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Hi! Just a quick question- how often and for how long would you say that you should hold your kingsnake? For example- every other day for ten minutes, once a week for fifteen minutes, etc. I want to keep my kingsnake as tame as possible, of course, but I would never want to stress him out or anything (also, I have quite a few animals and I am trying to figure out a better a schedule to spend time with them all).
Thank you!
In my opinion, if you have a young kingsnake, I would say handle it at least once a week but no more than every other day. As for the the time limit, ten minutes or so should be enough. There are several factors that can influence how often (and how long) you handle the snake, such as the personality of the snake and how long it has been since the snake has been fed. It is important to try not to stress the snake out or it may regurge a meal if handled too soon after eating.
Good luck with your snake.
Orocosos
How old is your snake? Generally, as they get some size on them, they'll be less skittish and you can hold them for longer periods without stressing them, even if you haven't held them very frequently.
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Holly
0.1 Lavender California Kingsnake (Lizzie Borden) (missing 
)
1.0 Bearded Dragon (Charley Manson)
1.0 Orange Marmalade Cat (Oliver)
1.0 Egyptian Arabian (Bagan)
2.0 Toddlers (Justice & Trevor)
Good point!
Holly brings up a good point, and I agree with her.
I don't hold baby snakes any more than I have to, as is sometimes necessary when removing the snake for cleaning cages. Baby snakes stress the most. It is better to leave them alone. And they won't grow up to be mean necessarily. Many kings for example that start out as demons when babies grow up to be the tamest snakes around even if held hardly at all during their early years.
Adult snakes generally tolerate handling much better. If kept in small cages, perhaps handling is even beneficial to the snake. Some individuals will handle better than others, even in identical conditions.
It is my own opinion that minimal handling is best for the snakes unless they need exercise.
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Mark
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