My snake is trying to eat me?

bakedzitixo · 11-04-16, 10:01 AM

I've had the 18in MBK for two years now and this summer it nipped me and since then, whenever I handle it, it attempts to wrap its mouth around me, and I mean anywhere on my body. It tried to eat my leg, flippin impossible, it has tried to eat my arm, but my fingers are the worst because it can latch on and I don't wanna have to listerine her to get her off. I feed it every five or six days two small pinkies, she's very hungry and a good eater, she is healthy and shiny and sheds about once every two to three months, but I haven't been able to handle her

I used to carry her around the house while she slithered around in my hoodie and go on adventures into my purse but I can't anymore because I think she sees me as a food item. Anyone have advice?

**Minkness** · 11-04-16, 10:47 AM

At 2 years old she should be on small adult mice or rat fuzzies. It sounds like you are starving her and that her growth is pretty stunted.

PatrickV · 11-04-16, 10:48 AM

check temps and humidity etc. also, why not try giving larger prey items to satisfy that insatiable hunger? that is, if it can handle them

**EL Ziggy** · 11-04-16, 11:01 AM

I agree with Mink. It sounds like you're underfeeding her. At 2 years of age my MBK was eating chicks, jumbo mice and small rats.

SerpentineDream · 11-05-16, 03:04 PM

Yup that's the problem. The size of the prey should grow with the snake. They start off eating pinkies but they don't stay on them for long. Then you move up to fuzzies, then hoppers, then small adult mice and so on. You want to feed prey that is slightly bigger than the widest part of your snake so that it leaves a slight bulge that goes away after a day or two. When the prey no longer leaves a bulge, it's time to move up to the next size. At her age she should be waaaaaay past pinkies.

How big around is your snake? Like a pencil? Magic Marker? Garden hose? That will help determine what size prey she needs to be on at the moment.

sirtalis · 11-05-16, 08:18 PM

I agree with everyone else but 18 inches does seem a bit small at that age but i'm no expert so correct me if i'm wrong

SerpentineDream · 11-05-16, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sirtalis

I agree with everyone else but 18 inches does seem a bit small at that age but i'm no expert so correct me if i'm wrong

It is but that's probably directly correlated to malnutrition, which stunts growth. I wouldn't try to stuff an adult mouse into her at this point, just what she can handle at her current size. She may catch up to where she should be with bigger meals, but I suspect she may always be on the small side.

OP, these are just the cold hard facts, not an attack on you. I'm sure you had no intention of harming your snake.

SnoopySnake · 11-07-16, 12:26 AM

At two years old she should be much larger and eating much bigger prey than two small pinkies. Pinkies are pretty much bags of milk and not ideal food unless necessary. Switch to larger prey asap to try getting some weight/size on. Your snake is hungry

bakedzitixo · 11-07-16, 06:24 PM

I am mortified, I feel terrible and ignorant. Thank you all so much for your information, it has helped immensely. She ate a fuzzy yesterday no problem, I checked temps during the day at about 76 on the cool side 90 on the warm, I do not have a gauge for humidity. I'm not sure how often I should be feeding her at this age but I try to feed her within a day of passing a bowel movement, usually about a five day cycle. Thanks again to everyone for your responses.

SnoopySnake · 11-07-16, 07:02 PM

The good thing is you're willing to correct the situation

lots of people just get defensive. Once you get 5 posts please do feel free do post some pics of your snake and we can further assist with what size meal she can handle/how often. Aside from the underfeeding issue, kingsnakes generally have fierce appetites so add the two together and you may have an unhappy snake. I apologize for coming off so rude before. Rough week.

**Minkness** · 11-07-16, 07:12 PM

You don't have to wait for poop. Just feed her every 5 days 1 fuzzy or every 7 days 2 fuzzies. Make this a routine and it will also help calm her down as she will learn when to expect food.

I also suggest that you invest in a scale so you can monitor weight and make sure she is gaining appropriately.

Good luck. Looking forward to updates!

SerpentineDream · 11-07-16, 07:47 PM

Keep an eye on her and note the following: Did the fuzzy leave a bulge in her belly? How big a bulge? If there's no bulge or it's barely visible, you can probably step up to a hopper. If it leaves a perceptible bulge which goes away a day or so later, you're right on for size. A huge bulge means prey is too big.

Normally at that age I would feed once a week, but since you are trying to put weight on her the schedule you have devised works well.

akane · 11-07-16, 10:30 PM

I dealt with the same thing for one of my snakes but by the previous owners. Pinkies are not the same nutrition, not as satisfying, and way too small. With mine I went right up to a hopper a week and then an adult mouse or small gerbil every 5-6days. When she's hungry she will sprawl across the tank like she's keeping an eye out for anything instead of coiling in her hides and she'd strike at everything. The cat nearly got involved, I had to remove her from me, the edge of the piece of fleece on the outside back of her tank got struck at through the glass because the white edging moved... If you pay close attention you can tell when they are starting to go hunting. Now when she's hungry she'll spend part of a day in the middle of the tank or throwing her coils up the glass on the side I sit before settling on the cool side of the tank to wait until tomorrow. I also have to do the dead rodent wiggle and sometimes bump her with it once she's paying attention to get her to bite anything. Then she settles on the warm side to digest for a couple days before traveling back and forth some again. She's so lazy now and I gave her a 20g long right off instead of the 10g she came with. Some said it took 6months for their snake to settle down in a feeding routine without striking randomly but mine was chilling out within a couple months. Might be a species difference. She did also keep down a rather impressive meal that I was questioning if I should have fed her right about the time she really calmed down. She was so shiny after her latest shed by comparison to when I got her.