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Gah! Corns vs Kings...

J

Jarvi

New member
So I've only had my boy for about two or three weeks and he's only bitten me once, but he's certainly not overly enthusiastic when I reach in the tank for handling time. I always snap my fingers and tap on stuff so that he knows I'm there, and make sure he can see me with his "good" eye. (He's got an eyecap that hasn't shed yet.) Despite that, he's fairly jerky, even when I've actually got him out in my hands. He's a pretty terrible climber, too... I have to be really careful with him to make sure he doesn't slide out of my hands and onto the ground!

Anyhow, I found this thread: http://www.reptileforums.net/forums/showthread.php?89105-corn-snakes-vs-king-snakes

So, should I not look forward to a future with this dude chilling around my neck whilst I browse the web? :sobstory: Gaah... "I'll get the king he's so pretty and black and unique~" :I
 
I'm having my first experience with this as well, Pueblan milk. Not a biter but very jumpy and very very musky. I'm hoping she(?) will calm down with age.
 
I think it depends on the variety of king too. Every thayeri and greyband I've handled have been very sweet, but Cali kings have a tendency to be nippy and musk. As far as milks go, I had a sweetheart of an eastern milk when I was a teenager and my two (Sinaloans? Nelson's?) Milks are also very even tempered. The milks are being given to my nephew as a birthday present soon as they're wonderful with older children.
 
I've had more kings and milks than corns, and honestly milks are my favorites. I've just recently added some corns back to my collection. As for the common kings (calis, floridas etc.) they can be just as calm and friendly if handled regularly. They do have very strong feeding responses though so you certainly have to start out with good feeding habits. I've been grabbed and wrapped by cali kings and had a very hard time getting them off my hand. These were feeding responses, and could have been avoided with more caution on my part. Just as with corns, kings and milks will be flighty and even bitey when small but will grow out of it with handling. The "south of the border" milks, like pueblans seem to keep that flighty behavior longer. I've had pueblan and mexican milks that were extremely flighty when you reached in to pick them up, but quickly calmed down in the hand. This behavior persisted as they grew.
It all varies by individual though. I have a prairie king that has a terrible attitude, while they are touted as being very easy going and gentle snakes as a whole.
 
Here's some off topic milk snake bitey-ness

2012-10-27_12-25-31_678.jpg


2012-11-22_18-45-25_6.jpg
 
Oh my goodness!! That almost looks fake! I'd be so nervous... thanks for the thoughts and advice, everyone.

Mine's a Mexican Black King. You can see a photoset of him here.
 
He's a pretty terrible climber, too... I have to be really careful with him to make sure he doesn't slide out of my hands and onto the ground!
Click to expand...
My Huachuca Mountain King couldn't be sweeter and more laid back. Never taken a nip at me. On the other hand, he is an absolutely dreadful climber. He used to have climbing equipment in his hatchling tub but fell off it so regularly that I removed it and never gave it to him again. He has nice low-lying cork bark hides and plastic foliage in his "grown up" viv.

When I take him out of his viv I have to be very careful, as he doesn't hang onto me and steady himself with his tail as my Corns usually do and he doesn't seem to have much sense of balance. If he's climbing along my arm, I often have to stop him slipping off sideways as he doesn't seem to notice it's happening and doesn't do anything to save himself.
 
He probably feels terrible from the retained eye cap. Can you take him to a vet and get advice on how to treat that? You really don't want to have it carry on.

And I would think snapping your fingers at him and tapping things would startle him.

And- kings and milks are most often flighty as young snakes.
 
I got lucky with my milk, zero aggression and only gets flighty around shed time and have yet to know what musk smells like. I read so much on how they are all spaz's.
 
I have a Cal King who has only latched on once in four years ... and he let right go, but I had been handling other snakes and without thinking picked him up .. and he was due to be fed again .. lol! I have never been struck at or bitten by any of my thayeri/variable kings, pyro knoblochi, white-sided brooksi, or black milksnakes .. all are calm and very docile.
 
i keep hearing how calis are bity but my cousin has one that is so calm seriously the tamest snake i have ever seen it hardly even moves
 
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