Great pic!!!

For some reason I thought this story was about a milksnake cause I had a similar thing with my Tangerine milksnake.

Keep handling him and make sure his habitat is in good order. Hook handling or glove handling is at your discretion. My king only bites when he is hungry so maybe a few more meals will help calm him down a bit. Or even handling him to the point where he realizes you aren't food. He is great looking snake.

Here is the long version of the tangerine milksnake:

I worked at a Petco 10ish years ago and there was a tangerine milksnake in the store which no one wanted to handle cause it had an "attitude". Truthfully, I think the snake needed some TLC and a bigger enclosure. At the time I was one of about 5 employees(about 1/3 of the store) in the store that didn't own or have care knowledge of snakes. So after I've worked there a few months and have been learning/working with the snakes, I take it upon myself to "tame the snake". 1-2x a week for a month I took him out of the enclosure and just let him bite and skunk me until he tired out or I got tired of getting bit(21 bite marks was the most I counted, the bites lessened after that). He was wirey to say the least and eventually realized I wasn't letting him go and we were going through this same routine until he completely calmed down. I eventually did start using gloves(a pair of mechanic gloves from home depot is fine, I have heavy duty work gloves which don't allow him to get through, but reduces dexterity for keeping hold). One day after 2-3 months a customer came in while I was handling the snake and asked if he could handle him. I had gloves on and he hadn't attempted to bite me yet. I warned the customer there was a high probability of a bite and he was ok with it. So the snake goes down my arm up the customer's arm, around the back of his neck, and down his other arm back to me.

A few years later, I'm at another petco and start talking to the reptile guy whom I knew had a red tail boa. He apparently had bought the milksnake for $20 on a manager's special and he really wasn't feeling the snake so I offered to take if off his hands. Still don't think the snake was given proper TLC. So I take him in and he is still a bit nippy, but not like he was in the store. I have high respect for this snake and feel he just wants to be left to his own doings so I've given him better living conditions and only handle him(with gloves) when I clean his tank. He spends most of his days under his water bowl but lately has been on the surface.

Lately with him being out of his hiding places(he's also a gorgeous looking snake, love looking at him), I've had the urge to start taking him out again and see what he is like. People have asked me "why do you have a snake(that isn't venomous) you know you can't handle?" And I answer something to the effect that the snake hasn't been given a chance to be a pet or friend to anyone and is very misunderstood. Even if he does have a "bad attitude" does it mean he should be crucified/abandoned for it?


I think you will have good luck with your king. Be persistent with him and I think things will go well. Good luck! :-D