Nippyness - FaunaClassifieds
FaunaClassifieds  
  Tired of those Google and InfoLink ads? Upgrade Your Membership!
  Inside FaunaClassifieds » Photo Gallery  
 

Go Back   FaunaClassifieds > Reptile & Amphibian - Snake Discussion Forums > Kingsnakes & Milksnakes Discussion Forum

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 07-13-2019, 11:40 PM   #1
Ushimaro
Nippyness

So I have a cali Kingsnake. Roughly 6 months old. Some reason identifies my fingers as food. Full on bite down and attempt to eat my fingers. Here's where it gets weird doesn't seem to care or recognize the scent of mice pinkies. Been that way for months now. To clarify he has eaten but only live and takes up to 24hrs for him to eat. I have multiple other Kingsnakes in the same rack that are doing fine. Is this behavior common? I'm at a loss right now. While his bites don't hurt it's quite annoying to immediately be latched onto and have to run him under water to let go everytime I spot clean or get anywhere near him. Any tips or advice is welcome.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
 
Old 07-13-2019, 11:59 PM   #2
bcr229
Yes it's normal, especially in the spring.

Rub a little white vinegar on your hands before you put them in the enclosure, the sharp smell should get him to back off.
 
Old 07-14-2019, 12:05 AM   #3
Ushimaro
Thank you for the reply. Is it something he will grow out of? Also I will try the white vinegar trick next time!

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
 
Old 07-14-2019, 08:45 AM   #4
Socratic Monologue
I don't keep Cali kings, but some of my rosy boas are like that. I wear thin cotton gardening gloves to handle them, at least until they're out of the tub for a minute and I can gauge their mood.

Rosies don't seem to grow out of this, but kings might be different.
 
Old 07-14-2019, 10:02 AM   #5
bcr229
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ushimaro View Post
Thank you for the reply. Is it something he will grow out of?
Mine go through cycles; as I said, they are worse in the spring even if I don't brumate them because they slow down on eating normally over the winter. You have to gauge their mood every time you go to handle them.
 
Old 07-16-2019, 04:48 AM   #6
KingsnakeKing
I've kept multiple species of kings and by far the most notorious for this type of behavior are Cali Kings. Unfortunately, in my experience this behavior becomes even more frequent as they get older because they feel that they can eat much larger prey items. This behavior will, however, vary from different individuals but I have noticed that Albinos are much more prone to this type of behavior which may be partly due to their poorer vision.
 
Old 07-16-2019, 09:21 AM   #7
bcr229
Actually my female MBK was particularly bad each spring. She would grab, pull, wrap your hand, etc.
 
Old 07-16-2019, 04:56 PM   #8
Ushimaro
Quote:
Originally Posted by KingsnakeKing View Post
I've kept multiple species of kings and by far the most notorious for this type of behavior are Cali Kings. Unfortunately, in my experience this behavior becomes even more frequent as they get older because they feel that they can eat much larger prey items. This behavior will, however, vary from different individuals but I have noticed that Albinos are much more prone to this type of behavior which may be partly due to their poorer vision.
Here's my thing though is why won't he take food? He sees a finger it's game on he sees a pinkie he could careless.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
 
Old 07-16-2019, 05:19 PM   #9
Socratic Monologue
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ushimaro View Post
Here's my thing though is why won't he take food? He sees a finger it's game on he sees a pinkie he could careless.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
How do you feed? He may want to be tease fed (hold the PK or FT prey in a tweezers, and play it gently in front of him).

He may not like the smell of the mice you're offering -- I've had people buy snakes from me that couldn't get them to eat the mice they offered, but mice from a different vendor were eaten well.
 
Old 07-17-2019, 04:56 AM   #10
KingsnakeKing
I definitely rank MBK as number two for this type of behavior!
 

Join now to reply to this thread or open new ones for your questions & comments! FaunaClassifieds.com is the largest online community about Reptile & Amphibians, Snakes, Lizards and number one classifieds service with thousands of ads to look for. Registration is open to everyone and FREE. Click Here to Register!

 
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 01:48 PM.







Fauna Top Sites


Powered by vBulletin® Version
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Page generated in 0.04457808 seconds with 9 queries
Content copyrighted ©2002-2022, FaunaClassifieds, LLC