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I just picked up my second herp for my Christmas last Thursday, a male neonate Eastern King (Chain) I've named Mars for his caramel markings and have set him up in a long 20 gallon. He's fiesty, he rattles his tail at me when I change his water and if I make any sudden moves he either prompty buries himself in his substrate or takes offense and strikes at me.

I'm relatively new to snakes as my first one (a GBK) is docile and personable to the point where I've had offers from multiple breeders to buy her as a wonderfully simple snake who will eat out of my hand if I let her. She's hooked many people onto snakes in general by being so quiet and easy to handle. She even made friends with the vet.

I have hope for him settling nicely as he's a very curious little guy. If something spooks him, he'll fly underground and then poke just enough of his head out to watch whatever spooked him. If I'm sitting at my computer with my back turned to him, I'll see him inspecting me and everything around me until I look, then he flies into his hide or underground again.

Any suggestions on how to acclimatize him to being handled or at least curb the snappy tendencies, or will it fade as he grows older and more confident?

Kings in general tend to calm down with age.
This has to do with their natural enemies.
Almost everything in the woods will eat snake eggs.
Almost anything in the woods will eat baby snakes.
As they get older, the natural enemies they confront on a daily basis gets smaller and smaller.
Genetic programming and natural selection makes them this way.
At adult size most kings are very docile snakes, right behind the corn snakes.
Corn snakes are so friendly sometimes it's almost sickening.

I don't know about corns, some yes, but I've had a few that would bite me non-stop after years of having them, gloves didn't even seem to stop them from trying to draw blood from me. Seems to be the personality from snake to snake?

Sounds normal to me, what was said about the large cages is true, but if he's eating he should be fine. Sounds like he is a fun snake to watch, and if he stays as active he'll make a great display animal.

Well, since he is a baby king, sometimes they can be snappy. I have had cal kings, immediately after hatching, strike at me when I was checking them..ha ha...

I will bet that your Eastern king will settle down once he is used to handling and realizes that you are not a threat. I have heard that they are great pets and adults can be dog tame.

One thing though, and I may have forgotten to add his in my posts concerning your gray band. The cage you have your Eastern in, a 20 gallon long, may be a little big for him at this time. Thing is, if he does fine, and eats good, being in the 20 gallon, then cool and I would not change it then. The point is, sometimes baby snakes, when put in really big cages, do not do as well as they would in a smaller cage. Reason being, the openess they feel in a really big cage may make them feel insecure, even if they have hide boxes on each end, etc.. I have had this happen and have had to switch them back to a smaller cage, and I also have had snakes do just fine in bigger cages as babies. This is not saying it is bad for your baby Eastern to be in a 20 gallon, it is just something to keep mind of if he does not tame down at all soon. If he does not tame down, he may feel stressed all the time in, what appears to him, as a vast and open area that may not make him him feel secure. Snakes are individuals, so some do fine in big cages as babies and some do not. It is just something to consider and keep in mind.

Post a pic of your Eastern if you can!!

Billy

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Genesis 1:1

That makes sense about him stressing about the sheer amount of space he has to watch at all times.. would putting in a plexi divider if he finds it too large work? Also, would putting lots of places to inspect things from a hidden distance make him a bit happier? Sterilized driftwood, rocks, deep substrate he can burrow in etc.

I'm also planning on covering 3 sides of the tank with background sheeting. My grayband's display tank is also semi covered, but it's the style of tank that has screened holes on the sides so I didn't fully cover the sides. I'll get a pic of the two tanks when I get my digi back. I warn you, my photography skills are lacking.

Speaking of my grayband, she was wrapped around the vining I have strung around the top of her cage in full sight tonight with a contented 'you're SO not making me move' sprawl and dangle. I would have snapped a pic but I was on my way to work and just turning off the UV/heat lights.

As for the Eastern, I'll get a picture of him when he's a bit slower than speeding snake madly burrowing into the ground. As it stands, my shutter speed isn't quick enough to catch him which is a shame as he's nicely marked.

He's definetly about 1000x more active than my grayband ever was and alot more opinionated. He expressed his opinion about me changing his water again by hiding in the substrate again and disappearing for the past day and a half. I've resisted the urge to dig him out, he'll come out when he's ready, but it's amazing how quick you freak out when you open an empty tank and go 'where's my snake?!'
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Putting in a plexi divider may work but I am not familiar with those inside glass tanks. If you are not able to put him in a smaller cage or the plexiglass divider does not work out, yeah, perhaps putting in additional cage items for him to investigate may keep his mind more occupied with that rather than stressing about the open space.
Also, him being a baby kingsnake could be very well the reason he is feisty: Some are just like that. I am sure though that he will calm down after a while.
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Genesis 1:1

my little one rattled his tail at me the day I got him. A couple of times after I got him home he musked but calmed down quickly once in my hands. Now he doesn't musk anymore but he still tries to runaway when I'm picking him up, but is super calm and nice and curious in my hands. Never struck at me though.

I have a pretty brand new California King and he's just like yours. He's very active, always checking out what I'm doing and if I disturb him in any way, he'll rattle his tail and strike at anything that comes close! I'm not too afraid of being bitten, but I'd like to avoid it if I can! Usually I'll spray a tiny mist of water into the cage and make him retreat. Then he seems to realize what's going on and he'll let me pick him up with no problem.
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George
1.0.0. Columbian Red Tail Boa (Madmartigan)
1.0.0. California Kingsnake (Noodle)