Looking for advice from more experienced keepers

[Bogertophis]

My snakes are ALWAYS fed where they live, & no, I'm not covered with bite-scars, lol.

Side bins (1) add stress, (2) put shy feeders OFF eating at all, (3) don't help at all, & (4) make it MORE likely you'll get bit, either handling them before or after, when they're still in "feed mode".

Corn snakes act voracious & they are, but the way to tell a hungry corn snake that YOU are not "dinner" is first, blow air across your hand thru the screen so they get your scent. Most will back up right then. Understand that they chase "motion" but don't identify things visually- they need more cues (scent &/or touch). You can also use a quick mist of cool water to their face to "change their channel" quickly. (keep a spray bottle on hand for this, & also for misting them when in shed) I'm not talking about a fire hose or water-blaster- just a spritz- and not only won't it hurt them, many snakes will drink right from the spray when they're thirsty. Remember they get rained on in nature too.

[Neko_snake]

My snakes are ALWAYS fed where they live, & no, I'm not covered with bite-scars, lol.

Side bins (1) add stress, (2) put shy feeders OFF eating at all, (3) don't help at all, & (4) make it MORE likely you'll get bit, either handling them before or after, when they're still in "feed mode".

Corn snakes act voracious & they are, but the way to tell a hungry corn snake that YOU are not "dinner" is first, blow air across your hand thru the screen so they get your scent. Most will back up right then. Understand that they chase "motion" but don't identify things visually- they need more cues (scent &/or touch). You can also use a quick mist of cool water to their face to "change their channel" quickly. (keep a spray bottle on hand for this, & also for misting them when in shed) I'm not talking about a fire hose or water-blaster- just a spritz- and not only won't it hurt them, many snakes will drink right from the spray when they're thirsty. Remember they get rained on in nature too.

My snakes are ALWAYS fed where they live, & no, I'm not covered with bite-scars, lol.

Side bins (1) add stress, (2) put shy feeders OFF eating at all, (3) don't help at all, & (4) make it MORE likely you'll get bit, either handling them before or after, when they're still in "feed mode".

Corn snakes act voracious & they are, but the way to tell a hungry corn snake that YOU are not "dinner" is first, blow air across your hand thru the screen so they get your scent. Most will back up right then. Understand that they chase "motion" but don't identify things visually- they need more cues (scent &/or touch). You can also use a quick mist of cool water to their face to "change their channel" quickly. (keep a spray bottle on hand for this, & also for misting them when in shed) I'm not talking about a fire hose or water-blaster- just a spritz- and not only won't it hurt them, many snakes will drink right from the spray when they're thirsty. Remember they get rained on in nature too.

Thank you. Glad through my own research I came to the same conclusion that someone who's been doing this for decades has. That's exactly what I'm doing with my ball python, well no handling as we haven't gotten 3 feeds yet, but letting him get used to my scent and not thinking every time the enclosure opens he's getting fed. I might just be checking his hot spot temperature.

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[Bogertophis]

Thank you. Glad through my own research I came to the same conclusion that someone who's been doing this for decades has. That's exactly what I'm doing with my ball python, well no handling as we haven't gotten 3 feeds yet, but letting him get used to my scent and not thinking every time the enclosure opens he's getting fed. I might just be checking his hot spot temperature.

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Rat snakes (including corns) are more scent-oriented, whereas BPs tend to rely on heat signatures so they might not "get" your scent the way a rat snake will. But it doesn't hurt to give them all the cues you can- snakes can't hear & don't see that well (other than "motion" which can be either prey or predator coming their way), so if you want calm snakes, do your best to communicate thru any means you can. It really helps. They recognize our touch also, but a snake that's thinking "prey" can be hard to approach safely to touch them- that's where "tap (or "hook") training" comes in. I prefer to avoid bites- not that bites from harmless snakes are a big deal, because they're not- but I want my snakes to feel "safe" with me, & communication any way we can truly helps that.

You're asking good questions & I'm glad you got this job- the snakes (& other staff there) needs someone like you, that's asking the right questions & working to improve things.

[Neko_snake]

Rat snakes (including corns) are more scent-oriented, whereas BPs tend to rely on heat signatures so they might not "get" your scent the way a rat snake will. But it doesn't hurt to give them all the cues you can- snakes can't hear & don't see that well (other than "motion" which can be either prey or predator coming their way), so if you want calm snakes, do your best to communicate thru any means you can. It really helps. They recognize our touch also, but a snake that's thinking "prey" can be hard to approach safely to touch them- that's where "tap (or "hook") training" comes in. I prefer to avoid bites- not that bites from harmless snakes are a big deal, because they're not- but I want my snakes to feel "safe" with me, & communication any way we can truly helps that.

You're asking good questions & I'm glad you got this job- the snakes (& other staff there) needs someone like you, that's asking the right questions & working to improve things.

Makes sense. I figure the more cues the better. I definitely didn't know rat snakes were scent-orientated so that is very good information to know. I just want to expand not only my own knowledge but to help others like coworkers and the public to have the knowledge to properly take care of these animals. Information is always changing as we learn more so we have to constantly be learning and expanding our knowledge.

Just so I'm getting as much knowledge from you as possible, we also have an Eastern Kingsnake. I know he's another colubrid and he's also an adult. Should he also be on the same feeding schedule as our corn?

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