Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi there i just got a baby king snake who is on his second feed tommorow of baby pinkies. i got him from a local breeder, he lives in a glass tank, with aspen shavings, a heating pad, and a water dish. when i try to pick him up he goes all crazy. so i decided to let him settle in, so after he eats in about 2 days im going to try to pick him up again, because i would like him to become friendly and just be cool with me picking him up and friends too. does anyone have an advice on how to do this? because when i go to pick him up he makes it almost impossible and i don't want to hurt him, he tried biting me but i pulled my hand away just in time. does it hurt when they bite? on a scale of 1-10 rate it please. thank you.

thanks for all your help! hes a reverse California kingsnake. Tomorrow is his feed day of pinkies, so im gonna feed him. i have made a separate Tupperware container with shavings, holes, a lid, and a upside down dish to put the pinkie on. should i feed him in the separate container, or should i feed him in the 10 gallon tank in which he lives? after i feed him in 2 days i am going to start to handle him nd prob get bitten.alot.

As long as you can set the pinky up on something to keep it mostly away from shavings, you shouldn't have any worries. There is a lot of debate about whether ingesting a shaving or two could be harmful, but might as well err on the side of caution at this point. My Florida King likes to snatch his prey off the top of his log hide, which keeps them off the substrate.

More recent pic:

Older pic:

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Holly

1.0 Florida Kingsnake (Eddie Gein)
1.0 Bearded Dragon (Charley Manson)
1.0 Fire Skink (Peter Dinsdale)
1.0 Vietnamese Golden Gecko (George Chapman)
0.0.1 Blue Day Gecko (Joe Ball)
1.0 Orange Marmalade Cat (Oliver)
1.0 Black Cat (Shadowfax)
1.0 Tennessee Walking Horse (Durango)

2.0 Toddlers (Justice & Trevor)

so should i feed him for his first time in the tank which he lives? or a separate container?

Well, if you have something he can eat off of in that tank, let him eat in his own tank. I generally try not to hold any of my snakes during feeding time. I'd rather not associate my fingers with mice, if at all possible. Make sure you're feeding him plenty too. He can probably handle 2-3 pinkies per sitting. Get him moved up to fuzzies and hoppers within a month or so. They'll give the little guy more nutrition so he can get bigger and less afraid of you.
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Holly

1.0 Florida Kingsnake (Eddie Gein)
1.0 Bearded Dragon (Charley Manson)
1.0 Fire Skink (Peter Dinsdale)
1.0 Vietnamese Golden Gecko (George Chapman)
0.0.1 Blue Day Gecko (Joe Ball)
1.0 Orange Marmalade Cat (Oliver)
1.0 Black Cat (Shadowfax)
1.0 Tennessee Walking Horse (Durango)

2.0 Toddlers (Justice & Trevor)

0. The babies don't hurt, what would be a 1 for you? a 10? Not even close to a bee sting, unless you have an allergic reaction, which is VERY uncommon. Pick him up a few days after it's eaten, not right before you feed it. Let it crawl through your fingers, do this for 5-10 minutes, then let it be. Increase the frequency and length of time in small bits, don't let it get the idea it will be feeding time when you open the cage. Or else, lol! When they get bigger and you get a hungry one sucking on your thumb, it can be a little unpleasant, lol!
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Todd Hughes

I hatched out some baby kings last year.

Some times the babys can be squirmy but like it is stated above if you just handle them gently they will get used to it and calm down.

As for biting, I picked up the one baby that I kept just after feeding for a handling sesion and I must have still had some mouse smell on me because it tried to eat my thumb. It tickled and made me laugh. Here is this little snake curled up in my palm trying to get its mouth around the side of my thumb (no chance it was too small at the time) and eat me! ) I thought it was so cute I wished I could have taken a picture.

When they are that little they couldn't hurt you with their teeth, just tickles. When I get bit by one of my adults it hurts but it still is not that bad. On a scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is agony and 1 is a paper cut I give an adult bite a big 2. Some times there is a little blood but its no big thing, just comes with the teritory.

If you do get bit don't panick. 9 times out of 10 the snake will just let go right away. You shouldn't try to pull a snake off if it does not let go. You can hurt the snake, and cause the teeth to cut you more. To make a snake let go without hurting them, or you more, just put your hand and the snakes head under room temp water. Fill a bowl or sink or some thing and slowly put your hand in untill the snakes head is completly under and just wait. The snake will let go when it wants to come up for air. When you put them under the water they will often let go then and there but if they are stubborn it could take a couple of minutes. Snakes can hold their breaths for a long time.

Works for stubborn lizards too. Given the choice between letting you go and drounding they will always choose to let you go. Thats survival instinkt working in your favor.
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1 BP
4 Cal Kings 3 alb 1 het
3 Alb Corn
1 Rev Alb Nelsons