• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

Feeding in separate enclosure?

I

ivorysoapgirl

New member
I'd like to feed my little guy (girl?) in a separate enclosure, I know that after feeding I shouldn't handle him for a day or so. So . . . how do I feed him and then get him back into his tank if I'm not supposed to be handling him?

Also, I fed him one pinky mouse last Friday. On Monday he was very restless in his tank and when I took him out he latched on to the side of my finger. I detached him and put him away. He was prowling around his tank aggressively so I thawed a pinky and he ate it greedily. I guess it is time to move up to two pinkies at a time. You think?

(He is actually a kingsnake but I am posting here because no one seems to read the kingsnake forum.)
 
You can pick them up briefly to return them to the viv after eating. You can feed young hatchlings every 4-5 days until they are off pinkies, but I wouldn't call the biting a good reason to feed. I've found Kings for the most part to be rather aggressive, and for a young one to bite is not unexpected, hungry or not. If the pinky is not leaving a lump, or the animal is out searching for food within a day of feeding, it's time to move up. Otherwise, stick to the normal feeding schedule. Once it gets on fuzzies, I go to every week.
 
Kings not more aggressive

I have to disagree with you greatly. I have 15 kingsnakes and they are not aggressive by nature. Each snake is individualistic, but they really don't tend to bite anymore than any other snake. Mine are of all different ages and though some are more timid than others, they are not biters . Every now and then a feeding response will kick in but that is a rarity and happens more with my ratsnakes than my kings or milks. I dont think we can generalize any group with statements like these, because the animals all have different personalities.

:rolleyes:
 
oh and and as for the feeding times and being able to pick up to return to the viv.. I totally agree with Meg! :)
 
Well, I must have gotten unlucky. Every one I've ever handled, unless they are worked with a lot, have bitten and musked and if you read a lot of posts from the Kingsnake owners it happens ALOT! Babies of any species are more prone to defensive biting anyway due to their small size, so I still wouldn't use it as an indicater of hunger.
 
I feed Clinton in a separate container. But there's no way I could grab him and put him back in his cage. If he's in his feeding container, as soon as he see's my fingers he locks-on-target and prepares to fire at will. :rolleyes:

I used to put his feeding container in his cage and wait for him to crawl out. Nowadays I just dump him out. He's landed pretty rough a couple times but never barfed.

HTH

By the way - I have heard that kings in general tend to have a stronger feeding response. So I don't think you'll want to pick the snake up with your fingers after feeding.
 
Thanks!

Thanks for being so helpful. I've been reading a lot of the old postings (here and at other sites) and I'm wishing I'd gotten a corn snake instead. My little guy is definitely more aggressive than I would like. <sigh> He is 18in and skinnier than my pinky finger. (See my profile for a pic.) I use a hook to take him out and I wear a glove on one hand. If he seems calm then I remove the glove. I still don't want his tiny teeth to bite me. One day his mouth will be much larger. I know I can't get a snake and expect to never be bitten, but I don't want him to regularly be sizing up my fingers as prey. Just now he was trying to bite the palm of my hand. He didn't strike; he was just mouthing me and trying to grip it. Oh well. I put him back in his tank. He gets fed tonight. I will try him on one pinky every four days and see how long the lump sticks around.

So, feeding him every four days . . . If I fed him Monday then I shouldn't count Monday, right? Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and then Friday makes four days?

Maybe I will add a corn and then I can have one friendly corn snake and one not-as-friendly kingsnake.
 
An 18 inch snake should be on larger food items than pinkies. Might be why he is so skinny. May I suggest you move up the size of food that you are feeding him. There is not enough nutrition in pinkies to take care of a snake at that size. THe behavior you are experiencing is abnormal and shows that your little guy is stressed for one reason or another. Please consider my suggestion and give him bigger food or at least up him to several pinkies at each feeding.
 
MegF said:
Well, I must have gotten unlucky.
Click to expand...

You and me both. Of my seven snakes, the only one that has ever bitten me is the ONE king snake I have. However, with consistent, gentle handling he has tamed down fairly well.

I don't think the behavior described is that abnormal for a baby king snake. My king used to act the same way all the time, including the biting. Still today, I don't dare pick him up right after feeding him. And he's the only one of my snakes I feel this way about.
 
Ate two pinkies

I just fed him. He downed the smaller pinky in less than 5 minutes and then grabbed the other one from my tongs. It took him longer to eat that one. He is still prowling around his cage as if he might find another. I'll see how long it takes for the lump to go down.

I went to the pet store to buy some little fuzzies but they don't carry them. I guess that is why when I bought him they told me to feed him pinkies - because that is all they have. Next time I get a snake I don't think it'll be from a pet store.

Oh, he's settled down now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top