crazy mbk

[mmichele]

ok my mbk is crazy. it bites anything that moves inculding my fingures:medangry:
like i feed him a good amount and have all the temps and the setup right. why does he do this? what can i do to tame him.
please help

thanks

[jazzmachine]

Hi there. I know what you mean by they bite a lot. I've got 5 at the moment, and they are all in different stages of calming down. How old is he/she? What do you have him housed in? How often are you feeding? Try handling him with a glove of some sort, I find that sometimes this helps to keep snakes calm. As well, just keep handling him every few days, and slowly but surely you will see some improvements. Good luck.

Kevin

[Badger-X]

Originally Posted by mmichele

ok my mbk is crazy. it bites anything that moves inculding my fingures:medangry:
like i feed him a good amount and have all the temps and the setup right. why does he do this? what can i do to tame him.
please help

thanks

If you can, feed him/her outside of the tank to remove the association that hand and open tank means feeding. Baby kings are often nippy but they do tame with handling... I have a 5 year old female king and she never bites or shows signs of aggression anymore. MBKs are beauties and well worth the time to tame!

[Meltos]

I don't recommend the gloves, because when he is used to be handled with gloves, and you result back to hands (flesh) then he wont be used to that. See where im coming from?

And does he only go to bite you when eating, If so this will just be a feeding frenzy, It's normal, What I would do is feed your MBK in a different enclosuer, U have a plastic viv which i feed him in it, Hes never had feeding frenzys again since. I've had my Milksnake for about 4-5 months now, And we have bonded very much, He can now eat in my hand while holding.

To Tame him, Just get him used to being handled (Without gloves) Do you have any of animals? Rodents? He might sense the smell of your hands, Wash your hands before handling (As per usual)

It's just time my friend

[mmichele]

ok thanks. but its like when ever i open the top of his cage he comes out and lookes around. if he sees my fingurs moving he will bite. i feed him onc to two hoppers a week. he has a forty gallon. an under tank heater. two hidboxes one on the warm side one on the cool. and he is 3 years old.like sometimes he will even try to bite himself:medmashed. like i said before he is crazy

[Badger-X]

Originally Posted by mmichele

ok thanks. but its like when ever i open the top of his cage he comes out and lookes around. if he sees my fingurs moving he will bite. i feed him onc to two hoppers a week. he has a forty gallon. an under tank heater. two hidboxes one on the warm side one on the cool. and he is 3 years old.like sometimes he will even try to bite himself:medmashed. like i said before he is crazy

Almost definitely a feeding response. Start feeding him in an external tank and handle him more... Believe me, I have been through this! It will improve.. But from my experience, your little fella is instinctually striking assuming its food... Feed him in a container outside of his home...

[mmichele]

thankx so much

[gonesnakee]

Its 3 years old & only eating 2 hoppers per week? No wonder it is always hungry. A 3 YO MBKS should be eating 2 adult mice per week likely. Increased meal size & more frequent handling should calm it down over time. Mark

[mmichele]

ok thank you

[rrrrr]

If he bites and holds, or constricts, it's a feeding repsonse. If he strikes and doesn't hold on, it's defensive. I agree, it sounds like he's underfed. Up the feeding and see how it goes.

[mmichele]

yup it does bite and hold. thankx

[Ace]

Definitely hungry. I feed my 3 year old either 2 large mice, or 2 small rats/week (about equal to 10-20% of her body weight). 2 hoppers a week is like a snack to a 3 year old. My girl........