taming the wild beast (ish)

[Frithrah82]

Ok, so a lady at my work is trying to find a new home for her kingsnake, the main reason being that her family just doesn't have the time for a snake. I was interested, but not necessarily so much that I would've agreed to take it except that when I mentioned the situation to my boyfriend he got really excited so I agreed to pick it up for him. I haven't gotten it yet, actually I haven't fully decided that I want to have this snake around yet, the main reason being that in the 8 or so years that these people have had this snake it hasnt really gotten held after the first few months, so its not tame in any sense of the word. This also is my boyfriends main reason for wanting the snake, he wants to tame it a bit so that it could be considered people friendly, or at least people trusting. We both keep snakes so its not that this is a random thing and he wants it as his first, I just really want to know some opinions on if this is an ok idea and is there any good way to approach taming an animal with -8 years of people experience. I mean, now that I think about it although I've never kept a king snake before, when I was younger I never knew even wild kings to be unfriendly, but the woman said that its not exactly handleable... I dont know, I'm just looking for input at this point...
Thanks
~Fuzzy

[marisa]

Well kingsnakes are nuts sometimes. Literally nuts. Some will bite you, some will musk you, some will crap or pee on you or generally flail around, some do all these things at ONCE everytime you take them out! lol. Some are total babies.

You must go into this thinking yes, you may be able to "tame" this king down no problem, but in some uncommon cases they just don't tame down and will not be "trustworthy" not to bite. It's a gamble really. But regardless of age, with constant (after he is feeidng well for you of course) handling he should relax a bit. It may take months but it should happen.

The good news is, even if he never becomes 100% trustworthy, a CRAZY kingsnake is a sight to see, and a real enjoyment to watch in a viv.

Marisa

[jwsporty]

Frithrah82,

I would say go for it, if you feel comfortable with the animal and can care for its needs. Most of my collection are kings and it never ceases to amaze me, the diversity of their traits and attitudes. I have some that are nutty and others that are like puppy dogs. One in particular came to me as being unhandleable. He would tail rattle, musk and snap at me, everytime I picked him up. After a month of daily handling, and cleaning of mush :), he finally calmed down when he realized I wasn't going to hurt him, nor was I going to put him down after his musking. I agree with Marisa, they are a joy to keep and watch and their attitude can definitely make a dull day more exciting ;)

Cheers
Jim

[MouseKilla]

I've had one for 2 years that has always been totally psychotic. He seems to hate me personally but he's the only snake I have that acts like that so I don't feel the need to tame him. Marissa's right, crazy snakes are fun to watch. I have to leave the room sometimes after handling that guy so he doesn't break his face on the front of his cage, he doesn't realize he can't bite me through the glass. I keep saying he but we don't know the sex of this snake because he won't hold still long enough to get a probe in, not even with two guys and a pillow sack restraining him.

Enough rambling though, the point is don't be scared away from a cool snake because it's unhandleable. You shouldn't need to cuddle with a snake to appreciate it. Besides, getting bitten every now and then just enhances the snake keeping experience.LOL!