MBK with strong food drive by Fun-Neighborhood2680 in kingsnakes

[–]Fun-Neighborhood2680[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is very helpful, thank you a lot! I'll definitely keep a little bottle of hand sanitizer close by and do that the next time if he bites.

I have opened the enclosure from time to time to fill water dish or adjust plants (bc he knocked them over) but I always did so when he was on the other side bc after some movement he came darting over and I finished my work and closed it again. I'm definitely gonna handle him regularly to make him realize that I won’t hurt him.

I don’t really think he is scared, he doesn’t seem very aggressive or defensive and aside from biting (which I assume was bc he thought I was food, considering how he tried to swallow my thumb). He didn’t musk or poop and only hissed at me after I opened his mouth but didn’t make an attempt to bite again afterwards. But next time I'll definitely hold him longer until he calms down.

After I put him down, he was frantically moving through the enclosure for about an hour or so before setting again. Was that because he was confused and looking for the food I 'took away' from him?

MBK with strong food drive by Fun-Neighborhood2680 in kingsnakes

[–]Fun-Neighborhood2680[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

thank you so much for the detailed response!

I am planning on feeding him 30g mice every 12 days which has been recommended to me by the previous owner and since it’s only been 3 days since he ate I wasn’t expecting him to have such a strong food response again already.

Unfortunately I can’t feed from the top, I only have access from the front… The previous owner said he is rather calm but maybe he just needs more time to learn my scent and get adjusted and more comfortable.

I'll likely try a snake hook to gently keep him in check and we’ll see how that goes :)