Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a Albino Long banded Kingsnake shes only 20 inches long and my first snake. I have her in a 10 gall aquarium with aspen bedding a nice sized waterdish a lil curved bark toy she can go under and a ceramic light and a uv light making one side 82-88 and the other 75-80.

I have had her for two weeks now and after her first feeding ( first week i had her) she got so mean!

before we could handle her all we wanted she would just hang out whatever. but it took 3 days to be able to hold her again without her flipping out and lunging at the hand or flicking her tail(after the feeding).

we were able to hold her for about 2 days before she got mean again. she is getting worse by the day it seems and i just dont want a ornimental snake thats no way for her to live and i want to be able to hold her and not be scared of her when shes big.

how often to hold is too much?

her eyes have a very slight cresent glaze over the back portion of her eye it is very small but could that mean shes going to shed soon and hates us all tell its done with? i need to feed her tonight or tomarrow but i want to be able to hold her before hand as she doesnt want to be touched for 3 days afterwards.

PLEASE HELP THIS SILLY GAL~ Thanks much

Albino Cal Kings can be a tad more aggressive than normal snakes due to them not seeing as well. If she is going into shed that could compound that fact. Try and get your coolside temps down to 70-75 on the coolside (warmside is fine) as a snake thats warm all the time can be aggressive as well. Also keep in mind juveniles are on average nippy more often than adult animals. As they age they sometimes grow out of the this behavior or they might stay aggressive.

Keith
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How much handling is too much? I have been reading up all morning ( 8am to 11pm) and a lot of people are saying to other people get bit! I understand that and all but it scares me quite a bit i know she cant do much damage. And i know now how to get her off if she decides to cling on for dear life but i am hoping she will grow out of this. I am kinda dissapointed as the pet store ( doesnt sell dogs or cats everthing else thought) owner told me she was very docile and would never bite, i am very new to snakes and am getting tons of information from different people who is right? Thank you for your advise i will get her cool side cooler !