My experience has been the exact OPPOSITE of that described by Markg. I have kept Kingsnakes sine 1992, several species, several individuals. Some were part-time projects for a few months, others were intended "pets" that did were later exchanged for a better individual, some were rescues which I later passed onto other Stewards for care.

Cal Kings have been the most predictable in my experience. Males tend to be quite active & curious, and generally calm during handling. Most become quite aware that feeding time is separate from handling or outside exercise time.

The only Kingsnake that I never tamed was a Florida Kingsnake wrongly sold to me as a Speckled Kingsnake. I named him Saruman - for good reason. He simply could NOT be trusted. He routinely attacked my fingers or hand to constrict. He never understood that I am NOT prey, and that I am too big to even consider as prey.

I handled often, did all the right things, and he once stopped biting for 10 days. I thought that I had made progress, and that his behavior could be changed. Then he tried to constrict both my hand & arm. It took several moments of holding him under running water to get him to release his death grip.

He never figured out that very large objects should not be attacked. He never got better. His feeding instinct was too strong, and it overrode all other actions. He was a constant risk to handle, and I rehomed him for my current Desert Kingsnake - my most cherished kingsnake ever.

Our local Craig's List advertisements for snakes currently have a Florida Kingsnake kept in a classroom that also has an aggressive feeding response. The teacher is rehoming it after 8 years. This is the first such post that I've ever seen; many other posts involving many snake species did NOT mention long-term feeding problems. Coincidence?

Be patient like I was, but in the end, you may find out that this individual (and possibly subspecies) is one to avoid for long-term keeping.

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