# aggressive mexican black



## rachelmcs (Jan 13, 2009)

hi all my bro has a new mexican black king snake got him 2-3 weeks ago and have left him to become accustomed to his new home he's been eating real good etc BUT every time my bro tries handling him he gets bitten my bro is used to handling snakes (we have 2 x royals and an adolescent corn all of whom are handled daily) so i know he's doing things right we would appreciate ANY help :2thumb:


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## imitebmike (Jun 22, 2008)

is he washing his hands prior to handling? i know kings are very food orientated...


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## Omerov1986 (Feb 11, 2009)

have it one the bed with you, or a sofa, and stick in a sweaty tshirt in the viv so they get used to your scent


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## lilollou (Aug 22, 2009)

*mexican black*

we're having the same problem with our one-don't seem to be getting calmer even with regular handling.


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## vipera (May 28, 2007)

*kings*

all the subspecies of the common king - lampropeltis getula, tend to be very voracious!
even pretty docile ones will still give you an occasional test bite, just to see if you're edible or not.

one minute they're calmly sat on your hand, the next they're trying to swallow your thumb:lol2:

i have mountain kings( lampropeltis pyromelana) nowadays and they are the most calm, docile snakes i have ever kept.


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## quadrapop (Sep 20, 2008)

its pretty much just being a mexican black king. Check its not too hot and keep your hands washed before handling, lift out with a hook and place it in your hand.


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## befxxx (Feb 12, 2010)

i have a lovley desert king, sweet as pie.. but every now and then he gives me a bite. i think it is just king behaviour from what iv read. they are cannibals and eat other snakes so make sure they cant smell the others! x


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## Dunnyc23 (Jan 12, 2010)

Hi, I have Cali-king.. She's a lovely snake, but whenever she catches even the slightest scent of my Cornsnake she seems to panic & bite. Maybe she'll get used to it, maybe not. Kings are Kings.. Big fan of the Mexi's by the way


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## grannykins (Oct 9, 2006)

As already said - its a king. Some dont bite very often, others bite every time. If you have a king you have to accept thats the way they are. It should improve with regular handling, but might not.


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## erewegoagain (Mar 25, 2009)

How big is he and what are you feeding him? If hes underfed he might be desperate for another meal. Kingsnakes have voracious appetites. They can take prey 1.5 times the size of their thickest point on the body, which is probably bigger than you think.


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## Boon (Mar 28, 2010)

are you feeding him within his own cage because if they aren't handled regularly they can associate your hand with food and strike, just like they would during mealtime.


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## fergie (Oct 27, 2007)

It's just the luck of the draw. Some Kings you get and they tolerate handling great and others will not take to it at all. 

My Cali King used to be great but now she'll latch onto me more often than not. I wear gloves now when I'm handling her. On the other hand my MBK is the most docile of all my snakes. I very rarely handle her, maybe once a week, and she is still as cool as can be. Even in shed she is calm and will eat. I have also fed her in hand on occasion. 

Maybe the snake will calm down with time. If it's already stressed and then it's being lifted out of it's Viv on a daily basis, it will act defensively. 

Good luck.


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## fergie (Oct 27, 2007)

Boon said:


> are you feeding him within his own cage because if they aren't handled regularly they can associate your hand with food and strike, just like they would during mealtime.


All my snakes are fed in their Viv's and only one of them is a biter. They all will come rushing out of their hides whenever I open the Viv door but soon as I show them the back of my hand they soon back off again. They realise that there's no prey to be had.


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## rachelmcs (Jan 13, 2009)

Hi, thanks or all the replies. (This is her brother by the way ...the one getting bitten lol) My sister didn't really explain the problem properly... it's ONLY me getting bitten. Dad got bit once, but he was feeding him at the time and had a pink in his hand so that's understandable. It's not the odd bite that everyone is suggesting. The last three times i've handled him i've been bitten. When i get him out, i like to let him come to me instead of just grabbing him, so i take the lid of, put my hand next to the viv and he comes up, has a sniff around then strikes. (Always the ends of my fingers if that makes any difference) Today, i put socks over my hands and got him out. I thought, if he's biting because he's stressed, i still want to get him used to being handled. Got him out the same way and he acted perfectly, sliding around quite happily. So i thought i'd take one of the socks off and just test him. And as soon as he got close enough, he struck again. His biting is getting quite consistent now so any help would be greatly appreciated.


Also, he's not just biting, he's constricting aswell. (Didn't know if that made any difference.


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## Claire Bear (May 21, 2009)

Do you wash your hands before handling him?


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## grannykins (Oct 9, 2006)

Your hands obviously smell like snake food :lol2:


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## erewegoagain (Mar 25, 2009)

It sounds to me that he's mistaking the ends of your fingers for an appropriately sized mouse and recognising others hands as being too big: try picking him up in a more no nonsense way or keeping your hands a bit more fist like. Alternatively, wear gloves or your sock, at least your hands won't seem so warm to him. So he's not being 'aggressive' as such. It may help if you can see it that way, as then its not so scary.


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## Gomjaba (May 25, 2009)

I have a Mexican Black too and I feed him in his rub all the time .. when I want to handle him I just grab him - job done  show him who's boss :whistling2:

He did chew on my hand once but I forgot I picked up a rat for another snake before so that was fair play ..


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## Boon (Mar 28, 2010)

fergie said:


> All my snakes are fed in their Viv's and only one of them is a biter. They all will come rushing out of their hides whenever I open the Viv door but soon as I show them the back of my hand they soon back off again. They realise that there's no prey to be had.


I know but it could be a contributing factor, not all snakes are the same aswell.


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## leecb0 (Apr 14, 2009)

As has been said everytime you open the viv or rub its first instinct is food so putting your hand in and letting it come to you is not the ideal thing to do with any snake really. When i have given talks or advice to new keepers i have always advocated the following


When you open the enclosure the snakes first usual reaction is a feeding response what you need to do is take that feeding response away the way i used to teach is once the cage is opend and you are not feeding it gently touch the snake on the head with a pair of tongs or something, not your hand, this over time will hopefully condition the animal to distinguish between feeding time and beeing handled.
So feeding time open viv and feed snake.
when wanting to handle snake open viv touch snakeon head (gently stroke) and over time it hopefully will start to understand what is happening. 

snakes are more inteligent then people thing but also instinctive, now this is not a be all and end all way of doing it, some snakes just are nasty little critters and no amount of the above will condition them but i have got snakes from people who have never had the feeding response dissipated and turned them into calmer snakes when being taken out the viv. All you can do is try it. Good luck
Lee


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## lilollou (Aug 22, 2009)

lilollou said:


> we're having the same problem with our one-don't seem to be getting calmer even with regular handling.


okay
i take this back-i read the post about putting something with your own scent in with the snake,so i put kitchen towel that i had rubbed on my other half's forearm(as it's him that our king snake is aggressive toward) and used this as a viv floor for the night. he has the snake out now and it seems extremely calm and has not attempting to strike or bite and is not squeezing so tightly now. happy days! thanks!:2thumb:
lou


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## Dragon Wolf (Oct 27, 2009)

Hmmmm, just bought a Mexican Black King snake earlier and she's due a feed soon. This'll be my first with her, now I'm thinking....Mebbe I should have bought tongs and gloves :lol2:


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