Bitey the Thayeri King Snake

This is Bitey, my neighbor's King Snake. He got her from a local reptile shop. I have never been there, and probably will never go, because the husbandry advice he got from the owner frustrated me to no end.. and I've heard other people's accounts of this guy's "advice".

The day my friend got "Bitey" he attempted to feed "him" on aspin, as soon as he got home, and did not provide a hide. Apparently this reptile guy told him that if you give a snake a hide it will never get used to you, and will always remain aggressive. Hrm, so how come after living with this dude its whole life it was aggressive enough to be named "Bitey". That was my main point to my friend. Obviously the snake is aggressive right now after following this guy's advice, so WHY would you follow the same "plan" excepting different results? Arrrg that kind of advice really frustrates me.

Anyway, I convinced my friend to give Bitey a hide and leave him alone for two days, and what not. After a month or so of owning Bitey, he's as sweet as can be. Also, I suspect that "he" is actually a she, but I don't want to upset my friend Paul too much, who I think is kind of content with "Bitey" being a male.

Ok, rant over, here are some pictures! Also, I think I may secretly rename this snake and just call her that in my mind. Any suggestions?!

Oh, also I know nothing about King Snakes, and wouldn't doubt that she's not exactly what the shop owner sold her as. If she's not a Thayeri, let me know!

"Bitey"




She was a great poser!


Both sides are great




I love the way her head and face look.




KIND of a full body shot..

I couldn't stop taking photos, she was great!






One more with my friend Steve (not the snake owner, a roommate of the snake owner) for scale. Oh, and because he's wearing an awesome shirt.

The Hair incident..

Bitey really liked my bun! She kept crawling underneath it to burrow in my hair! Silly girl...
Anyway, I couldn't help myself, the second time she did it I gave my camera to my friend Lindsay and asked her to snap some shots. This is what resulted!

You can really see how into it she was in this shot!




hehe, I like this one. Glamor shot for both of us!


the Goofy one






Ok, I take entirely too many photos! The End.

Bitey is lovely! Great photoshoot, looks like a lot of fun!

Great photos!!! Both of you look awesome!

As for a name... sorry... can't think of one right now... but it should be a play off of "Bitey" to me.

Looks like everyone had a fun photoshoot. The interaction photos are awesome.

Glad to hear s/he's doing better after the changes you advised.

How about Bitsy or Betsy? Might be able to get away with a 'slip of the tongue' excuse if he even notices

Thanks for the compliments, guys! Yea, this photoshoot was awesome. It was the first time I've really handled / taken photos of a King. I LOVED it, and am now convinced that I will have to add one to my collection some day.

Hrm, "Betsy" is a little too close to "Betty", which is what my Orange Baboon Tarantula's name is. I'll have to post pictures of her as well later. Bitsy is kind of cute. I'm sure after awhile of hanging out with her a name will come to me.

I'll try to get some post shed pictures of Bitey, whenever that happens!

I hate it when reptile shops give out false info..... Pretty king though..

I've never paid that much attention to the more colourful kings, but she is so beautiful. I love the subtle, earthy colours.

If I wear my hair up in a bun my carpet python also tries to slither through it and get all wound up. Unfortunately she is much bigger than my hair allows, so I end up with a crick in my neck and a bunch of pulled out hair.