Tips to re-tame a neglected kingsnake

Over the past few months my life has been hectic and as such the attention I could pay to my kingsnake dropped to pretty much zero. He was getting food, but because I wasn't monitoring him closely I was late in bumping up his mouse size so he might have been feeling hungry (though certainly not starved).
I can get over his resulting tank aggression just fine, that is what hooks are for, but my main problem is he now considers me chow when I hold him.

While I'm handling him he's clearly exhibiting hungry 'prowling' behavior and has bitten me twice (with several other close calls). These aren't scared/aggressive strikes, he is going for the flesh of my fingers below the lowest joint and latching on like I'm prey. If he gets the chance he tries to constrict my finger. Sometimes I can't get him off for several minutes before he starts to give up (I'm too worried about breaking any of his teeth to yank him off), and while ultimately it's not terribly painful and doesn't cause any real bleeding it certainly isn't fun for either of us.

I've been generously feeding him for the past few weeks and making it a point to take him out of his tank regularly for a minute or two but holding him now feels slightly stressful. I'm watching him actively, hyper-aware of his behavior and I keep the hook handy to draw him away when he seems too interested in my fingers, I'm also keeping my fingers flat and together which isn't exactly an engaging way to handle him.

So, are there other things I could be doing? I haven't tried gloves yet because that will just avoid the problem (him thinking my smell/skin = food) rather than solve it in my mind. But is that a recommended intermediate step: get him comfy with handling in gloves and then try removing the gloves? Are there particular smells that don't appeal to them as a food but also wouldn't bother them like an oil I could use?

Any and all advice to help me get my baby back to his cuddly ways would be extremely appreciated! Oh, he's still young so he's about 22" long for reference and why the biting isn't too painful.

I would keep some vinegar-soaked cotton balls handy in case he does go for a finger again. Even my foodiest Mexican Black King female turns me loose when she gets a whiff of it. I've also read that vodka works but I have better uses for that than getting my snake to turn loose of a finger.

Otherwise, try washing your hands in cold water for a bit, and then applying something like lemon scent hand sanitizer to them. I don't think snakes care much for citrus.

Make sure you aren't holding other animals before holding your kingsnake. Especially if he's aggressive. This obviously includes rodents, birds, lizards, other snakes basically any thing he might eat in the wild that could trigger that feeding response. There is a chance that he could just be one of those snakes that is a jack off. It's a reason almost all care sheets say "most will calm down with handling" and not "all"

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Originally Posted by bcr229

I would keep some vinegar-soaked cotton balls handy in case he does go for a finger again.

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Oooh thanks! At the very least now I know I can get him off me easily, and I'll try the citrus as well. I appreciate the tips.

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Originally Posted by Jhill001

Make sure you aren't holding other animals before holding your kingsnake.

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I don't have any other pets and I usually wash my hands before holding him, but especially if I've been handling his food to thaw it.

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Originally Posted by Jhill001

There is a chance that he could just be one of those snakes that is a jack off.

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I'm really hoping that isn't the case as he was great to handle before all this, but it's definitely a possibility.

More than likely you just have to keep at it to get him used to it again. Just giving some ideas.

I agree with the others. Always wash your hands before handling, and keep some vinegar or listerine close by if he bites. In time and with patience and consistent gentle handling he should calm down. I'd start with short handling sessions of 5-10 minutes every couple of days and increase the time and frequency until he calms down. If he doesn't calm down then hopefully he'll make a nice display animal. I hope he's not just a mean snake. Best wishes.

My cali king only eats fingers when he is super hungry. I didn't handle him for about a 2 year span a few years ago and I was still able to handle him without a problem.

If your snake is a cali king, to me it sounds like it's still hungry. Especially if it's striking and coiling. These snakes can be pigs, mine would eat 7-9 decent sized pinkies or 5-7 fuzzies in one sitting on a 7-10 day schedule when it was a young. You may be feeding it generously, I would try an added prey item or 2 and/or increase how often you feed it.

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Originally Posted by Pyrate81

My cali king only eats fingers when he is super hungry. I didn't handle him for about a 2 year span a few years ago and I was still able to handle him without a problem.

If your snake is a cali king, to me it sounds like it's still hungry. Especially if it's striking and coiling. These snakes can be pigs, mine would eat 7-9 decent sized pinkies or 5-7 fuzzies in one sitting on a 7-10 day schedule when it was a young. You may be feeding it generously, I would try an added prey item or 2 and/or increase how often you feed it.

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He's a florida king but this is incredibly reassuring to read, thank you! I'm not interested in breeding him so I've never been particularly aggressive in feeding him to bump him to breeding weight, but I will start offering him a few more mice each feeding. Looks like I'm heading to the pet store today!

6-10 prey items per feeding seems like a lot to me. Why not feed fewer but larger prey? For example rather than 8 pinks, why not 3 fuzzys? Usually if a snake can eat multiple prey items it's time to bump them up in size. It's also more cost efficient.

To address your initial question, there is nothing wrong with wearing a glove. I use a gardening glove when taming down my new retic and some feisty boas.