Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i've had my mexican black for about a month and a half and up untill this last week she was really calm. i could pick her up when ever i wanted and it wouldn't bother her at all. now she trys to get away from me. and when she's moving about the cage on her own she'll wag her tail and strike at me when i try to get her. does anyone know how to calm her down.

Kingsnakes of the species getula are normally very defensive, especially as babies. This can change sometimes with age, different seasons, and/or moods of the animal. Point is, if you want a totally calm snake then a kingsnake isn't the best snake to get. Yeah, as adults they are often really calm, but young ones can be spirited or go back and forth, nice, then aggressive, then nice,...

Make sure the cage isn't too warm. Maybe the snake wants to brumate and is uncomfortable. Is it still feeding? Does it hide or is it always cruising?
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"All that glitters has a high refractive index."
Mark G

i know kingsnakes are aggresive snakes but this one was really calm untill this last week. the temperature in the terrarium hasn't changed. it's usually mid 70s in the morning and mid 80s through out the day. and low 90s on the warm side. she is still feeding and is active only at night. but that's to be expected from a king right.

should i let my snake brumate? and how should i go about doing so?

How old is the snake? Generally, adults will stop feeding on their own around now. Then, you know to cool them for the Winter at about 55-60 deg, dark, no drafts, until Feb sometime.

If your snake is young or still feeding strong, then brumation is not really necessary at this time.
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"All that glitters has a high refractive index."
Mark G