bearded dragon enjoys it.


It's actually nice to hear people don't wait and their snakes still are perfectly fine! I would like to hear someone who didn't wait and couldn't get their snake to eat at all.(I haven't heard anyone say that yet. They either wait the 7 days or hold and their snakes eat... Unless I missed someone's post saying they didn't wait and couldn't get the snake to eat.)

I've had several that I didn't wait for in my early days of keeping ball pythons that didn't eat. I had to then make myself NOT handle them until they ate for me, which in one case was almost 2 to 3 weeks later.

I'm not sure that you're really looking for experienced advice though? It sounds like you're really looking for "permission" to skip an acclimation period.

Bottom line, it's your snake. We can only offer you advice based on our own experiences. And those of us who have been doing this for several years and those who came before us, pretty much all agree that an acclimation period is pretty important, rather than selfishly getting our own instant gratification of handling the cute new addition before the week is up.

You'll need to make a decision for yourself and your snake. You'll always get differing views. It's pretty clear you're most interested in the views that give you permission to go ahead and handle and not worry about the acclimation period. So go for it! After all, your own personal experience is going to be your best teacher in the long run.