Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone, I have a rather aggressive, but very healthy eastern kingsnake and was wondering if she will grow out of this "phase". I wouldn't give her away if it won't, but I am wondering if there are any husbandry quirks that can make snakes aggressive. She seems to have gotten more touchy in recent months. I will be getting a snake hook in a few days, is this a good investment for someone with a nervous snake? With a hook, can I train her not to bite as often?

Also, I would like to know where you all get those funny phrases that you have at the bottom of your messages.

Thanks,
Pinstripe

It is best to just ignore her aggression and pick her up gently and hold her for 5 -10 minutes every day or 2. When snakes realize that aggression isn't going to get them anywhere, and that handling is not going to hurt them, they usually abandon that behavior very quickly.
Jeff Robbe

well my eastern would do everything to not be picked up,,,but i did it anyway,,,,,a few nips,,but she calmed down and is now a big baby,,,better to get nipped when they are young than when they are big,,,,,

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Hi,

I have a very large colony of easterns and I have found that most aggressive behaviors are directly tied to their feeding response, which always seems to be in hyper-drive. All of my adults greet me at the front of the cage with their mouths open. They also have a habit of finding a nice warm spot on my hand and start chewing. I have found this behavior in is directly tied to their appetites. When I don't feed them until satiation they start "reminding" me to correct my neglectful behavior. I have had many hundreds of wild caught and captive bred easterns from all over their range and have found very few to be actually aggressive. Many are shy and need to get used to interaction. They will manifest these feelings with hissing, musking and squirming, but get over it very quikly. I'd be willing to bet that yours are just not full. Try feeding them until they stop eating on their own and see if that improves the situation. Good luck.

Will

Thanks! I feed her 2-3 fuzzies once a week -- she is about 17 inches long. Is this too much or too little? I have noticed that she is at her most annoyable a few days after a feeding -- people say you shoudn't touch them after feeding, but she doesn't give me an option!

Pinstripe