I finally got the snake out of his cage and held him for about 30 minutes and our daughter wanted to hold him and he had been 'cuddling' on me and everything all nice. So I was letting her hold it and it smelled down into her hand I thought it was because they were warm then I took him away then she was holding the back of him and then he turned around all slow and smelled her finger like 3 times then slowly bit her finger so she jerked back and it crawled back up onto my arm then I put it away. Her hands were just washed and everything with the same soap I used. She hadnt touched any other animals since way earlier in the day either. We didnt do anything fast or threatining, just sniffed her finger/licked it then SLOWLY bit her finger. It also latched on, but being scared and little, she pulled away quick-ripping her skin. She is only 4 and has little fingers might that be why it bit them? She is freakin out now though. We are seriously considering taking it back. Any reasons why it would do this? Is there anything that can happen from this snake bite that we should watch for? It is a albino california king. About 3 feet long. If that matters. Thanks.
no i dont think nothing will happen i get bite by wild snakes every day with no problem lol today i got bite by 2 black racers 4 differnt milk snakes and 2 florida king snakes one was 3 and a half feet long just a lil biger then your cali king.. i know where all these cool snakes are by my house its been cold so i take a hanger tied 2 a broom stick (lol getto snake hook) and there is a hole bunch of burrows and most of them are in there.. but any i think your daughter will be fine.. but dont let her hold the snake no more or until it has been in your house for awhile (1-3 months).. and i dont think u should return the snake , gettting a pet is a responsibilty that you take on when you buy it. lol i am 17 and know that
a cali king is no threat to anybody, their teeth are tiny even as adults. I let milks and kings bite me all the time because its hilarious watching them try to be 'tough' so dont take a snake back just because it bit somone, snakes arent dogs or cats so if you want something not to bite get one of those, otherwise expect to be bittin when owning one....
Kings are nippy snakes. You have to expect them to bite. They really aren't all that great for beginers that dont want to get bit. But please, don't take it back. You need to work with it. My Cali. King did the same thing to me once, but it was my wrist he bit. It was the same scenario you described. They just need to be worked with.
Hmmm, I think we are just not the right people to own this snake. We were extremely misled at the pet store about this one anyways. If anything someone on here was saying cali kings are extremely unpredictable, so maybe we just got the wrong starter snake? Someone recommended a python. Its just that we are starting and we really don't know anything about them, or how to work with it to get it to become more docile. We are not being irresponsible necassarily, the way we look at it, it deserves a much better owner that knows what they are doing and can work with it. We like to take the best care of all our pets. *sigh*
Where are you guys located? Yes I was misled as getting a King for a starter too. I have worked with him and he is getting better. But a corn or python are good.
Live in Chico, California. Thats very nice of you. What about sand boas? Someone at petco was saying they are the nicest snakes he has ever been around, even more docile than a ball python. I am not even afraid to hold it for some reason. Is it harder to work with the albino king since it is an adult already? I don't know what to believe from our feed store, they are disappointing me a lot lately with their lies and the misleading information they are giving us. I can't get a straight story about the king.
Get one that you feel comfortable with. That is all it can come down to. Some kings are sweeties. The majority of owners seem to have snippy ones. I thought my king was the only one do the slow bite.
get a ball python, they are the best i've worked with so far.. Although i know a Gray banded king snake that is one of the most docile snakes i've handled
I've got two king snakes, an albino cali king seven months old, who is the most docile yet confident little snake with little or no aggression i have come across. My black king on the other hand, is a crazy lil *****, very aggressive feeder, likes to do the slow bite but this has all but stopped. She obviously doesn't see me as a prey item as i am many, many times the size of her so i think maybe the slow bite thing with some snakes is more like an inquisitive action other than an aggressive response to being handled. If you're snake felt threatened or uncomfortable being handled you would get musked and the snake would continually be trying to get away. Also a lot of it is down to the personality of all snakes, every one has there own small quirks. Don't get rid of your snake, instead only handle the snake yourself until you are confident the slow biting has stopped, which hopefully it will and you and your family will get many years enjoyment from your nippy little friend, good luck, fergie
lol thats kinda an ironic statement "many years enjoyment from your nippy little friend" Being nipped is not very enjoyable one would think, but thanks though . So my friend that works at the feed store was interested in this snake anyways before we got it, and when I told her what happened she said she wanted it. She has owned several snakes before, so we gave it to her, so it had a better home where she could work with it. I think we will take a lot more time and research even more before we try again. I know we seem to take well to the sand boa..... but we need to do a lot of research first and get several opinions. The guy at the pet store was telling us that they have had the same king snake there for like 6 months because it is so agressive no one wants it, or to even try and work with it. He also recommended a ball python, or even more so the sand boa. I cant remember the type of sand boa, but it started with an S, we are going to go check it out again tomorrow. So when looking for a snake is their tests you can do to try and check its temperment and personality? For example, before selecting a dog, we always tug on their ears a little, pull on their tails, etc. The standard tests to see if a dog is agressive. Anything like this to try with snakes? Thanks.
well you dont want to pick to laziest animal because it could be the least healthy then. So i would say pick a snake that moves alot. But buying a snake is nothing like buying a dog, like i said a snake that is moving around alot is probably the healthier one, also i wouldnt be shopping at a pet store for reptiles.... they usually dont take the best of care of the animals. I would go to a breeders web page and order a healtheir animal, plus it would probably be cheaper, like constrictors.com, kingsnake.com has good classifieds, there are so many just research them.
oh hmm awesome, but wouldnt you have to have them shipped to you? That seems like it wouldnt be good? Maybe I can find a breeder around here..... I know they have breeders for anacondas here..... definetely not getting one of those though
no shipping is perfectly fine for the animal, snakes, and all reptiles feel secure in tight, dark, warm places, so that is all they are going to be in for the short overnight trip, i have ordered several snakes and lizards overnight and they have been just as good as the ones ive purchases in person if not better
so did you figure out what you are going to do yet? Just wondering if you decided on a snake or what not
