handling and removing snake from tank..

[thesnakeinblack]

i have had a king snake for about a month now, she is a couple months old, i have held here and taken her out a few times, but most often when i try to remove her from tank she gets aggrevated, she doesnt strike or go into a threatening position, but she does rattle her tail, so i usually stop trying and wait a day or two, still with difficulties i went and bought a snake hook, she responds a little better to this but still gets a little agitated, am i doing something wrong? when she starts rattling her tail should i let her be? or should i still try to get her out and handle her to show i mean no harm? i thought as she got more comfortable with her tank she would ease up, any advice or tips?

[Jim Smith]

From the sounds of things, you're not doing anything wrong at all. Pretty much all species of King Snakes tend to be flighty (and sometimes bitie) when they are young. They will often trail rattle, act a bit wild, and musk you when they are handled. The good news is, most of them settle down as they grow a bit older. That said, King Snakes in particular can maintain a bit of "attitude" their entire lives and having one that seems to consistently "mistake" their owner's hand, finger etc for food is not at all unusual. The god news is that they can't hurt you and that attitude is one of the aspects of kings that make them "charming".

[SSSSnakes]

Handle her anyway. She is training you to leave her alone when she rattles her tail. And it is working. lol

[EL Ziggy]

I agree with Jerry. Pick her up anyway. She should calm down with consistent and gentle handling.

[thesnakeinblack]

thanks guys for the good advice, i will be a little more agressive, my fear was that if i was too aggressive shed get stressed and etc

[D Grade]

Handle her anyway. She is training you to leave her alone when she rattles her tail. And it is working. lol

I agree with Jerry. Pick her up anyway. She should calm down with consistent and gentle handling.

I agree! I remember when I took my first nip and I got worried and a lil' discouraged. Two weeks later I took a 20-30 second feeding response bite. Whatever you do, if it bites in a defensive or a feeding response manner you still need to pick it up. Once they are used to you and realize that biting doesn't get you to go away, then they will stop using that method to get you to stay away from them. After that, it may try to musk you but the same principal applies. Handle it anyway.

This is also assuming you only handle once or twice a week. Anymore than that and it may be getting a bit stressed. Also it could still just be getting used to its home and you. Regardless, show it who's boss by not backing down.

[ks1020]

I came here to talk about this. I went to a local pet shop yesterday that has about 30 or so king and corn snakes. They are all pretty young. I asked to hold a few and they all had the same reaction. They would get into a striking posture and rattle their tail. The shop personnel didn't really want to just go in and get them. I don't blame them these guys don't get handled all that much and are a little nervous. I mean we are the giant two legged, two armed monsters with skin instead of scales. While these cages were big length wise they were narrow in the front and kind of hard to get these guys out. We forced a couple out letting them strike at us. It was funny more than anything else. Just keep at it and he/she will calm down with time.

[D Grade]

Quoted from another post I made in this forum. Hopefully this helps.

"Its exactly what it is. Im going through this with my King, sometimes he's placid and cooperative, sometimes he wants to bite. Less biting lately since even when he does bite, I still hold him.

Whatever you do, still hold your snake when he attempts a bite when you go in to handle. If it realizes biting will get you to go away, it'll keep doing it. If he's in a good position to strike and a bad position to pick up, try moving him to a better area in his home to scoop him up. Remember to always try to scoop it up from the bottom or pick up from the rear (supportively of course). This will prevent a bite in the first place and keep your fingers out of strike range."