Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey HKM,

I appreciate your effort to answer my question. I asked about the temperment of the grey banded kingsnake in this column, because I am most interested in their overall behavior. Thank you for any advice.

Gray bands usually are quite docile after a brief "tame down" period. Most of the ones I have caught readily bit when first picked up, but quickly settled down after a few days in captivity. Like all snakes, there is considerable variation between individuals and there are some that don't ever settle down. I rarely handle mine (my sons actually: he is in charge of the ones "we" keep, but he rarely handles them either) as we are trying to breed and therefore leave them be.

As far as colubrid snakes go, I would consider them docile, easy to keep, and because of their awesome variability, a constant source of new and exciting challenges.

Graybands are awesome. I have 5 of them so far, and their temperament is pretty close to the same. I've had 1 of the for 1 1/2 years (Pic below). I highly recommend them. When their tiny babies, the may crap a little, but they soon get over that with handling. They are very gentle. I can't say enough about them.

i definatly agree, i love my 10 or so grey bands. all of them are docile, and are a joy to keep.