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Hello all,

I have a question I'm just a little curious about, and would like if you could share your ideas on this.

I have a small collection of snakes (five total). Of the five, one is a kingsnake and another is a milksnake. The two of them are housed in separate Vision #211 cages; which are stacked one on top of the other.

Each of them is very young, and as is normal with young colubrids, each is very jumpy and defensive. Each of them musks me when I pick him/her up, though my kingsnake tends to calm down a bit more once in hand compared to my milksnake.

Of course, I don't enjoy being musked, and I'm wondering why it is happening. I understand that young snakes tend to do this, and so I wonder - how long is it before I might expect to see them start to calm down.

There's also a particular side note that I'm curious about. Some time ago I had only a kingsnake - and it never musked me, not once. I'm wondering if, now that I have both a king and a milk in close proximity, does the scent of the other (the musk perhaps?) make each of them that much more nervous, such that it is enough to cause them to musk each time I go to pick them up?

What do you think? And do you have any advice for getting them to quit musking and calm down?

Thanks very much,
- Mark
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I'm wondering if, now that I have both a king and a milk in close proximity, does the scent of the other (the musk perhaps?) make each of them that much more nervous, such that it is enough to cause them to musk each time I go to pick them up?

I remember reading somewhere a few years back that someone had shown that kingsnakes that are exposed to the musk of other kingsnakes became nervous and tended to musk themselves. I don't know if it works between species, but we do know that many rattlesnakes respond differently to kingsnakes than other species.
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Chris Harrison

If there is any way the snakes can smell eachother through the cages then it could definitely be affecting that musk response. I have also had that problem and had to seperate most of snakes so the kings and milks never smelled the presence of eachother. Just think about it this way......they smell another lampropeltis, you reach in and get them out, and they aotomatically respond by trying to fend you off because they smell the threat.

On another note, they usually grow out of it quite quickly. I have several young kings and milks and only one has been persistent at making me smell bad. Have fun!

I've had 4 species of Kings; the Cal Kings are the most likely to musk as juveniles. My Mexican Black only did once, so lightly that I could barely smell it, during a time of elevated surprise & fear.

Yes, I believe that having Milksnakes around is a factor. You must carefully wash your hands, then apply aloe vera gel, to mask their scent. Yet there still may be residual scent, if so, your Kingsnake's behavior will be affected. Chaperone should never smell like prey.

When my Cal King was young, we developed an understanding. I handled often, and he musked the first few times automatically. I rinsed him in the sink under warm, running water every time he did. Guess what? In no time at all he seemed to understand the Cause & Effect and quit. Once he did, he never musked again.