Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've been trying to find time to pick up and hold my cali for a few minutes each day, which usually turns into a few minutes every few days. She's extremely skittish, "pees" every time I pick her up and every time she acts stressed while I'm holding her. I'm hoping that she'll settle down more through frequent contact. Any other suggestions? She's even pretty skittish when in her terrarium, rushing to burrow the second she's put back in her home. I have a few hides in there for her along with vines for extra cover. I'd really like to be able to look in my tank and actually see my snake without having to crouch down on the ground and look under it.

Closeup:

Helping me type on the forums:

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Holly

0.1 Lavender California Kingsnake (Lizzie Borden)
1.0 Bearded Dragon (Charley Manson)
1.0 Orange Marmalade Cat (Oliver)
1.0 Egyptian Arabian (Bagan)

2.0 Toddlers (Justice & Trevor)

I love the pattern on that kingsnake. It looks more like a "Newport phase" than a banded.

I bought her from Mike Fedzen this summer. The pictures turned out a little bit yellow, so it's hard to see her real lavender color. She's absolutely gorgeous and I think her pattern's awesome. I just hope she'll be more calm as she gains some size.

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Holly

0.1 Lavender California Kingsnake (Lizzie Borden)
1.0 Bearded Dragon (Charley Manson)
1.0 Orange Marmalade Cat (Oliver)
1.0 Egyptian Arabian (Bagan)

2.0 Toddlers (Justice & Trevor)

She's a beauty, that's for sure. I really like that color and pattern. The Cal King I had for quite some time also showed similar behavior you describe at a younger age and it was a little nerve racking at times as I recall. It wasn't until several years later that he really became totally calm and just the nicest snake to handle and enjoy. I would keep doing what you've been doing and don't worry about handling every day as I don't believe it makes that much difference. Good luck with her. Photo is of my son a few years ago enjoying our snake. Jim

Holly,
I saw the pics... And I thought to myself, I had a snake that looked just like that, ha.
She was pretty tame when I had her, but most cali king babies are jumpy. When she gets more size to her she will calm down. Is she still eating a lot? She was a feeding machine when I had her.
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Mike
KingPin Reptiles Inc.
www.kingpinreptiles.com
^ Updated 10/8

She's eating 3-4 fuzzies per week... basically one or two - two times per week. She doesn't like for me to watch her eat, so I've respected that. She has shed at least twice since she moved in. I'm hoping that with her steady diet of fuzzies for about another month or so, she might move up to hoppers. She's awesome and I'm really pleased with her.

I feed her in this separate tank, so she doesn't ingest any substrate:

But she lives quite happily in this terrarium that I will be converting to a vivarium, gradually.

.

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Holly

0.1 Lavender California Kingsnake (Lizzie Borden)
1.0 Bearded Dragon (Charley Manson)
1.0 Orange Marmalade Cat (Oliver)
1.0 Egyptian Arabian (Bagan)

2.0 Toddlers (Justice & Trevor)

Wow that's a heck of a set up.
Good to hear that she's doing great.
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Mike
KingPin Reptiles Inc.
www.kingpinreptiles.com
^ Updated 10/8