Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

My scarlet king is great, but she is shy/skittish. (well I don't really know if it's a he or she). Will she mellow out as time goes on? I'm still a little freaked out by snakes to be honest...I'm new to this, but I really like them. My husband has a gopher snake, very pretty and has a great personality! My son has a pueblan milksnake, about the same size as my scarlet. Is it true that the younger snakes are more squirly?

Any advice?

Thanks!

Hello,

In my experience with scarlet kings, most animals will usually never calm down to much, although I have had a long term captive which did calm down a little after a long period of time. If you are looking for a snake that you can handle with it staying docile, then a scarlet king is definatly not the way to go.
J.D.

I have owned a pair of Scarlet Kings (male is about 12" and the female is about 18" for the past year.

They bite.
They hide.
They,um, "excrete" all over my hands.
They make every effort to get away from me.

This has not changed since day one...

However, they are very pretty!

Peter Jolles

Mine has never bitten or struck at anyone or anything except a pinky. Basically, it hides a lot, but when I hold it, it is fairly calm as long as I don't make any sudden movements. Can they become aggressive later? Or do they stay the same as they get older? Do snakes generally take a turn for the worst in their personalities? This seems unlikely to me, but I've read some posts than say it does happen? I guess every snake is different, depending on how they are treated/cared for.

How often and how much should I feed my SK. I am giving it a pinky once a week, it seems to be doing okay.

By the way, my snake has never pooped (musk?) on me or anything gross like that! eww.