Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've had my Cali Kingsnake for about 4 months now, and it is my first snake. He/She is about 14.5 to 15 inches in length, so I am not sure exactly how old it is. Lately, as in the past couple months, I've been very busy with work and school and homework and whatever time I have left I don't really have time to handle my snake. I've probably only been handling my kingsnake about once a week although I'm sure a 2 week period has gone by somewhere in there. Today when I wanted to handle my kingsnake it struck at me and shook its tale like crazy and just looked so pissed off. I eventually picked it up and it calmed down but once back in its tank it curled up an shook its tail if I got near the tank, although as I write this it he/she is a bit more calm when I near the tank.
So my first question is, how often should I be handling my kingsnake? I really don't want to neglect it, and I really fear that if I don't handle it enough it will just be a mean untrusting snake when it gets to be an adult.
My other question is, how long does it take for a snake to build trust and be calm with its owner?
The issue of how much time I can devote to my snake without it feelings like a hassle will decide whether or not I should get another one, I really want a western hognose! But maybe now is not the time, an once I'm out of college I'll probably be going to graduate school...oy

It's not uncommon for baby cal kings to act defensive at first. When you're that small, almost everything eats you. I would suggest consistent handling of once or twice per week (for about five to ten minutes per session) regardless of how the snake acts. Once the snake builds some trust it should decrease, if not stop, the defensive behavior. Hope this helps.

The truth is that not handling is the opposite of neglect, he would probably much rather prefer not to be handled. But yeah, just give him some time. I could be just that he's a little hungry. I know my brooksi everytime I open their tubs they rattle and "S" up until they realize I'm not there to feed them but to hold them and mine get fed 2-3 times a week most of the time. Remember to leave at least 2 days after feeding before any more handling. Other than that it sounds like normal california king behavior.
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-J.Hill

I might get a hard time for saying this but honestly ... even if you dont handle him at all .. chances are as it gets older it will calm down all on its own.

Juvi's are just that way sometimes, its very likely that even if you didnt handle him but once every two weeks or at cleaning times when he ends up being an adult he will be perfectly managable.

Never any guarentees of course but more than likely he will be just fine ...

>>I might get a hard time for saying this but honestly ... even if you dont handle him at all .. chances are as it gets older it will calm down all on its own.
>>

Oh my gosh, I can't believe you said that! lol

You speak the truth brother. I'll even go a step further: Leave them babies be for the most part. Let them thrive and grow with a reasonable minimum of holding and grabbing. When they are older, they get better-behaved anyway (well, most do.)
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Mark

As a juvi, Spot was great for me, but everytime my friends son (he was 6 at the time) would walk past his cage, he'd curl up and act all pissed off... It was kinda comical explaining to a 6 y/o that he couldn't hold the snake because it didn't like him...

Now I can let anyone who wants to hold him... he just needed to grow out of his scared of everything phase...

I think that having snake be comfortable with being handled is an important part of being a responsible pet owner and having healthy captives. A snake that freaks out every time you change the water is a stressed out snake. I don't believe that it is healthy for them to exhibit this life or death, fear type of response every other day.

My favorite way to get handleable snakes is very intensively for a short period of time. I take a hatchling or juvi and devote a week to two weeks just taming them. I handle them every day, sometimes a few times a day. Once they lose their fear of me, they can go weeks or even months as adults without being handled and still be 100% fine. People have argued with me that this is too stressful for them, but I have never had one stop eating or exhibit any long term ill effects. I think a few days of stress is better then a life of one.

The last piece of advice I will give you is to pick them up out of the cage quickly and smoothly. Don't dick around letting them wonder if they are about to get fed or if they should bolt for their hide, just open the cage and gently scoop them up from the sides (avoid coming down directly from above).

cheers

keeping them in high traffic areas will also eventually break down their 'resistance' to human presence. they may not care for it at 1rst but they'll become better captives down the road making it much easier for all concerned esp. them! i've practiced this w/ racers, coachwhips & cribos, [the most nervous colubrids of them all] & it produces the intended results........

I Agree! While I have kept some animals in naturalistic setups I very often found that while you observe more "natural" behaviours, your poor animals freak out and completely stress out when you service the cage alot of times! Some are never seen again because their "NATURAL" behaviour is to be hidden out of sight of predators.I agree with you that a stressed animal like that can't be in good state!

I have been VERY impressed with places like the Wilmington serpentarium in N.C. that display BEAUTIFUL animals in natural type displays but because of the high traffic and their talented keepers, the animals just hang out and you can enjoy observing because they are not stressed. I observed two Mambas mating on a branch from 10" away!

I think what FR says is important, like giving captive animals choices but I have to sometimes wonder if the natural displays are sometimes more for the conscience of the keeper. When in nature you have the choice to maybe wander acres(maybe less) I think in many cases if I were a snake a 6'x 6'x 6' would still ROT in comparison LOL but it would obviously be better than a little plastic box. But a little plastic cage/box with choices, no predators,clean water and psychological stimulation from handling/interacting with a human keeper may not be that bad. If I think about this too much my head hurts....

Hope I haven't offended anyone. to each his own..

Thanks for all the info! There's definitely a lot of things I need to learn and half of that isn't found in any book or care sheet. In fact the book I bought sucks, it tells as much info as the free care sheet I got at the pet store.
I definitely feel better and enjoy this forum very much, thanks!

Good question! I posted earlier about it for my very nervous Eastern Kingsnake. He's so nervous he wouldn't soak in his water bowl and freaked out if anyone moved...

I do consider well socialized pets as a responsibility of the pet owner, but I also understand that snakes aren't very 'affectionate' anyways. With my snappy baby, I've come to the conclusion that I'll handle him on his good days and when he's aggressive I'll leave him be. He DOES get handled at least twice a week to be checked over and inspected, and I don't put him back until he calms down but if he's acting particularily stressed out I simply leave him be.

He's calming down, and let me pick him up today with no threats. He even came to the front of the tank after to watch the dog and cat play. Hopefully one day he'll be as sociable as my gbk who insists on peeking out to stare at whoever's walked by if she isn't snoozing.
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1.0 Eastern Kingsnake, Chain (Mars)
0.1 Gray Banded Kingsnake (Thanatos)