To handle or not to handle..

[Shelby]

I have a very feisty (striking, tail rattling) baby albino cali king snake.. he's about 11" long, so pretty young. So my question is.. do I handle him (with gloves.. lol) or do I wait until he gets a bit older and maybe settles down a bit?[/u]

[Tigergenesis]

Handle now w/o gloves. He needs to get used to your scent and touch. He's just trying to be touch. Most baby cal kings do this. Usually once you pick them up they calm down. Just imaging how scary a big human hand (and the body attached to it) is to such a little guy. Start with short daily sessions. Don't grab from behind where he can't see you. My cal king would rattle and musk and take the strike position all the time. Now she does none of that. Might try putting a piece of used clothing in the cage for her to crawl in and get used to your scent (others have tried this with other species and believed it helped - what can it hurt?). I also stopped picking my girl up. I would let her crawl out onto my hand when she was ready and then once she was in my hand I slowly wrapped my fingers/hand around her for support. Then she'd just climb all over my arm, etc. Now I can pick her up when I want and she's cool. But always have to be sure now quick, sudden movements. Move slowly. It's important that you get her used to you know (it may take some time) while she's young. Usually if they strike it's a dry bite (closed mouth) not really trying to bite you. Be sure your hands and arm are clean ( I wipe down with sanitizer) so that he doesn't smell any of your other animals on you.

Oh yeah....and post a pic.

[Shelby]

Well, I have a couple problems. He does not give dry bites, I've seen the vivid pinkness of the inside of his mouth more than once as he strikes at me through the glass.. though, once I pick him up with gloves, he does settle down. How about if I just pick him up with the gloves, then take them off?

My other problem.. I don't have a digital camera, so no pics.. at least not yet.

[Tigergenesis]

That might be a good idea. Let me know how it works.

Out of curiosity, is his cage in a high traffic area? Just want to be sure he's not situated where you (or others) walk back and frth in front of him making him nervous.

My Cal King will occasionally strike through her tub, but it's only been after feeding her (so she's in feeding mode). They are characters!

[wendy]

handle now is right.........show him you are boss. It should tame quickly that it is young. Kings are fiesty,......you need to keep on handling him, with gloves, a hook, what ever, get it used to being handled. a little bit everyday is sufficient.
Years ago I bought a full grown adult male, albino for my female bannana phase. I had the same problem, thankfully he never bit me, i was lucky, he was huge. But he acted like a rattler toooo! I thought it was cute~!

[Tigergenesis]

Yeah, I think it's cute when they do their rattlesnake imitation. My little girl does what I say is her cobra imitation as well - you know front half of body suspended and just hanging their staring and sometimes swaying ab it with my motion. So cute!

[RobertCoombs]

Well even a full grown cali King will not inflict a painfull bite... with a baby I dont really see what the big deal is ... it feels like not much more than a pinch and will most times not even draw blood

[Shelby]

Well, thanks for all the responses.

Yup.. mine loves to play cobra too. They are cute when they do that. lol

I use the gloves, not because I'm afraid the bite would hurt or anything, it's that my mom would probably flip out and make me get a tetanus shot if he bit me. lol...

His cage is not in a high traffic area.. he's in my room, and I work so I'm gone all day, only in the evening am I here awhile, and no one else, so he shouldn't be overly stressed.

I just picked him up.. he didn't just poop on me, he flung it several feet! lol, so charming!

[Brandon.O]

im havin the same prob with my baby corn right now

i think next time i will just let her bite me so i can see what it feels like and then i wont be scared...im not really scared but i dont WANT to get bitten so i dunno maybe i will take her out tonight but i might leave her alone cuz her eyes are getting blue

[Shelby]

Yeah, I'd say let your snake shed first since they're usually extra nervous at shedding time since they can't see.