MBK taming advice

[emjy099]

Hi all!
I'm new here but I joined to see if anyone had any advice on working with kingsnakes, particularly on getting them to stop chomping on your hand XD.

Jasper's my first snake and is a year-old Mexican black kingsnake. I've been handling him regularly since I got him in September of 2019. I take him out at least once every few days, but usually every day if I can. He's about a foot and a half long now and is still eating pinky mice.

My set up is a 15 gallon long with aspen bedding, a water dish, two cardboard tubes, a ceramic water dish big enough for him to soak in, and a half-log hide. He also has several branches to hide in and climb on. I have a piece of slate that I drop-feed him on. I usually feed him a mouse every 4-5 days. Should I try feeding more often?

He usually bites when I have him out and he starts to smell my hands. He never really strikes, just slowly opens his mouth and bites down on a finger or the side of my palm. Regular handling hasn't seemed to help, and I have tried washing my hands prior to try to get any scents off that he might want to eat. Until recently, he never struck at me defensively, but he's been doing so now when I walk past his cage. However, he's starting to stop that now so I think it might have been stress from moving back home from university.

All of this leads me to believe that his bites are food motivated, but I'm concerned about feeding him more often because of the fat content. He is very active and is constantly exploring/trying to get out when he is not in his tube. I'm wondering if this could be age-related and that he might settle down as he gets older with regular handling. Does anyone have any advice, or should I just settle myself with this nibble noodle the way he is?

Thanks!