Muscle Spasm every time picked up??

Hello guys! I’m back into snake keeping 6 years later & one of my snakes which is an Albino Prairie Kingsnake, everytime i take him out of his terrarium his whole body tenses up and shakes its very weird and he wriggles about?? He’s also been a derpy eater; is this all normal ?? What could cause this?

How long have you had him? More info would help us to help you here. Age, size? Environment: his enclosure details, especially temps. (highest & lowest), humidity, type of heat, how it's regulated? substrate? define what you mean by "derpy eater"? etc.

If you got him as an adult, did his previous owner handle him as a pet, or was he only kept as a breeder? Is it possible that when you pick him up you're "wearing" the scent of other pets that are potential predators? (ie. this might be fear)

What other kinds of snakes have you kept, that you're comparing him to? I mean, compared to a mellow ball python, king snakes can seem pretty squirrelly- is he your first colubrid?

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Originally Posted by xXCleoPatraXx

Hello guys! I’m back into snake keeping 6 years later & one of my snakes which is an Albino Prairie Kingsnake, everytime i take him out of his terrarium his whole body tenses up and shakes its very weird and he wriggles about?? He’s also been a derpy eater; is this all normal ?? What could cause this?

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Without knowing more about the snake, think of it like this, you are either a threat or not to a snake. Even my BP and Boa that I have owned for 20 yrs at times tenses up for a number of different reasons. For some snakes, being picked up from above for example, represents a threat, like a bird or other predator.

I would imagine it's probably behavioral, but could you explain more about the "Derpy" eating? If he's not eating, that could be indicative of something else, but also could be stress related.

Snakes can have odd ways of showing they are uncomfortable or want to be left alone. How old is he? Young snakes who are learning to trust and/or not used to being handled can show stress more than "established" snakes. Even Solana, my sweet, sweet, and docile, corn snake, struck a few times the first few times I went to handle her (closed mouth - not that I would have felt it at 8g anyway). Once she realized I wasn't a threat (which happened fast), she's never done it since.

Regarding being left alone, my corn snake, Figment, occasionally will do this weird stop/start shake/movement thing. It's almost like a locomotive moving then stopping, then moving, then stopping, etc. but quickly. Hasn't done it in a long time, but seemed to be telling me he wanted to be left alone and his way of acting all scary. He's never struck, or been aggressive towards me in any way, but has done this weird thing from time to time.

Actually, what you're seeing might be the same thing seen when snakes aren't comfortable meeting each other- they'll shove the other away, using their mid-body like we'd use our elbow, & may also sort of twitch too. The meaning seems pretty clear, lol- "go away!". :snake: And the reason would just be fear, but most snakes learn to accept our respectful handling. I hope yours does too, in time; be patient.