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as a child a got a king at a local herp store. It was fine at the store maybe a little twitchy, but I was a little kid and didn't notice. When we got home we let the snake acclimate to it's new home for a few days. Then we took it out and it started biting- never stopped the behavior even though we kept it for several months. Whenever you took out the snake it would immediately strike at your forearms and occasionally struck at your face so handling it was never a pleasant task. Being a child I was terrified of the snake and never wanted to be near it because it always tried to bite. Overall it was a horrible experience, and the local store was ridiculous they wouldn't take it back or exchange it for another snake. I honestly lost a lot of respect for several of the local pet stores- people were only willing to take it to breed it. They didn't offer any helpful solutions or reason why the snake would be acting that way. Any clues to why this snake was so aggressive?

Sounds like this snake from many years ago has traumatized you until today. Without more information there is really no right answer for you post.

Most neonate colubrids strike at anything up until they are 1 to 1 1/2 years old. Then comes the factor as to which TYPE of kingsnake you had (which we might not ever really know unless you saved a pic for proper ID). Some kings are more mellow than others and are not prone to biting as adults. However ost all captive kings will still bite if they think you are a meal because of seeing a hand or the cage opening for a mouse.Or even mosue secent.. But that is conditional and not a defensive bite or strike.
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i dont know about the MOUSE scent crap, i think that what you tell a wife ....Getula are primarily visual ambush predators

i dont know about the MOUSE scent crap, i think that what you tell a wife ....Getula are primarily visual ambush predators

Chris,
Next time you handle several hunred mice, pick up a king and let it run in your fingers for about 20 seconds.
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I'll agree with that, my florida will stay in his hide all week until he smells mice thawing on top of his cage, then he's out cruising around tryin to get to them...
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~Maggie~

"Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious."
1.1 Cal Kings (Spot and Fry)
1.0 Florida King (Gamble)
1.0 Ball Python (Mitch)
0.1 Red Belly Piranha (Fluffy)
1.0 Australian Shepherd (Spooky)
1.0 Springer Spaniel/Beagle mix (Snoopy)
0.1 Cat (Ecco)

he was an albino cali king, it was an adult probably 5 yrs. I was actually thinking about him bc I was cleaning out some cages the other day (including my gerbils and forgot to wash my hands)- one of my kings thought my thumb was lunch, my mistake... To this day I've never dealt with a snake that aggressive without being able to point out reasons for behavior. It was never stressed, left alone in the quietest room of the house. It had a proper habitat. It was never a food/scent thing. He was usually a little jumpy when you tried to take him out, pretty normal, but really went after you once out of the cage- it's like he knew where to strike to be put down- smart sob. The first time it happened we dropped him, and like a typical king instead of running for cover it charged toward us. We thought it was a territorial reaction but it usually didn't bite when I put your hand in the tank- it was more of a protest to being handled. Now that I'm thinking about it, perhaps he wasn't captive breed, and was wild caught- unlikely but possible- he had a scar that we were told was "probably a burn."

Albinos sometimes tend to be more aggressive. Not all but some.
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It appears you give snakes no credit. It sounds like you think they should do what you want.

You forget, these are wild animals and do have a mind and agendas of their own. And they are not all alike.

As a person who has bred kings since 1964, I can tell you, its ALL ABOUT YOU. They always react to you.

I do not want to be racist, but I kind of have too. Some people believe and live by words. Other people believe and live by feelings, you know, the stuff words discribe.

Animals and in particular a voiceless creature like snakes, live by feelings. In fact, their lives depend on that. Think about predator prey relationships where they hang out together for long periods, then all of a sudden the prey knows when the predator is a threat. This is common in the snake world.

So with snakes, you must be secure with yourself and you must be confident and you must be none threatening. If you fear a snake, it will bite you. After all, there is nothing more dangerous then a fearful animal. Of course humans are very complicate so there is much more to it. But its about you.

There are funny behaviors like strike range. With snakes, if you stay away, your fine(of course) or if you move right in and pick the snake up, your fine, but if you stop and hesitate 6 inches from the snake, your dead meat. They will bite you. Its like your a perfect target and to easy to refuse.

Also snakes are individuals just like us. Some are very tolerant, others are not, of course, some are inbetween. But all kings quickly learn to trust you. If you are trustworthy. But if you feel fear or are insecure, you are not trustworthy, that threatens them. How would you like a giant fearful, insecure predator playing with you? I think you would just pee your pants and pass out. hahahahahahahahahaha snakes are much stronger then you.

How would you react being picked up by King kong. My bet is, we would all be afraid, but some of us way more then others. Also, how would you react if king kong had what looked like blood on his lips????? To snakes, you ARE a giant predator.

Doing this is like doing anything else, it requires an education. YOu must go through a learning curve. Also some folks just do not have what it takes, like in any area.

All of us old time herpers know someone who is bitten everytime they pick up a snake and by snakes that don't bite. Also for some reason, this type of person keeps doing it and keeps getting bitten. Again, you cannot blame the snake.

Its always about you and you are the one putting the snake in a cage. Consider, if the snake does not like the cage, and you keep putting it back there. It will not like you. Hmmmmmmmm heck thats the same or cats, or mice.

Again consider, you are huge, they are small, that is offensive enough, most all animals react to size(threat/bluff behaviors) With most animals, the person needs to work or posture, like to not appear large or threatening. Do not make direct eye contact. These and many more are common animal training protacal.

So its you that must learn to create a situation of trust. Good luck and don't look to the snakes to fix this. Cheers

although probably written with good intentions you came off as disrespectful

disrespectful where????

I am liking this FR guy more everyday...

and I actually agree with his post here also...

.King Kong...we are human and think differently than snakes...we have more forethought...we know King Kong is going to kill us...the snake just isn't sure....so they are not as afraid in the same way...yet they are afraid...till we pick them up again and again.....

.....I agree with the guy who gets bitten no matter what...

and I agree that some won't get bitten half as much...

......all good stuff......

...I did not read any or much of this thread at all....

but I read FR's reply....LOL.....damn.....

.
.......I have people that come here and get snakes and mice...they are afraid of them both....why do they do it/??
yes....some are trying to be "breeders"...cough cough...and fear snakes.....

why?
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the mean snake no matter what post

yes...some snakes are just like that...no matter what

some are mean

most kings bite because they are always hungry....some , a few, are just mean....(as with all species)

......garters here will attack you...in March...it's too cold to run......

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Well, I guess if you took it as a learning tool(which it was intended to me) Then its not disrespectful.

But if your being defense and are afraid what others will think of you. You could take anything and surely what I said that way.

The reality is, we are snake people, so we do not expect normal. ALso as snake people, we all have been there. But I guess you do not know that, so you think its disrepectful to try and help you. After all, you are the one going after the snake. Its not going after you. So, learning is in your control or not.

Again for reality, if you take the above(somebody trying to help you) as disrespectful, I and others will not respect you. But if you read it, thought about what was said, asked questions like you wanted to learn, I/others, would really respect you.

I guess when your offerred something you do not have a grasp on, "is" disrespectful????????? I must not respect you, if I took the effort to try and help you??????? Ok ok, logic escapes me. But I guess logic does not have to apply.

In short, use the above if it helps, if not, don't, I am not sure respect is earned or lost either way. Cheers

I've seen and had snakes that were defined as overly aggressive before. This is what I think happens with kings in most cases.

Step one starts with an animal with a good strong feeding responce.

Step two is the keeper having limited interaction with the animal with the cage being serviced at the same time the animal is fed.

Step three the animal becomes conditioned to expect food every time the owner opens the cage.

Step four the owner gets tired of being seen as a food item, lables the snake overly aggressive.

Step five the owner further reduces interaction with the animal positively reinforcing Step three.

Not sure if this is the case here but if it is you'll need to break the cycle by interacting with the snake without bringing food into the picture. At five years of age it may be too late though. It hard to teach an old snake new tricks.
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“Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” Emmerson