Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A few weeks ago I bought an Albino California Kingsnake from a pet store. I have spent some time around snakes, but this is my first time actually being the soul caretaker of one. I've usually been feeding it every week, as per the pet stores directions, and it's been fine. The vet said she's healthy and all that good stuff, but when I fed her last Sunday she seemed hungry again on Tuesday. She kept circling around the tank as if looking for something, then she tried to eat my sister. I asked about it in a chatroom, but I just wanted to get a second opinion.
Also, someone asked me to take her back to the pet store for a visit and when I did, one guy asked to hold her. He then informed me that she didn't like him and every time he held her she bit him. She started getting really worked up and he quickly handed her back to me, and the first thing she did was bite me. She didn't constict, she just wouldn't let go. Is this odd? Do snakes sometimes just dislike people for no apparent reason?
Lastly, my snake gets little red spots on her skin. I always watch her eat and I don't recall seeing a mouse ever bite her and she doesn't have any other characteristics of mites. I'm going to change the subtrate and see if she eats frozen pinkies anyway, but does anyone have any suggestions of things to look for?
Sorry for the long post, thank you for you help. Happy Thanksgiving.

and I would just relax a bit, don't bother bringing him back to the pet store, and let the snake get used to it's new home. I always fed my Cal King, who is gong on 8 years old now, frozen/thawed mice, from pinkies when he was a hatchling until the larger sized ones as he developed in size. I'm not too sure about of the identification of mites if that could be a problem you may have. I recall the only time I had a problem with them was when I purchased my king in a petshop, but I was fortunate to have someone working there who had a clear understanding of the problem and how to resolve it in a few short weeks, which he did very well. I wish you luck with your new snake, and suggest that you let the snake alone for a while and don't handle him so much as when young they are jumpy and more likely to bite. Mine was the same way but calmed down tremendously as he grew older and got bigger. Just make sure you have all the basics covered, and refer to a common kingsnake book that will guide you along and allow you to enjoy your snake for a long time to come.
Jim

Thank you. I have been reading a book about Kingsnakes, but I left it with my girlfriend in Iowa who is taking care of the snake while I'm in California for Thanksgiving, I thought it would be more useful to her. You're probably right about that, the pet store just said they wanted to see her again because she really is a beautiful snake. Though I thought that handling a snake was the way to keep it tame, I was afraid I wasn't handling her enough. I was also wondering about overfeeding, when I put in the second mouse I thought "if she's not hungry she won't eat it." Is this true? Sorry if I'm being ignorant or anything, I'm just concerned about the well-being of my pet. Thank you.

I've been away from this forum for some time, but have to admit when I just started out with my first snake I picked up some very valuable information and tips on how provide the best care for him. So even though I lean more toward gaining knowledge from a book by a reputable snake expert, I recognize the quick and easy help offered in this forum is quite useful in most cases. I suggest that you weigh it over and get a few opinions on things your not sure of, and don't necessarily consider what I say and others as the only way to go, please. Your snake will do fine, with proper care and your continued interest in her well-being. The handling is up to you, though I've heard numerous times here that too much can stress out the snake so that's what I've adhered to, keeping it to a minimum when he (Bandit picture attached a few years ago) was in his first year or so, and now only maybe 15 minutes or so. He seemes to like being held, but also likes being put back in a nice clean roomy (40 gal breeder) enclosure with plenty of aspen bedding and an appropriate sized rock cave with a branch or two. I spoil him, yes - when you have only one pet snake whom your fascinated with each day, totally dependant on you, this is what needs to be done in my opinion. Good luck and enjoy.
Jim

I'm not sure exactly why I offended you, I do value the advice I have recieved from this forum. The whole reason I joined is because I knew there were people here who knew more than me. When I asked about handling I was just trying to verify, ask why, I don't see anything wrong with that. When I said I left the book in Iowa with my girlfriend I meant because it would be more useful to her than me, since she's taking care of the snake right now. I admitted my own ignorance, otherwise I wouldn't be trying to learn. If I crossed any lines that I didn't know about I'm sorry.

Unfortunately I was not offended in anyway, and just have responded to you with my thoughts and some basic information. I may have made the mistake perhaps of inserting the letters F/U as a heading the my last note, which of course I meant "follow up" as I use quite often as an abreviation. My fault, it may have been misconstrued to mean something else which is not nice at all, I sure hope it wasn't and I'll probably never use that again, certainly in a forum. The bottom line is I'm no expert, I started out like you several years back with a little snake. I just wanted to suggest that beween what you read here on this terrific forum and in good books available on the subject of Kingsnakes, you should do quite well with your snake. Good luck, sorry for any confusion.
Jim

It's my fault, I should have thought a bit more on what F/U could have meant. No harm done, sorry for taking it the wrong way. Thank you for your advise, I will take it to heart.