Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello:
From reading the posts I gather that Adult Ca kings as a whole get a bit grumpier as adults with Albino Ca kings being the grumpiest. Is this true? I know ofcourse there are exceptions.
I have been looking into the high white or albino Ca king desert phase but think they have tendency to be biters as get older.
Any input would be great.
Thanks.
Lia

The ONLY times my cal kings have bitten was when they thought I was a mouse. When they realized that the taste was off they spit out my finger or thumb and gave me a disgusted look, as if to say "If you weren't a mouse, why did you pick me up with mousy smelling hands?"

The neonates, of course, are hilariously CUTE when first hatched, ready to conquer the universe with their little pencil sized bodies.

In fact I've never heard of cal kings being anything other than fairly docile as they age and are handled. Just don't hold a mouse then hold a hungry snake, or the hungry snake will try to eat your pinkie (pun intended)
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~Sasheena

Lia,

From my personal experience, its the opposite. Baby kings (and all baby animals for that matter) tend to have a defense mechanism built in.... the old fight or flight. Baby kings on whole tend to be nippier than adults, of which the majority are very docile. This has been my experience, in any event.

-Jason

My experience has also been that cals get less jumpy and nippy as they age. My adult female will on occasion chomp on to a thumb now and then while she is being handled but it did not appear to be out of aggression or defensiveness. It almost seemed as if it were a "taste". She must not like it cause she always spits it back out. My adult male which I just got in Jan and know nothing of it's history, is one of the calmest and most handleable snakes I've had. Baby kings are notoriously jumpy and nippy especially cals. I have never had any of the eastern strains but it sounds like they are typically calmer as adults than cals.

apart from the age differences, which others have addressed, attributing personality or behavior differences to different color varieties of the same animal is like expecting different behavior from blonds, or blue eyed people, or dark skinned people, or males and females, etc. I don't think it's pertinent. get yourself a king of any color phase or pattern and expect to enjoy it.
peace
terry

By far, most Cal king babies are squirmy and will musk on you. As they age, the squirminess wanes and the musking usually goes away but not always. As for biting, for me it has been only feeding response (unless it was a wild-caught).

Blk & Wht desert Cal kings often are the calmest as adults, though with all the mixing going on in captivity, anything can happen. Historically, coastal Cals from So Cal (brown & yellow) were the most likely to musk as adults. The original albinos came from the coastals, hence the bad behavior often attributed to albinos.

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Captive-produced baby Cal kings make great pet snakes.

Thanks everyone for your input.I wanted to get either an albino or desert phase or high white Ca king but wasnt sure of personality.
Glad to know they dont become biters as adults though I know ofcourse all snakes can bite.
Lia

I can only hope that my young albino cal king will settle down with age. I think the little sucker is demon possessed. It menaces me through the box when I approach it. When I open the box for any reason, it launches its self to whatever part of my anatomy is nearest to it (usually my first or middle finger). It then proceeds to constrict and chomp on my finger until I run warm or cold water over it. When I put it back in the box I can see it licking my blood off of its mouth. I don't know if I could handle this snake once it reaches adulthood if it doesn't calm way down. Heh heh heh heh... I'm not exaggerating one bit!