Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently got a california 50/50 king snake and he is young, he is great to handle, however when i pick him up he pees on me and it has a strong smell why does he do that? also he shakes his tail at me like a rattle snake, is that typical of this breed.

thanks

yes my snakes "pee" on me and rattle their tail. this pee is called musk and the will do this when they are frightend or nervous to scare away prey. the rattle is also like a warning that the snake is frightened. This is normal for snakes to do expesually if you just got him. just hold him a bunch and he will soon settle down.

Ah that satisfies my curiosity,snake musk...don't they put that in perfume? my goodness I don't think I would find that particularly attractive!

Aren't these kings just so amazing? the markings and contrast in the stripes I also picked up a blotched baby king, he is a real beauty, he is VERY curious and VERY bold, I think he is going to be a great animal. Where did you find the brown striped king? he looks real nice, I would like me one of those

How long have you had snake fever?

Just wait, pretty soon, he'll do even more.

My CalKing is like yours, but I got him as an adult. He's a nice snake, but handling tends to get his system going. When I handle him for about thirty minutes to an hour, he defecates. Sometimes, these snakes will do that when they are frightened or startled. With my guy, the activity of being handled just gets his system going. He'll be sitting there quietly and suddenly let go.

He also musks sometimes when I pick him up. Other times, he's perfectly okay with being handled. The secret is to get him when he's in a good mood.

My snake also rattles his tail sometimes. There's no one event that leads to this behavior, but he does it sometimes. He'll do it when he's startled, and he'll do it when he's excited about feeding.

These behaviors can be a challenge, but they are part of owning a CalKing. If you handle him regularly but not for too long, he'll get more used to being held and be better about not musking or peeing. The defecation will just depend on your snake's system. The good news about my guy having that trait is that I can keep him regular with regular handling.

Bill
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It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.

thanks for the helpful information! quite fascinating, how old is your king? how big? do you have pics of him?

I've only had my CalKing since October, but I think he's about three years old. He's 42 or 43 inches long and about 450 grams. Here are some pictures of him.

Bill

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It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.

Has he ever bitten you? I like the way they look but afraid of being bit so only have small snakes .

thanks

He's never really bitten me. I used to feed him by putting a f/t mouse in a paper bag and putting his head in the bag. He'd usually go into the bag to get his food. Once, I was trying to get him in the bag and he started to bite me. He could smell the mouse scent and was ready to start eating. He saw the movement of my finger and thought it might be something to eat. As soon as he took my finger in his mouth, he knew that it wasn't a mouse and spat it back out.

Some Cal Kings can be nippy according to other people who've worked with them, but most people say that they calm down after a while. I don't have enough experience to tell you exactly what to expect.

I wouldn't be all that afraid of being bitten. Snakes really don't have strong jaws. They have to hold prey in place to constrict, but their jaws aren't made to chew, tear, cut, or crush. They have sharp teeth, but they don't have much bite pressure. I've been bitten by wild snakes and never really realized that I was being bitten until I looked down to see a little blood on my hand.

Bill
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It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.

Okay thanks. I will stick with small snakes untill or if ever not afraid of being bit. I know its not like being bit by a pitbull lol but nervous about it.
I do like the contrast marking of white/black in CA kings .

Bill, don't test that theory on indigos, lol!
Todd Hughes

What's different about indigos?

Bill
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It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.

I have seen them tear off snakes heads, lizards pulled apart and cotton rats that have had their necks broken, very strong snakes, really strong jaws and neck muscles. They don't constrict, they pin down their prey and swallow it or put it out of commission by pulling it until the neck breaks. They have very long teeth and an awesome feeding response. Not like watching a garter snake eat!
Todd Hughes

I have been peed on, crapped on, musked on, bit on, constricted on, puked on, bled on (from my skin), and partilly swallowed - all more than once.

Its All Good - I Love Snakes!

Cheers,

John D
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0.1 Creamsicle Cornsake "Yolanda"
1.0 Bairds Ratsnake "Steely Dan"

those are all side affects of owning snakes...ive had my first snake for 4 years and my first king for 3 years i have 13 kings and 1 garter. glad to know you like snakes.

sounds like you have a nice collection, will you be getting more do you think? if you have an email address that would be great, I would love to be snake pen pals with you, drop me a line at nimbaluv@aol.com, and anyone else who has been reading this thread feel free to talk snakes with me.

Thanks