Why is my baby Cal Kingsnake behaving like this

kingsnakes · 07-23-04, 10:15 AM

Hi all,
I have just bought a baby Cal Kingsnake, when I first brought her home she was very agressive not a happy snake at all. I got some good advice from others and was told it was probably the moving of new home for the snake that was making her so agressive and that she would settle down in time, and this is what she did, I was able to handle her for 15/20 mins a day without any problems. The problem I have now which is puzzling me is, I fed her for the first time 2 days ago, I gave her two pinkies which she had no problem at all with. Today I went into her tank to change her water and handle her for 20 mins and dear or dear she is extremely agressive, she is striking at me, striking at the glass when I'm away from the tank, vibrating her tail if I even move, she wasn't this bad when I first brought her home.Have I done something wrong while feeding her? Would really appreciate some advice on why my snake is acting like this.
Cheers...

marisa · 07-23-04, 10:19 AM

You haven't done anything wrong.

Baby cal kings are moody, bitey and whippy. :P They can take a few months of working their attitude problems out. None of mine really started calming down until they got some size and age on them.

In your case it sounds like your snake is either just showing the typical baby king attitude or most likely is going into a shed.

Even the calmest easy to handle snake can become moody and aggresive during a shed.

Keep your eye out and watch for your snakes eyes to go "blue" and its skin to be dull, or a shed. They usually shed within a few days of being blue. They go blue, clear again, then shed.

Marisa

Tigergenesis · 07-23-04, 11:13 AM

Because she's a Cal King !

My little girl is moody if I pick her up and she'll musk if you pick her up. I have to open her tub and wait for her to crawl out (usually away from me and I gently place my fingers under or around her where she can't see and then lift her up). The coolest thing happened the other day. I opened her tub and was standing about 6 inches away and she reached out to me, streching as far as she could and I slowly moved my hand out for her to crawl on. She didn't even flinch. It was so sweet. Then a couple days later she was back to her moody self. She certainly has attitude. Gotta be on her terms I guess.

Drunkenblade · 07-23-04, 11:53 AM

Lampropeltis g. c. are the nippiest of all the Lamp's.... I have raised tons of the little guys and it is just thier nature..... Spend time with him/her..... let the snake come to you, put your hand flat in the enclosure palm up and let him/her investigate you. The other thing about Cal Kings I've found is to keep my hands very clean. I use ZooMeds antibacterial hand lotion, it seems that after a couple of weeks the snakes associate the smell of the lotion with good handling or something and calm down quicker. Happy Herping

Kevin McRae · 07-23-04, 12:41 PM

With my bro's cal kings(there babys too)you can pick them up and handle them for 5 minutes and they will act like little angels and then once you put the back in there container they start striking and rattling there tail.........funny little snakes.

Good Luck!

Tigergenesis · 07-23-04, 01:58 PM

Yeah, mine does that sometimes too. It's like she just then remembered she was supposed to act all bad and tough.

rwg · 07-23-04, 02:20 PM

Snakes on the ground seem to have more attitude than snakes when you're holding them. It's the difference between being a tree to them, and being a potential predator I think. Many snakes are tough to get up out of their enclosures but are babies after that. I made the mistake of letting my bull snake hit the floor while I was cleaning his poop. He was pretty pissy when I picked him back up, and he's usually pretty good.

Oh, IMO Cal Kings are bitey little things. Great snakes, but watch your fingers.

rg

Stockwell · 07-24-04, 12:12 AM

Most healthy baby snakes should be snappy.It's an instinctive defense from predators/nest raiders
You ought to try Honduran milks. Those things can draw blood at one hour old, especially when they swallow your fingers right up to the nuckle..

Tim_Cranwill · 07-24-04, 01:32 AM

Yeah, those hondos like to gnaw...

Baby Cal Kings are all show... they can't actually do anything to you other than "soil" your hands and give you a quick strike.

Just grab them and they'll calm right down. It's just the tail rattling and the S-pose you need to get past...

michele.kyle · 07-24-04, 01:48 AM

i have an adult female cal. some days she is an angel others the devil is in her.i find a hand laid over her head before i lift her calms her slightly and she doesnt get so stressed when handled unfortunately its their nature