Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently purchased some new kings, one of which is very, very aggressive. She strikes at her cage constantly when I am around, and has some of the most impressive (and cool) looking defensive and aggressive postures I have seen from any of my snakes.

She is virtually unhandlable. She thrashes around when held and constantly tries to bite. She is a large yearling (supposedly).

Any tips on how to handle a California kingsnake that is this aggressive? Can she still tame over time, or is this a personality thing that I will just have to live with?

yea, just don't worry about it, it will stop soon enough.

If you do not react to it, it will learn its not getting anywhere. Best wishes

I am afraid of hurting her when I pick her up because she withers around so much. Just hold her firmly when I am moving her to clean the cage, etc?

no holding a snake firmly is not what they want. Its like king kong grabbing you tighter. The key to holding snakes is, make your hand like a branch, not something moving and grabbing.

How would you feel if you had no legs and something wishy washy was under you. Let the snake hold on to you. Allow it to feel safe. hands firm, and not grabby.

Again, make one hand a branch(like) and guide the snake with the other.

A little story, when one of my daugthers was little, about 4, she was sitting watching a tank of baby kings. She started to cry and I went over and asked why she was crying. All the baby kings were coiled up and striking. I said, they won't hurt you, and she looked up at me and said, I know. I then asked whats the matter, she said, they don't like me! Cheers

"I then asked whats the matter, she said, they don't like me!"

Classic story!

Great story FR! Thanks for that.

Feed it, feed it, feed it. Did I mention feed it?
Feed it!!!
Enjoy it.

I give it small mice until it wont take anymore. I have only had it for a few weeks, but it has not made any difference yet

It is hard to say how she will be in the future.

Some snakes are just like that. I have seen some grow out of it over time, and some don't.

The key would be to study it, with combining all the info such as temps it is being kept at, cage buildup, etc. It is in a cage where it has access to good hide(s)? Temps too high?

Keeping it in an environment ( cage ) with the least amount of stress would be a start to try to tame it down. Then, if it were me, I would hold it frequently, maybe 10-15 min at a time, once a day, no longer, and let it know that you are not a threat. It may seem to stress it out at first, but then, if it gets used to being handled, maybe it will calm down as well, and start to get used to being handled. Remember, we are like giants to them. This particular snake may not have been held at all in its' first year, and you doing that may be something completely foreign to it.

It then may possibly calm down. I have seen both: Some calm down and some don't.

Just my take. Good luck!!
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Genesis 1:1

Thanks for the advice. I did put her in a terrarium (instead of a tub in the rack) so that she would have more room with better hides and so I can monitor her (and have easier access to her water and to give her food so I don't get attacked every couple days).

I don't think temperatures are a problem, but I will experiment with that if she doesn't calm down with some more handling.

It's interesting, but it seems that whenever I post anywhere with a problem there is a huge breakthrough very soon after. Just an hour ago she was roaming around her terrarium and I slowly put my hand next to the cage to see if she would have a reaction. No striking, not even a tail rattle. Maybe she is already starting to calm down, we will see.

That is great to hear!

That also leads me to another thing I forgot to touch on. Since you recently obtained her, give her a few weeks to get used to her new surroundings. The excitement of getting a new snake makes myself to hold the snake a lot right after getting it, but, I have learned to give the snake ample time to get used to its' new cage/surroundings. I would let the snake be for 2-3 weeks, making sure it is eating ok and consistently. Then, see if the snake has calmed down, and then, do frequent handlings, if needed.
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Genesis 1:1

I only handled her the first day I got her, and that was to move her into her new home. She went crazy when I picked her up, I dropped her onto the couch, and spent the next 20 minutes tearing apart the room looking for her! (She got under the couch.... it was quite an experience).

I changed her water out today and she came out of her hide to see what was going on. I once again put my hand to the glass, slowly, to see if she would react. She didn't strike or shake her tail this time either. I put my hand under her belly, and let her move off of it, just to give her some contact and to start showing her that I am not going to hurt her.

Ill give her a few more encounters before I try to give her some real handling time. Thanks for all of the advice everyone.

You already have plenty of replies. Thought I'd just add some of my experience. I used to breed a number of Cal kings. In all of that there were always a small percentage of really pesky individuals. Of the those aggressive individuals, they all got better with age. I did not make any point to handle them more than necessary, and they still calmed down to a reasonable level. Some of those never lost their habit of musking me, but at least the insane striking ceased. Give her time.

Thanks for another experienced reply. I have only had kings for about a year now, with this being my third Cal King (my other snakes are Gray Bands).

This is the first real aggressive one I have had. My male Cal King (that I got in November) is more defensive (he rattles his tail at me a lot, but has never striked me). I love her mosaic pattern, and look forward to breeding her to my male, but she is quite a handful!