Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, This is my first time posting, I was wondering if I could possibly get some help / info.. here is the story..

I have a GOINI x Brooks kingsnake (black/red color pattern) it is a year old. I just recently built her a new cage, upgraded from a 10gal tank. I put her in a 18"deep x 2ft tall x 4ft wide. I gave her about 4-5 days before handling her. I have fed her twice since she has been in her new cage. However, like the past 4 days she has been very reclusive hiding in between the glass window and the wood that holds the glass track in place (about a .5" gap) and when i take her out, she freaks out, neck buldges, tail shakes. I never seen this kind of behavior from her. She has always been very timid, relatively slow moving but curious, shes not even headshy when im holding her. Do you know any reason why she would be acting like this? The last time i held her and she was normal was when i fed her sat. afternoon 8/24. Yesterday she even musked me and my wife. there was only one other time ive ever seen her act like this, but I left her alone for a day and she was fine after that. However, this is 3 days in a row now shes been like this. The only thing i can think is the temp on the warm side was kinda low (80 degrees) since then i have increased it to about 85.. I am hoping that is all it is, poor temps and stress from the big new cage. It's just weird for the first 2 weeks she was fine, and now she decides to flip out. Any info you or opinions you have would be greatly appreciated, thank you so much for your time!

Justin Bradstreet

Do you have a hide or two available? Snakes can get stressed in large cages if they don't have a place to feel secure.

If not, place a snug hide on both the warm and cool side of the cage and leave the snake alone except for feeding and cage cleaning for a couple weeks.

The problem is quite simple to solve.

You cage is to big for a 1 year old. Also in my experience the goini x Florida have more timid or "shy" characteristics.

In any case. put it into a smaller encloser and your snake will behave normal again.
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"So I will end with, your now aware of the problem, what YOU do is entirely up to you. Now if you make THIS mistake, its not because you are ignorant."

Frank Retes

Large cages can elicit this response. It is like the snake "feels more free" if you will and then gets more defensive when in the open. Multiple hides are necessary.

I remember some breeders that figured out a way to tame down some aggressive kings. They put each snake in a small clear cage, like a 5 or 10 gal tank, with no hides. After a time, the behavior of those snakes changed noticeably - much tamer. Don't know if the snakes just "gave up" or if they eventually felt secure in the small cage even w/o hides.

I've kept kings in large cages. In many cases they did get more spirited for a time during that first active season. Over Winter, they would calm down of course because temps were low. By the following Spring and forward, they remained calmer than the previous year. I bet that happens to yours.