Brooks Kingsnake strange digestion and behavior? (diarrhea and biting himself)

[Bogertophis]

FYI- I've kept many king snakes in the past (bred some too). I'm primarily a colubrid-keeper, & mostly rat snakes, some of which are 7' long with formidable appetites. I never get bit by them, even though I feed them in their homes- there is no confusion on their part, because I know how to make it clear to them that it's not feeding time- by using their best senses. Most colubrids (kings or rat snakes, etc) are scent-driven, so I give them MY scent thru the screen tops of their enclosures- they back up, they generally "get it". Touch is also a way of re-affirming your identity, but impractical since you'll be within range of being grabbed, UNLESS you use a tool (like your snake hook, if you have one, or a similar item with a long reach & nothing sharp or unsafe in case the snake grabs it- some do!) to touch/pet them first. This is called "tap training" by some here, & is effectively used by some keepers too- it's just another way of signaling your snake.

If you have a really hungry snake that's still not getting the right signal, I sometimes also use a spritz of cool water to their face to totally "change the channel"- it may seem "rude" but so is getting bitten, lol, & snakes get rained on in the real world...a gentle spray of water hurts nothing- & suddenly they know to back off, it works like a charm. I have a pump-spray bottle of water (at room temperature) always ready as a tool, even though I seldom need it for anything other than a humidity bump for some of my snakes. BTW, I currently live with 19 snakes, but in the past, I lived many years with WAAAAAAY more than that, just saying. Oh, and I've even had snakes that will drink from my spray bottle if they happen to be thirsty, so that's how much it really doesn't bother them to get a spray.