cage agressive "reascue" king

[sarahpede]

I reasantly brought home a rather cage agressive brooksis (spelling? sorry) king snake I got from a pet store who didnt handle it much because (s)he is quite agressive in cage and a little bit out... We dont much on her other then shes like 2+ she probably 3-3 1/2 feet im not sure if shes chunky or just well rounded... so anyways she was fed in cage untill going to the pet store where the fed her out and i have contiuned doing so however while they picked her up right from the cage I being a new snake owner am a bit more fearful and use a drum stick when ever i need to take her out or put her back...she has already caused us many a problem from day 1 but I do love Harper and I want to work with her so she more handleable and she can become friendly and "safe" like my two corns... Were planing on going back and buying there rat snake with is worse behavoir wise but we need to get funds to house and feed all these little monsters... I know she may never be perfect but i dont want to give up on her or the rat snake (when these guys are sold from the pet store there planing not to take more in thankfully) I also know kings and rats are more flighty and agressive but I fihured i would give it a shot.

[Kingsnakechris]

Time and patience, I have had a few kings that just didn't want to be held at first but consistency and confidence will tame her down, I'm not sure about the rat snake but as far as kings go you just have to put up with her "musking" and nipping. Show her your not interested in hurting her and do short but frequent handling sessions and increase the handling time as she calms down.

[Jlassiter]

I agree with Chris about patience, but how was buying a snake from a pet store a rescue?
Was it mistreated?
And it's a floridana not a brooksi since that subspecies is no longer valid taxonomically speaking.....

Also

[Kingsnakechris]

I agree with Chris about patience, but how was buying a snake from a pet store a rescue?
Was it mistreated?
And it's a floridana not a brooksi since that subspecies is no longer valid taxonomically speaking.....

Also

I think the "rescue" aspect is where the snake was before going to the pet store. I could be wrong tho.

[Jlassiter]

Oh...thanks....

[MoreliAddict]

Buy a snake hook.

[Terranaut]

I read the op's post and thought "typical king". Some are like that. Mine is jumpy and high strung but calms down after a few min. He has bit and pooped on my son but not me :) Something to consider with kings... in the wild they eat other snakes and mine will mistake a hand for food if it still smells like the last snake I held before him. This is how my son was bit and he has struck at my hand after handling my gopher. Took us a bit to figure it out. Now we wash our hands before pulling him out and he seems fine...most of the time. Still has a bit of king attitude though :)

[sarahpede]

The pet store rescued her from not so nice owners but the pet store it's self wasnt taking very good care of her. im not really sure what musking is I think its some sorta of glad expresstion correct? also what should i look for in a good snake hook?

[Snickers]

im not really sure what musking is I think its some sorta of glad expresstion correct?

Musking is when the snake emits a foul smelling liquid from it's cloaca.

[rmfsnakes32]

Musking is when the snake emits a foul smelling liquid from it's cloaca.

Trust me buy the smell of it you will know if you have been musked! I had a 10ft dum musk me a while back it took 2 washings to get the smell and stain off! I learned after that to pay attn to the snakes cues! Good luck keep us posted on how things go!

[sarahpede]

ok well at least she dose not hate me that much

[Kingsnakechris]

:crazy2:ok well at least she dose not hate me that much

They don't have to hate you, lol just make sure if you have a burrower not to dig it up to quick, catching them off guard is a great way to learn about musking. As far as the snake hook goes, make sure it's smooth, (I like rubber coated hooks) and sturdy, with a king you don't need the strongest hooks they make but as long as it's smooth and won't hurt the snake you should be good.

[Jlassiter]

:crazy2:

As far as the snake hook goes, make sure it's smooth, (I like rubber coated hooks) and sturdy, but as long as it's smooth and won't hurt the snake you should be good.


That kinda turned me on there a bit.......J/K.....LOL

[sarahpede]

Shes not a digger I had her out a little bit ago a i did not getting and bluffing or atemps at bitingi she didnt seem really happy aboute the whole handling thing but she wasnt resiting to bad today she also did her first poop for me! not on me thankfully but when i got home there was huge poop surprise!

[Kingsnakechris]

That kinda turned me on there a bit.......J/K.....LOL

Haha sorry, I'll make sure my snake hook descriptions aren't so "spicy" next time HAHA jk jk gotta love a good sense of humor.

I'm very glad your new kingsnake is getting better with handling. It's a very cool feeling when you take a snake from frantically trying to kill everything to calm as can be chillen on your lap.

[knox]

I have never had luck with Kings, no matter how tame they start out. Once they hit a year old, they loved to bite at anything that moved, including my fingers when I was holding them.

Milks, on the other hand, have never let me down.

[Kingsnakechris]

I have never had luck with Kings, no matter how tame they start out. Once they hit a year old, they loved to bite at anything that moved, including my fingers when I was holding them.

Milks, on the other hand, have never let me down.

im the exact opposite. i have had a milk or two and never had any luck, guess it all depends on the individual snake, not the species as a whole.

[MoreliAddict]

In my personal experience, kings can be bitey and very unpredictable.

I dont have any experience with milk snakes...

[knox]

im the exact opposite. i have had a milk or two and never had any luck, guess it all depends on the individual snake, not the species as a whole.

I don't doubt that at all.

[MoreliAddict]

I believe any species could be either laid back and "tame" or bitey.

...except rattlesnakes. Those bite. Najas bite too. As do rhino and gaboon vipers...

[Kingsnakechris]

i have friends who have milks who are absolutely handleable, mine just always liked to eat my fingers hahah

[Kingsnakechris]

I believe any species could be either laid back and "tame" or bitey.

...except rattlesnakes. Those bite. Najas bite too. As do rhino and gaboon vipers...

haha they have venom and know it!!

[sarahpede]

She's hasnt bitten yet but we will see as tomorow is feeding day. Also i bought a snake hook for her feeding but today I decided we going to work on taking her out with out an aid. Today went well very "jumpy" but one i got her out she settled down a bit of course I had to get her all riled up before bed time.

[7niteshades]

i recently have done the same thing a guy dropped 7 king snakes off at a local pet store they were all malnourished and aggressive i know have two of them myself a Brown california king and a yellow phase lined cali king if i could i'd bring them all home but thats not possible so i know how you feel after time though i'm sure yours will calm down

[sarahpede]

Yeah I wish I could have gotton all of them but me and my firend our trying to get each everytime the funds come in and still save money for a herp vet for these guys. There are only two more left a midly agressive ball and a rat snake however the rat snake is the worst of all of them and is a know escape artist who gets a padlock on her viv. sigh if only people whould know what there getting into before they got them especaly the pet stores. Also is handling her a few times a day for short periods better then once a day for longer? or vise versa?

[sarahpede]

I figured I would post an update so yesterday was feeding day i have never seen the cage so bloody.... my other 3 little bumkins (all corns) are a little voilent but over all they sqeese eat and go back to the vivs but not miss harper she "kills" it lets it go "kills" it agian and repeats sevral times by then its usily half skined and very bloody...but if nothing else i think shes already starting to show signs of calming down :D

[Kingsnakechris]

I figured I would post an update so yesterday was feeding day i have never seen the cage so bloody.... my other 3 little bumkins (all corns) are a little voilent but over all they sqeese eat and go back to the vivs but not miss harper she "kills" it lets it go "kills" it agian and repeats sevral times by then its usily half skined and very bloody...but if nothing else i think shes already starting to show signs of calming down :D

Yeah kings are (most of the time) very enthusiastic eaters, mine will not eat frozen thawed, my female only eats fresh killed or live and my male out grew mice and will ONLY eat live small rats. He would squeeze the mice so hard they would litterally pop. As for your previous post, I think short but frequent handleing sessions are your best bet. Are you feeding him in his enclosure? That can easily contribute to cage aggressiveness.

[sarahpede]

No they were before I got them but I feed outside there vivs...deffedently helps keep there cage cleaner to...