Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know everyone says with regular handling your snake will stop musking. What about occational handling? I have to many snakes to try to handle on a daily basis, so I don't handle often. Will my "crazy" snakes calm down as they get older without the regular handling? Or should I try my best to handle them as much now to break that habit later on?

Some kings (mainly coastal Cal kings) never lose the musking behavior, some do so after they have aged some and some are pretty quick to lose it. You can't engineer the behavior by x-amount of handling. Individual snakes can be different. Just do what you can, but realize you have kingsnakes and this is what kingsnakes do.

Can't quite agree with your assesment. Musking is used as a defence mechanism or for sexual attraction. Kings that lose their fear due to familiarity with the handler, usually stop musking. I have noticed that females seem more inclined to do it. But then...Maybe they think your sexy!! (lol)
Frank
-----
"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

Both of the other posts are correct, Cal kings are muskers but they
can be sttled down TO A POINT. My desert phase was a big musker
and after 4 years I was ready to trade her off. I decided that before I
got rid of her I should make a honest try to tame her as I have a
toddler that just loves her and would be broken hearted if she left
and if she was going to be around I needed her handleable. So I
started handling her a couple times a day for 5-10 minutes per period.
After getting musked (and bit) quite a few times she did settle down
significantly. After a few months of this she is usually very tame
and handlable but with still unexpectedly throw a fit now and then.
I have no problem handling her and I would not have a problem handing
her to someone that works with calis and knows that you're going
to wear the red badge of courage now and then but I would never let
a non-herper or a child handle her. I got my first cali 10 years
ago because they are so attractive and common. It was not handleable
so I got rid of it and got another one but it was nasty too.
I have repeated this pattern over and over and now 10 years later
I finally realize calis are not for me as I like to handle snakes.
I now have a borneo short tail that will sit in my lap for hours
and I couldn't be happier. Moral of the story is if you want a
handlable snake with minimal handling a cali may not be for you.
They do calm down but it takes work and they can still be nippy
when you least expect it. Good luck.