Bitting

[Hillsberry]

I know I ask a lot of question. Sorry. But ever since my snake( California Kingsnake) bit me he seems to be angry. He has come after me 2 times. And I am not sure what to do. I just want him to be happy. Also he seems to sleep a lot. Should I only take him out if he is awake? Thanks:eek:

[Smilts]

I would check your husbandry to make sure everything is correct there, first. Also since I dont know the situation having not followed it did he just eat? Is he near a shed?

[Will0W783]

Like Coy said, there are a lot of reasons why a previously non-aggressive snake might start to bite. It could be hungry, starting to go into shed (look for cloudy eyes and dulled pattern) in which case it can't see you well, or it could be startled. It is hard to tell whether snakes are awake or not being as they cannot close their eyes. Generally a good thing to do would be to smoothly open the cage and if the snake is under a hide, lift the hide off and wait a few seconds until it adjusts. Then approach the rear of the snake with your hand smoothly (don't hesitate, don't jerk away) and lift it up. You want it to know you are there, but you also don't want to come at it from the face, which can be seen as a threat.
If it does bite you, don't drop it and don't immediately put it away. You don't want it to catch onto the fact that biting gets it left alone. Kingsnakes can be little a$$holes IMO. Mine "tastes" me all the time. He's just always hungry and temperamental. Just relax and keep at it. Most snakes calm down once they get used to regular handling.

[Hillsberry]

I think he is getting ready to shed. His eyes have deep blue rings around them.

[Will0W783]

Well that would explain it then. Most snakes get a bit feistier when they are in blue.

[Hillsberry]

Do most snakes let go right way when the bite you? Because he holds on.

[infernalis]

most of my snakes nip and release.

My very mellow corn snake tried to eat my finger once......

[citysnakes]

i have known colubrids that i have worked with in the past to bite and hold on for a while. im assuming its generally characteristic of them to do that but i have only been bitten by young ones so cant speak for adults.

[Hillsberry]

He is an adult yet I am going to guess 4 or 5 months. So is there anyway you can help stop the bitting oris this just want a snake ( Califorina KingSnake ) does?

[Will0W783]

A bite and hold on is a feeding response. A bite and quick release is a defensive bite. If your snake bit you and held on, it was most likely because he mistook your hand for food and is hungry. When was the last time he ate and what are you feeding him? Kingsnakes are little piggies when it comes to food. My adult kingsnake (about 2.5-3 feet long) eats a weanling rat (f/t) every other week. Any less than that and he is biting everything in sight.

[Hillsberry]

I feed him on the 13th and he ate 12 "pinkies". He eats them like its his last meal. I will try to feed him today. But I think he is going to shed so he rejects them. I wil try today and tell you if he eats.

[Hillsberry]

I just took him out and he is going to shed very soon. Both his eyes ae blue and his skin is very light so I will leave him today and check again tomorrow.

[citysnakes]

A bite and hold on is a feeding response.

not necessarily. a bite and a coil is a feeding response but like i said some colubrids that i have known would hold on with their bite and they werent hungry.

[Will0W783]

I feed him on the 13th and he ate 12 "pinkies".

Well no wonder your snake is biting you- if he's large enough to eat TWELVE pinkies in one meal, he NEEDS larger prey. As soon as a snake can handle something larger than a pinky, move it up. Pinkies have little substance to them as their bone structure is not well developed yet. If your snake is eating 12 pinkies in a sitting, it should be able to take a full-grown mouse or a rat pup.
You should feed your snake a prey sized so that it takes no more than two to fill up the snake, preferably a single item will do. A properly sized prey item should leave a small swelling in the snake's sides. NOT a huge lump, just a small but noticeable one.

H

[Smilts]

Whoa wait 12 pinkies?

[psow]

I keep a detailed record on excell program on the dates the snake ate, shed dates and even poop date. With keeping several types of snakes, documenting everything answers a lot of questions about each snake. It also shows patterns. In the data mine shows size of feeding item and amount eaten, so I can see when the snake graduated up to different size items, like eating med size rats to know eating med/large rats.
It takes a bit of time to set up, but once it is done and customized to your set up you will be glad you took the time.
THE RETICULATED PYTHON (http://www.hubpages.com/hub/retic-python)

[Hillsberry]

Yes, 12 pinkies. Willow do you think I should only move up to fuzzies. I mean I am not sure if I should move up to a full size mouse yet. He is only 22 inches. I mean his head is big at all. Should I only move him up to a fuzzie or go larger?

[Hillsberry]

I do have the dates I feed him and when he shed. He sheds about every week. Is that because he is young and he is just growing really fast?

[Smilts]

Ive never fed any animals 12 prey items at one time and cant think of a reason to do so. Either it is not getting large enough of a prey item and still over fed. Like if it isnt big enough for anything bigger than a fuzzy giving it 12 pinkies or 4 fuzzies isnt good for it, and it will become at the least fat. Or it needs to step up several sizes. Usually one prey item of the proper size every 4-5 days with young kings is plenty. You can get the proper size by looking at the prey size and compairing it to the size of snake. Or by weight though I know nothing much about how that is done. Over feeding can be stressfull any thing that stresses the snake could make it aggresive, as well as sheds. If you happen to have pictures of the snake clearly showing its size compaired to say a dollar bill we could probly help you decide what best to feed it.


EDIT: They are opportunity feeders for the most part. So yes they may very well keep feeding until they pop. Kings seem particularly happy to eat or at least mine did.

[Hillsberry]

OKay I will take a picture of him today. But when I feed him he never stops. Will they just eat till they pop? I mean I think I will move him up but he just doesnt stop.

[Will0W783]

The reason he never stops is because they aren't making a dent in his hunger. Think of how much plain, unbuttered popcorn you'd have to eat when you're really hungry to feel full. (That was the closest comparison I could think of...lol) At 22 inches, he should be able to take a small mouse, at the very least a large mouse hopper. I'd try moving him up to rat pups first though, to get him going on rats. Some snakes get "addicted" to mice and that's all they will eat even when they are really big. A good rule of thumb is to feed a prey item that is about the same thickness as the snake's thickness. For a kingsnake you can give it a prey slightly thicker than it is, because they can take large meals and really squash them down before swallowing. They are one of only a few colubrids that constrict.

[MacAdder]

If the only time you open the viv is to feed the animal becomes conditioned. The other is if you put your hand in and hesitate. That is inviting a response.

[Hillsberry]

OKay so I will give him 2 fuzzies tomorrow and he is a total pig so he should eat them fast. Thanks Everyone :P

[Will0W783]

Make sure the fuzzies leave a slight bulge in him. If they don't next time move him to a small adult mouse. Also I would feed him weekly, as colubrids have a faster metabolism than boids.

[Hillsberry]

Should I just keep tying feeding him even if he is going in to a shed?

[Will0W783]

I would. My kingsnake eats even when he's deep in shed. He'd eat no matter what..lol. He's a pig.

[Hillsberry]

Yeah Kings eat like its there last meal. My friend just got a beautiful spotted king. She is so pretty. And I watched him feed her today and she ate like a pig. Lol.

[emseeKAY]

i find that with my corn too, shes a champ lol she devours pretty much anything i hold in front of her, shes basically a monster... lol :P

[Hillsberry]

Its funny how he is smaller then me and yet he eats more them me. Lol.

[emseeKAY]

lol i think i definitely would trump my snake on that one, unless its done in comparison to weight, well... nah id still win lol gotta pack on the muscle if i wanna be a police officer lmao

[Hillsberry]

My snake is going to be like bigger then me. Lol. I am only 5 foot and he might get bigger then 5. Hehehehe!!

[emseeKAY]

lmao! thats awesome mine won't since im 6 ft. lol well i guess she could but whatevs... i wouldnt mind that lol just means id have to feed her more when that time of the week comes around or every 5-6 days lol she seems to destroy everything that i put on front of her to eat lol p.s. anyone have any tips on getting a good shed for her? what happened was she was shedding in parts so i soaked her and the skin on the top of her head still hasnt come off and she wont let me rub it off lol ive gotten the rest off including what was on her chin etc. just the crown of her head lol