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Aggressive Cali king

A

artie

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Hi everyone.
I hope some of you will have useful suggestions on what to do with this goofy snake I have. :)

Here's the story...

I work in a pet store where we occassionally sell captive-bred california kingsnakes. A little less than a year ago we had one that, for some bizarre reason, just wouldn't sell. She was there for at least four months. All she ate was dead pinkies. She was easy to handle and not at all temperamental and has beautiful markings. The manager asked if I would like to buy her at a drastically reduced price so she wouldn't have to stay there any more. I took her home. (We don't know for sure that she is female, but I think she is.)

On the way home, she escaped from her container, but I managed to grab her before she could get down into the car. She bit my finger, but I just attributed it to stress and fear.

I gave her a few days to settle in before I tried handling her again. I quickly discoverd that I can pet her and lift her as much as I want to, but if _anything_ moves in front of her, she bites it and doesn't let go.

I use a feeding container and never touch the mouse myself.
She gets a mouse fuzzy once a week. She used to get a pinky every three days, but she was getting fat and it didn't alter this behavior.
I always move slowly and don't touch her head or neck when I pick her up, but she seems to think that _everything_ is edible.
She has tried to eat bedding material (I now only use plain white paper towels.)
She repeatedly tries to bite and grab onto her water dish when I put it back in her tank (its ceramic) and she bites at water droplets if the drip in front of her.
She has tried to swallow sweater sleeves, and t-shirts that are a hundred tims her size.
She has grabbed at my hands and fingers and bitten me several times, but she hasn't caught on that this never results in her getting food.

I know she isn't blind, and I know she can sense vibration normally, but is it possible that she has a very poor sense of smell?
Even if that is the case, her food has never moved, so why would she think that movement equals food?
She never "stinks" or rattles her tail and actually seems to enjoy being petted and rubbed, but if she turns and sees my hand touching her she tries to eat me.

She is perfectly healthy as far as anyone can tell, but since she doesn't seem to mind being touched or lifted, I can't figure out why else she would keep doing this. She has no parasites, no respitory infections, she sheds on a regular basis and the skin comes off all in one piece.

I'm completely baffled as to what I can do to train her out of this behavior.
If anyone can offer any suggestions, I would be very appreciative.

Thanks,
artie
 
So this girl is an '04 hatch, or an '03 hatch. If she is eating fuzzies, that leads me to think she's an early '04 or a late '03.... could it be that she needs larger meals? How do you know she isn't blind? A lot of feisty-ness is just grown out of during the maturing process. If she's older than I have suggested, it could be that she really is "hungry" and needs larger meals. I've had snakes bite me for two reasons.... either they want me to get lost, in which case they strike but do not hold on, or they think I'm a mouse and are intent on eating me. When little thye do very little damage to the flesh because they are small it's more funny than anything ... though I do worry about their little teeth getting dislodged causing an infection. When they are bigger it is a more serious issue. I wish I had some solution for you. Some snakes have nasty personalities and time and age won't change a thing.
 
Sounds like one of mine LOL

I had an albino cal king pair and they bred and I kept back a pair from them. Whenever we had customers come over and ask how bad a bite is my hubby would pick up the female adult. She taged everything in site, the walls the chair me anyone standing in range or anything else for that matter. She was a wicked wicked girl. The only time I really got to hold and enjoy her is after she layed her eggs she was so week she did not want to bite. She was not blind she had impekable site to say the least. She ate live and frozen thawed as well. The one baby I held back we call our little cobra, fiesty as all heck just like it's mom. All my other cal kings just as sweet as could be. I guess some just are a bit feisty. Keep working with it and see if it calms down any with alot of handeling, and do not let it get the best of you, there smart little boogers ya know! Good luck with it, Shanell
 
Shane, It is good to know that mine isn't the only aggressive king out there. I hear so many stories about nice ones that I was beginning to wonder. :)

Sasheena, I know she isn't blind because she will react to movements on the other side of the room. If I step into the doorway which is about 10 feet from her tank (her tank is up on a dresser) she will track my motion across the room.
She would have hatched in mid to late '03. She isn't big enough to handle anything larger than a fuzzy.
How much more do you think it is safe to feed her? I know kings can be prone to obesity if overfed, on the other hand, she is still growing in length as well so maybe that isn't a concern at this point.
Are two fuzzies a week (one every three days) too much do you think?

Thanks,
artie
 
I've seen this syndrome before. Some call it the "feed me more can't you see I'm a growing snake" syndrome. You just dont realize how big they've gotten and that food intake needs to be increased. Double food intake and I bet attitude improves.
 
I agree, a food increase can help. Not guaranteed to help, but at least it is a start.

Of course I have an Apalachicola King who would eat a volkswagon if she could. She has such an appetite, I feed her small rats, and she wants seconds. she's nearly 5 feet long and only 3 1/2 years old.
 
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