How bitey are calkings?

I've been plotting on getting into kingsnakes for some while now. Just about everyone I've seen bites or attempts to though? I was at my buddys place last week and I was helping give his snakes water and every single (maybe 50) calking came out of the tub lunging at and some biting me. And he said they were all fed 3 days ago. So I'm thinking if I get into them, should I be expecting/anticipating a bite every single day? Even ones that aren't my friends have seemed bitey. Most people warn me that the kings that I'm potentially interested in bite.:confused::confused::confused:

at first our Cal King was a snippy girl but after time and a few misses she has turned into a great snake

if you want one go ahead ours is white with black speckles all over her and is a great looking snake:snake::gj:

Some of my kingsnakes are the nippiest snakes I've got and will latch on and never let go, others are the calmest snakes I've got and have never bit me. It's really a toss up.

Most Cal. Kings that I have worked with are bitey. But all you really have to do to tame them is to handle them regularly and let them explore (just don't let them get away). Also make sure that you Do Not have the scent of a rodent on you when working with a Cal. King because they will bite, aggressively, at any scent of a rodent. Hope this helps.

A lot of cali kings can be nippy, then some can be calm like as stated above. Just with routine handling and showing them that you won't harm them they will settle down. Your friend has 50 or so you said, which means he probably doesn't get to handle them all and very often if so.

Many Cals are ready to snap at ya..lol. My Lavender albino female hates when anything comes near he cage and is ready to snag me when my hand goes in. It's part of having kings.... HOWEVER! My chocolate cal king is one of the tamest kings I have ever seen! :) It depends on the snake, and how often it's handled. ;)


-Jeremy

My caliking has never even attempted to bite me , she is sooo easy going.

I've had one or two of these little guys, bred a few too.

I'd say about 70% of the babies, right out of the egg mind you, will first poop on you, then bite, then try to rub the poop in the bite.

It's just the way they are.

However, with regular handling and feeding, they calm down to one of the best snakes you'll ever have.

The only drawback to CalKings is the attitude of some of the babies.

To date (probably have just jinxed myself), my calking has never attempted to bite me. He used to musk all the time as a baby, but he no longer musks and is a very calm little fella. Being the only colubrid in my collection, I think he thinks he's really a ball python! :P

Intruiging.*

There was one calking at an animal center I used to volunteer, it was adult and it was amazingly tame; never bit or struggled at all.

Thanks for the feedback. Better get my hands ready for some biting. I'll start urinating on them like Moises Alou!

I have 2 Cal Kings, and It seems to me that it's important to hook train them early on. They have ridiculous feeding responses. I got one of them as an adult, he was never hook trained and I didn't know it was important. He goes into feeding mode as soon as he sees movement near his cage. I try to handle him daily, and every time I take him out he clamps onto me and doesn't let go.

My other one is still pretty young, but I've been training her and rarely get bitten, unless I do something stupid at feeding time. :rolleyes:

I've never had a defensive bite from either of them, and would recommend one to pretty much anybody. Just remember, hook train early!

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Originally Posted by Tek48

I have 2 Cal Kings, and It seems to me that it's important to hook train them early on. They have ridiculous feeding responses. I got one of them as an adult, he was never hook trained and I didn't know it was important. He goes into feeding mode as soon as he sees movement near his cage. I try to handle him daily, and every time I take him out he clamps onto me and doesn't let go.

My other one is still pretty young, but I've been training her and rarely get bitten, unless I do something stupid at feeding time. :rolleyes:

I've never had a defensive bite from either of them, and would recommend one to pretty much anybody. Just remember, hook train early!

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Your bigger one is probably just hungry. I've got some aggressive feeders but when they're not looking for food, they're quite handlable.

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Originally Posted by wilomn

Your bigger one is probably just hungry. I've got some aggressive feeders but when they're not looking for food, they're quite handlable.

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I thought that too, at first, I'm feeding him a large mouse a tiny bit wider than he is every week though.

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Originally Posted by Tek48

I thought that too, at first, I'm feeding him a large mouse a tiny bit wider than he is every week though.

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Eat a big mac once a day for sayyyyyyy 4 days.

Tell me what you feel like.

Or, just feed your snake more food.

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Originally Posted by wilomn

Eat a big mac once a day for sayyyyyyy 4 days.

Tell me what you feel like.

Or, just feed your snake more food.

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My buddy who breeds them says that a prey item the same width of the snake every 7 days is an appropriate feeding schedule for an adult, but thank you for the input. I'll try feeding a bit more frequently and see how it goes.

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Originally Posted by Tek48

My buddy who breeds them says that a prey item the same width of the snake every 7 days is an appropriate feeding schedule for an adult, but thank you for the input. I'll try feeding a bit more frequently and see how it goes.

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Alrighty then....

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Originally Posted by Tek48

My buddy who breeds them says that a prey item the same width of the snake every 7 days is an appropriate feeding schedule for an adult, but thank you for the input. I'll try feeding a bit more frequently and see how it goes.

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Wes (wilomn) breeds them too - for many years now! :gj:

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Originally Posted by wilomn

Alrighty then....

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I honestly thought that I was feeding an appropriate amount. I am going to bump it up though. I'm still pretty new when it comes to colubrids in general, and I really do appreciate the advice, especially from experienced keepers. I just want to give my snakes the best care I possibly can.

Thank you for the info!

I've been bitten more by new cal king arrivals more than any other snake at work. After about 3 weeks of me feeding and tending to it they're mellow as a corn snake.

If Cal kings are anything like my milks (and I believe they are), I learned just how much they can eat... let's just say I started breeding my own feeders after about 3 months lol.

Ive had my caliking for a couple years and it has never struck at me. My buddy got it as a hatchling and we just held it alot so it got used to it. Just get a baby and train it well from the beginning and you shouldn'thave any problems

I thought I was feeding Skittles pretty well, but just picked up some more frozen mice from my local breeder, and when he first handed them to me, I thought "there's no way Skittles is going to be able to eat these - they are too big for him!" (they were nice sized adult mice, he's been on mediums, and I'd call these large)

But I came home, heated one up, offered it to him. Took him a little longer to get it down, but get it down he did, and was quite pleased with himself. It left a bit of a lump, but not a terribly pronounced one, and within a couple of days the lump was gone.

So, I think I'm going to be keeping him on this sized mouse until he's big enough for small/small rats.

He gets fed far more frequently than the balls do. But he's my little man and he's wrapped himself around my heart, so he gets what he wants, when he wants it. :)

at the pet shop i work at cal kings are the great white sharks of the reptile section lol

I've had my Cal King for 3 years now, bought him as a hatchling. In those 3 years I have been bitten 0 times and he's struck at me 0 times.

He's not shy and loves to be held and pet. He thinks he's a cat or something.

Darn best tempered snake I have ever seen.

My albino tagged me today. :D Took me a while to convince him to let go ... and all the while he was trying to adjust his bite so he could start swallowing my finger.