Reptile & Amphibian Forums

just curious..I've had my king for about 2 1/2 weeks now. Within the first 2 weeks he was really calm and would make any moves to strike at my hand or anything. Now all of a sudden hes become like super aggressive. I'll go to pick him up and he'll wind up and strike without question. Is this like a phase before shedding? Is it not normal? Maybe you guys can help me thanks in advance.

that was meant to say wouldn't make any any moves to strike at my hand sorry

As with most snakes he may well be grumpy & going into a shed...any physical signs of it? Cloudy eyes, dull colour, etc?
Other than that there could actually be many reasons why he's like that. Such as enclosure temps, lighting, feeding, his health in general, or he could just be settling into his new home and showing you his true colours, lol. Some are just like that
Would help if we knew how old he was, when you last fed, his living conditions, tank size etc.
Best of luck!
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"Klaatu...Verata...Nicht--cough, cough, cough!"

Would help if we knew how old he was, when you last fed, his living conditions, tank size etc.
Best of luck!

Ok he is roughly a month and a half old i fed him 7 days ago his living conditions are as follows:
-20gallon long tank
-fresh water every day
- i got one of those under tank heating pads with a temp regulator set at 82 degrees fahrenheit
- ceramic hide box
- shredded aspen bedding
- 60 watt night glow light above but not resting on the top of the tank on the same end that the heating pad is on

as for him getting ready to shed i cant really tell his eyes arent cloudy or anything but i remember when i got him he had just shed and it was fairly hard to see the outline of his scales. now the outline of the scales is fully visible i dont know if thats a sign of getting ready to shed or not. I suppose his color is getting a little dull.

Well...
Sounds like the living conditions are perfect except the tank may be a bit big for him at ths point. That may be freaking him out a bit, but given chance to get used to it he shoud be ok. Judging from the age I'd say he's just being a normal little cal king, trying to show you how tough he is.
I wouldn't worry, frequent handling and continued good care will most likely help him tame down for you.
Keep up the great work
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"Klaatu...Verata...Nicht--cough, cough, cough!"