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hi there i just got a baby king snake who is on his **THIRD** feed tomorrow 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.

**I MADE A MISTAKE IN MY FIRST ONE, ITS HIS THIRD FEED**

Okay... you said this is a baby, correct? Baby kingsnakes are nearly always very jumpy because instinct tells them that everything is out to eat them. You could keep trying to handle him and it may or may not help. Or you can wait until he gets some size and settles down. Your setup sounds good, make sure you have a good temperature gradient in there.

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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)

Sounds like you are off to a good start, stay in touch with the breeder if you can, they may be a wealth of knowledge. On the 1:10, a bite from a hatchling is about a 2...try to stay calm and not react/pull away, and the bite will be minimal, and you won't cut your own skin pulling away from recurved teeth and possibly hurting the poor little frightened guy...this is a skill that comes with experience i.e. not pulling away dramatically from a biting serpent.

Many young kings/milks are "spastic" for a year or two, it may be a defense against the many predators they face. They usually settle down over time, a rare few don't. What kind of King is it? Good luck, feed it enough and it will be 30'"-36" or so in about 2 years...very general growth rate, could be bigger...Vic

a 2!!? a 2!!??..lmao.. have ya got a low pain threshold Vic? I was feeding snakes a while back and reached in to my yearling MBK's cage to get the water dish, and came back out with it & her attatched to my finger..didn't even realize it till I saw her hanging on..then I hollared and ALMOST dropped my beer..most bites don't hurt..just more startling..like a great man said before..feels like rubbing sandpaper. I give it a .05 for the little guys.
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Richard Evans

no not THAT one

pretty sure Vic has some nasties that could put an 11 on you if they meant business!
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Todd Hughes

LOL..I don't doubt that Todd..I also got a couple leopard geckos that think they're pit bulls, they've put the hurt on me more than any of my kingsnakes.
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Richard Evans

no not THAT one

Got some hides? They need to feel secure. Get the baby moved up to fuzzies as soon as you can, Cal kings can move up in size quickly. Not as fast as Florida kings, and faster than mexicana, lol!
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Todd Hughes

I've been herping and been bit by a 3-3 1/2 ft. long king snake that was pissed off, it hurts but its about the equivilent of walking a little too close to a brair patch and one of the thorns scraping just enough skin off to bleed a little. its all in all more shock than pain. trust me.

Just keep feeding him as often as he'll eat and get him up to bigger prey asap... as for the biting, don't worry, it doesn't hurt, and as he gets bigger he'll calm down
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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)