Aggressive King...Need some help

Yea, I was gonna say there is no way for a snake that is 3+ feet to get full off of 3 mice week when the this species of snake can eat other full grow snakes.

If you stretch out a full grown or maybe a juvenile rattlesnake (these are what i read most cal kings eat) and line up mice next to it from head to toe you will need at least 3 - 4 mice to complete the whole body of the rattle snake.

So basically if i am thinking this the right way one rattlesnake can easily equal the length of 3 - 4 mice lined up behind one another.

Also usually when it comes to snakes and moving them up to bigger prey for regular snakes (meaning ones that dont eat other snakes) feeding 3 mice per feeding usually means your snake can swallow a (assuming yall feed pre killed, frozen etc) small rat or two.

So There is no way 3 mice can be over feeding because snakes when they arent hungry they wont force their self to eat...

Snakes can get obese but this just means that some owners are feeding prey at a size not needed for the snake...or maybe too often

If I didn't think I knew something about the matter I wouldn't have said anything, but apparently I'm wrong, I apologize, I never said I was right, it's just an opinion.

But I just saw information on feeding on http://www.anapsid.org/king.html and it seemed pretty legit, don't worry about my opinion though I'm sure it's not good :confused:

I'm sure you were just trying to be helpful but the thing is, melissa kraplan is an absolute idiot.

All she did was copy and paste from a lot of different sources about 10 years ago and then take credit for writing all sorts of reptile related care sheets and how to manuals.

She is a petafile of the worst sort. Her goal is for NONE of us to have ANY reptiles as pet at all.

She comes off all sunshine and roses but it's a front.

You really should research those you wish to use as background sources.

You can have your opinion without being a jerk you know. He should be allowed to post his general opinion without being attacked. Its not like what he's saying sounds ridiculous. Actually, I thought that as well. Breeders can have totally wrong information just as easily as people who have never owned a snake before. So please, if you have an opinion to share, will you be a bit nicer about it?

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Originally Posted by Ballpython2

My friend gave me his king snake and its super aggressive is there anyway I can calm him down?


and what is the proper way to pick up an aggressive king snake?

What species exactly of kingsnake do I have here?

And are kings usually this aggressive?

Anymore information would be greatly appreciated

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...e/100_0820.jpg

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...e/100_0821.jpg

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...e/100_0823.jpg

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...e/100_0824.jpg

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Whilst the rest of them girls bicker it out, maybe I'll throw a bit in.

How was the snakes behaviour before you got him?

Is the aggressive/defensive behaviour confined to the Viv or does he display these traits as well when you have him out of his Viv?

Just noticed that you have him in a tank with a wire mesh lid. If the tank is open on all sides and basically an open roof, the snake is going to feel very exposed. This will result in a stressed snake who is always in a defensive/ vulnerable mood resulting in strikes which are misconstrued as aggression.

Guessing the age of that snake going by the pics I would say he looks around the two year mark. Two adult mice every seven days should be ample to keep his appetite sated. Don't go throwing him mice like you would throw baps to a bear.

Chances are he is still acclimatising to his new surroundings and you are a new threat. Persevere, make his tank a lot less exposed, get him into a wooden Viv and after time you should see a calming in his behaviour.

On the other hand you could just have a typical narky Cali. I've seen plenty of them in my days, not that that is the norm with Cali's.

I got a California King from a rescue shelter because it was "agressive" the owner gave it up. After settling in his new home and being fed two mice a week (he is apx 4 feet) he is still jumpy and thrashes about when first picked up, but calms quicker each handling. Have you been bitten? Perhaps try opening the top and letting him start to crawl out. Support his weight as he is crawling out and see how he does. This is what I do when he acting extra agressive. Make sure you are supporting his body weight with two hands, and do make sudden movement, exspecially in front of his face.

If you have to go over the top of your snake to pick it up, you are basically portraying yourself as predator. Scoop the snake up with both hands, supporting the majority of it's body and it will be less likely to become defensive.

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Originally Posted by Ballpython2

I ONLY feed him 3 every five days but I'm going to move it up to four. Even if he does take four with no problem I'm not moving past four. Maybe next time I feed him on sunday I'll do hopper rats or something to close that instead of mice. below are some pictures

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...e/100_0823.jpg

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...e/100_0826.jpg

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...e/100_0832.jpg

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/g...e/100_0835.jpg

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Change the water, it looks filthy man !

[QUOTE=Argentra;861441]Yep, banded Cali King. Pretty too.
NO Kingsnake should ever be so large that it would need more than 2 large mice at a single feeding.
QUOTE]

I guess you've never seen an average size adult florida king??? Two large mice would starve some of mine. Not all kings are created equal.

Brandon Osborne

a five foot snake should be eating a small or even large rat. it looks like he needs some hides in his cage and maybe something to climb on trust me he'll use it. Give him some time after you spruce up his cage and maybe he'll do better =]