Odd King Snake Behavior

Kettennatter · 05-24-12, 08:20 AM

I hope this is the right place to ask a question that I have not found an answer to yet. Out of my snakes only one is a king snake, so I have no other direct reference points as to king snake behavior.

The snake is not fully grown yet, and maybe 4.5 ft. in length. It eats well, about every 4-5 days on average, and will only take live food. (I feed mice at the current time.) The snake responds strongly to food, and the whole process is usually over in 15 minutes. The snake also sheds well, and I cannot detect any signs of illness or distress.

The snake is rather inquisitive, an escape artist and very alert, which I believe is common for king snakes. It gets startled easily, but settles just as fast. Handling is very easy, and the snake will use my arm to climb if I reach into the enclosure. I therefore handle the snake probably more than I plan to, simply because I need to get him back where he belongs when maintaining the enclosure. Unless startled, the snake does not act aggressively at all.

And here comes my question: The snake has periods during which it nips at itself during or after handling. These are not actual bites, but very quick nips, not causing any damage that I can observe. It doesn’t nip me. There is no hissing or any other defensive posturing involved. The snake appears calm until the moment it nips at itself. Putting the snake back into its enclosure will stop this behavior.

My first thought was that this could be a reaction to this snake’s very strong feeding response and sought to make sure it was adequately fed. But this did not stop the issue. There are also periods of time during which this behavior does not occur at all.

An internet search produced examples of king snakes actually trying to bite themselves, but I have not come across something like this. Did anybody observe similar behavior?

StudentoReptile · 05-24-12, 08:38 AM

I think what you're seeing is part of a strong feeding response. Remember that kingsnakes naturally dine on other reptiles, including other snakes, along with rodents. I've seen kingsnakes do what yours is doing, and I've heard of some outright eat themselves!

Every snake responds differently. Some are mostly stimulated mostly by scent. With others, its more of "its looks like prey and feels kinda like prey, I'll bite it!" which leads to the numerous photos we've seen across the web of snakes (not just kingsnakes) biting themselves and sometimes trying to swallow their owners' fingers. With others still, its more a movement thing.

Your snake seems to be stimulated into a feeding response on occasion which prompts it to nip at itself. It quickly realizes "Ouch! That's me!" but seconds later, is stimulated again, and repeats the behavior.

I've occasionally witnessed similar behavior in my ball python and in some of my African house snakes when I kept them. Just for kicks, try switching it to pre-killed or F/T prey and see if that alters the behavior. Maybe he is stimulated by movement? [shrugs]

Kettennatter · 05-24-12, 09:11 AM

It is quite possible that the snake is stimulated by movement, quite frankly I'm sure that it is a large component, as I haven't observed this when the snake is in the enclosure. Yet I think it is the snake being moved, not movement in general. A live mouse in the enclosure when the snake isn't hungry triggers no reaction at all.

Both the breeder and I tried f/t, but so far without luck. I might have to try harder I this issue persists.

Thanks a lot for your thoughtful response.

buffcoat · 05-24-12, 09:19 AM

You could try stunning the mouse then offering by doing the "zombie dance". After a few of those then try the f/t route. I have one ball python that will NOT eat a wet rat, so I dry it off and heat its head and belly for about 10 seconds with a hair dryer. I also have one that will refuse a white and black colored rat.

I had a kingsnake years ago that did the same exact thing. After holding him he would nip himself but never hurt himself. After about 10 mins or so he would calm down. He did it even as a wee one. I had no idea what to do

Will0W783 · 05-24-12, 09:21 AM

King snakes are odd snakes. I had one that would eat it's f/t prey, then smell the food on itself from having constricted it and try to eat its own tail. This snake would also repeatedly "taste" me during handling...tiny quick nips that didn't really hurt all that badly, but were all up and down my arms. King snakes are ravenous eaters and quite curious, so yours is just being a king snake really, lol.

Kettennatter · 05-24-12, 09:44 AM

@buffcoat
I have a very strong feeling that my king snake will eat most things as long as they move. (I have a sand boa that will attack a "moved and warmed" f/t, but will drop it when it doesn't struggle.) I may however try the zombie dance with king snake. So far just leaving the snake with the f/t overnight produced no results.

Kettennatter · 05-24-12, 09:49 AM

@Will0W783

So far I haven't been "tasted", and my snake never tried to eat itself. Wait, I once felt an odd sensation when I wasn't looking, but it might as well have been a scale scratching me.

I guess I'l see where this leads.

StudentoReptile · 05-24-12, 09:50 AM

Just curious, what species of kingsnake do you have?

I only ask because I find it unusual that an adult Lampropeltis getula sp. would refuse f/t mice. I've even had WC speckled kings accept them right off the bat before. Although I would never do this deliberately, I had an eastern king whom I'm thoroughly convinced would eat a sock if it remotely smelled like rat.

Kettennatter · 05-24-12, 11:28 AM

The king snake was sold to me as a Yuma King Snake. I haven't engaged in "blotch interpretation" or scale counting to validate that claim. So it could also be a Desert King Snake. (There is a picture of the snake on my introductory thread in the New Members forum.)

My king snake would refuse f/t even if I left them overnight in the same container. At the end the snake was so hungry it constricted around my lower arm, looking for a place small enough to bite. But it would not eat f/t.

Maybe I need to get more creative with my f/t approach.

Kettennatter · 06-21-12, 06:48 AM

Just as a quick update: The odd nipping behavior has stopped. It's still the same active snake, and there were no changes in its environment. Maybe it just outgrew this phase. In either case, I'm quite happy about it and still love watching its antics.

Jlassiter · 06-21-12, 10:23 AM

Yep...young kings are nippy....they typically grow out of it.....

And "Yuma" kings are a genetic mixture of Splendida, Californiae & Nigrita........Some phenotypically look like a mixture and some look like a each subspecies of those getula.