Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello All, could use some expert help, lil worried, i have been caring for my cli desert king now for a lil over a month and today was the first day ever he displayed agressive tendencies can anyone help as to explain what this all of the sudden out of the blue badd mood mean? futhermore as he was zipping around the tank in a pissed rage he was striking at the glass where i walked by...and might have acc got some of the substrate in his mouth and was busy tryin to reaadjust hi jaw and remove the sub for quite awhile do i need worry or was he just in a badd mood? help would be greatly appreciated.Mike.

I would guess he is starting his shed cycle. Does he look off color or have his eyes gone cloudy? When they are preping for shed they get defensive because much of the time they can't see and that makes them vulnerable, just a defense mechanism

first off hi and thnx for the reply, n well he does look a lil off colour, so that might be it, the reply jeph teel gave me said that he is just wild creature and thats what they do!?! but im still hoping its the shed thing because he hasnt displayed this agression since i got him and its been over month ahh i'll just let him cool off for now see what tomorrow or later today brings thnx for the help duely apperciated!Mike. ps oh nah his eyes havent went opaque yet but he is looking a lil dull almost milky...white? could this be what it looks like before they shed? n how they act from now if they start a shed i just wont even handle them for the ten mins a day or even bother there cage, dont wanna stress em out! n e way thnx brother herper!keep it up!

Hey Mike,
Well thats what snakes do really. These were never pets that were the gentle cudling creatures. Sure they can be tame as a dog you know, I have some like that, but I also have some that still whip around when i pick them up, I have a hondo thats been that way since a hatchling from 2002. And a rosy that strikes at anything when her cage is being opend. In the wild thats they how react normally to most anything. You have to respect-(and I'm sure you do) their natural ways of defense. He might have just gotten scared when you walked by, and was just doing his natural instict. I'm sure you have nothing to worry about. Just wait a while before you try to hold him again, let him settle down for a bit. As far as shavings in the mouth go- if he got some in there and they are not out yet, for surely get them out. It could cause mouth rot, or infections but will bother him. Hope this helps,
jeff teel

very much so thnx for the reply i was tryin to contact u thru your email account but i lost it about the sub in the mouth how do i go about gettin it out? and if i cant will he force it out on his own? n e way thnx for all the help you have given Mr.Teel its been of great help.Mike.

Hi Mike,
To get it out of his mouth, use a tooth pick to get his mouth open, its easy with that.Start at the front of the mouth-(right under his nostrils) and just gently seperate the upper jaw from the lower jaw, and roll the tooth pick so that it is going across his mouth, that will keep it open so you can pull the substrate out. But make sure to be gentle, especially with the tooth pick. Good luck,
jeff teel

thnx jeph, easier said then done, lol lemme ask u tho its really ness ? its been a day? should i still go n check his mouth? if he did swallow any of the sub should i go apeshi%? n worry? or will he pass it and can snakes just get it out on there own? i mean in the wild if they particles of dirt and what have u in there mouth they get it out all on there own ? no? n e way thnx for all the helpful post's, p.p.s hey jeph i just cleaned my tanks today put the best sub i could find(plain paper towel) while i was handling my brooksi for 10 or 15 i noticed his under belly is very milky as is his skin is gettin there also can you be a nice guy n tell how much longer do i exactly have before he goes in to complete shed? and if so do i not feed him? nxt feeding which i had sch for sun,mon, or tue? and how can i help him in this process? my herper that i purchased my kings from advised me to put him in a styrofoam or something a lil bigger for him, with some moist damp paper towel or if not that just leave a moist hide in there tank with him ? what is your expert advice to me ? It Will Be Well Taken! (all Your Advice So Far Has Been Awesome)Thnks in advance, Truly Yours Mike.

if your snake is healthy and your humidity etc is ok, just let him alone to shed on his own, it should happen in a few days--he shouldn't need soaking or anything like that and if he does try to shed and it isn't working, or flakes off, then you might need to soak him and re-evaluate his environment. As for the prying open the mouth, jeph maybe it has worked for you but toothpicks can be sharp and they could produce splinters....personally I have used paper clips successfully, don't unbend them just use the corved end, this way it is smooth with no edges to catch or poke, and you can just gently wiggle it in between his lips (or whatever you want to call them) and use it as a lever to open his mouth and look. But prying his mouth open in any way can be stressful esp. if he's shedding and vulnerable so I'd probably make sure there was a real need to do it before going ahead.
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Sue Barnett
1.0 Florida King (Vega)
0.1 Western hognose (Sola)
0.1 Egyptian spiny mouse (Mia)
4.2 mini rex rabbits (Basil, Pippin, Reggie, Hayden, Jackie and Peek-a-boo)
0.1 Plott hound (Molly)
1.0 half Arab (Zarr)
1.0 Betta (Flash)

Yeah, thats good advice. As for the tooth pick, your papr clip sounds like it is better, I have never had a problem doing it my way, but if you've never done it before it would be betetr to use a paper clip how he described. that way you wont accidentally poke anything, cause tooth picks are sharp and can cause injury, but if your very gentle and do it right you'll be ok. Anyways, good luck, and I was under the impression that there was substrate sticking out of his mouth, if you cant see any, and hes acting like there is nothing bothering him-(if there was some substrate in there, he would probally be rubbing the dies of his head and mouth area along the cage or water bowl as if he was trying to scratch himself or move it out). Well good luck,
jeff teel

thnks jeph appr, hey quick ques i have been keepin my cal king for over two months now, and knock on my head! i dont think i have come across any major issues, if u have a moment i'd like to explain, well now noticing my kings behavior i have noticed that they simply love and adore becoming active at dusk, just as the sky becomes red my kings activate...well i dont know if this is a good thing or not good thing so your thoughts? i keep my blinds open so they can get the natural daylight process 12/12,and there in no way in direct sunlight,what are your thoughts? secondly my brooks hypo who i have been caring for now almost going on a month who is in shed, seems to prefer the cool hide as oppose to the warm one? i am just tryin to trouble shoot my own problems but could this be due to his shed? or poss is my heat pad(cobra heat pad) generating too much heat and its too hot for him on the heat padded side?or is this just natural n he prefers the cool side?he has been stayin on the cool side for alomost three nites n day in a row. havent caught him on the hot side in awhile Your thoughts would be greatly appr yours truly Mike.