Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does anyone out there know anything about angry snakes. Calming them, or relaxing them. I am fresh out of ideas and my recently adopted kingsnake is irate. I dont want him to be a look but dont touch animal. If you have any advice I will greatly apreciate it, so anyone please reply. I was thinking that maybe I will handle it only occasionally while it is young, it is 1 and a half years old, and letting it grow out of this agressive phase. Or is that a bad idea? Should I just handle it like once a week whether it likes it or not? or wait?

just plan on getting bit. Not trying to be funny but if you handle him like normal and just ignor the biting eventually he will not associate you as a threat or as something that will try to eat him and will calm down.....as long as he is eating well!!

Thanks for the reply,
Yeah, I do plan on getting bit. But it doesn't seem to want to bite me, instead it wants very little to do with me. I mean more so than an ordinary snake that is. It is just kinda high stress i guess. I am working on completing a nice cage and he is very well fed, so by all means this snake should be happy.

Well, without further info I can only recommend just holding him whether he likes it or not. Don't stroke him as this will not calm him down it will only make him more fearful and aggressive. Sometimes high temperatures can cause a bit of aggression, also if you are underfeeding a bit he could be expecting food. Good Luck
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-J.Hill

Hey thanks for the responses,

From your replies I think thatI will wait and see. I just got it and the woman who owned it before me only fed it one fuzzy every week. I think that I will feed it at least two per week because it is a year and a half old and 21" long. I will feed it well for a while and see if it will mellow out.
-Thanks again for the replies

Hello,
don't think you said what kind of kingsnake you have, but one fuzzy every week for a year and a half year old snake is not even close enough. Mine isn't quite a year and he eats 2 or 3 small mice a week. He's a Florida Kingsnake, and they are hogs when it comes to eating. I would really suggest feeding him something bigger than fuzzies, and more than one.
Good luck!

Ohh you are right I did not. I have a 1 and a half year old California King. Lampropeltis getula californiae. He is an albino. Yes The first time I fed him he ate quickly and was moving around a bunch. I have seen some snakes after meals just sit in the same spot for 2 days! I dont think that his head is big enough for a full size mouse, so i will try two fuzzies... since they are no problem. Thank you all on this site for your concern and knowledge. I am going to get a picture of him on my cpu and I will put it on here later today.. Thanks again for all of your help.

Snakes are really neat in that they can swallow things many times the size fo their heads. When deciding whether or not to up the size of food, I would recommend looking at the largest part of the snake. I've found that's a good point to base what size of food your snake can take.

Each time I increase the size food for my kingsnake I think to myself, "well, maybe this is too big." And it does take her a little longer when she gets a bigger size, but if your snake is eating a fuzzy in just 5 to 7 minutes or less, then definetly go to a bigger size. I know it seems near impossible, but they really can stretch those jaws! Someone on here explained it this way, a snake usually does not come across just one little mouse, but a den of them. So even three fuzzies would be fine.
Good luck!

I have an Albino King as well and when I got him he was NIPPY AS HECK! They don't hurt when they bite ya so it's not a huge deal. However, I think the only way to get him to calm down is to handle him as much as possible.

Can you post pictures of your set up?

I know that a lot of snakes that live in enclosures that are too BIG get stressed because there's no security.

Do you have hides for him? He could feel vulnerable without one and get stressed.

What are your temps?

Sorry so many questions for you but you can tell a lot from all of those things.

Hope this helps!

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George
1.0. Columbian Red Tail Boa (Madmartigan)
1.0. CA Nicaraguan Boa (Vader)
0.1. 66% Poss Het Albino Colombian Red Tail (Sorsha)
1.0. Albino Striped California Kingsnake (Pokey)
0.1. California Kingsnake (Noodle)