I have a California King that's 6-8 months old and he's wonderful. Occasionally at mealtimes he gets a bit snippy, which is why I remove him from his 20 gallon tank and put him in a special 'eating' box; it's a signal it's time to eat, and he is only fed when in that box, never anywhere else. He's also fed via large tweezers, so my hands are out of immediate reach. This seems to have been effective, as he doesn't strike at me or my husband hardly ever. The few times he's stuck, he's not been very vicious about it and has realized he has one of us. He's always let go quickly, and has never broken the skin.



Kings are beautiful and inexpensive, both to buy and keep. I'm a 'newbie' snake owner, but I had several longtime snake owners and friends recommend kings, corns, and rosy boas to me as the best option for a beginner. So far it's been a great experience. I would tell you that if you have a heat pad, you shouldn't need the lamp too. I did that the first week with my king and he got a little too warm (though he's fine, he just didn't care for 85 degrees too much!)

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