My approx. 1.3 year-old female Black Mexican Kingsnake has recently (like in the last couple weeks) got very aggressive to the point where she strikes every time I handle her. She's been offered thawed out fuzzie mice every 4-5 days for the year that I've had her, which she takes without a second thought. I don't handle until at least 3 days after she's eaten. Is this just a stage that female Black Mexicans go through and calm down later, or am I to be blessed with a chronic biter?

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Grammostola rosea 0.1.0
Pandinus imperator 2.0.0
Lampropeltis getula nigrita 0.1.0
Uromastyx maliensis 0.1.0
Rhacodactylus ciliatus 2.2.2
Uroplatus henkeli 0.0.1
Eublepharis macularius 1.0.0

No experience with the Mexicans. But I had a Desert King which acted the same. Hand to handle him very carefully or I'd get tagged every time.

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Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa

Our California King is the same way.
Used to we could handle without problem and then one day she decided that we were tasty!

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Are you feeding him in the same cage he lives in? We feed in a separate tank, so we are not thought of as food when we reach in to get one out to play. Also, a small spray bottle of vinegar works very well as a teaching tool. My jungle-carpet x diamond python was a biter. The vinegar does not hurt them in anyway, just makes them make an icky face. He no longer bites anyone, even by mistake (he's about 4 or 5 years now. The vinegar does not hurt their eyes, or their scent glands or anything else. We use vinegar for cleaning also, as it is antibacterial and has no toxic residue to keep us from returning them to their cages right away. It also works with dogs and cats! Used it on a biting chihuahua over the weekend to do a little retraining, as it's owner has never kept it from biting and it's 2 years old and getting dangerous.

Sometimes ya just can't do a thing, we had a corn that was that way,,,,,so bad that we named him Sid (as in Sid Viscious) He would bite constantly. I worked with that darn snake at least twice a day for 5 months and got so sick of my hands bleedin all the time that we finally sold him. I hope you have better luck than I did.

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Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

You say you have fed fuzzies for the past year, have you not increased the food size as he grows. If not, he is not getting enough food and will be extra hungry. this will make him bad-tempered.

"Are you feeding him in the same cage he lives in?"

-Yes

"We feed in a separate tank, so we are not thought of as food when we reach in to get one out to play."

-Interesting strategy, that could work. I'll have to try it out.

"Also, a small spray bottle of vinegar works very well as a teaching tool."

-I use Vodka on a Q-tip. Essentially has the same effect as vinegar.

"You say you have fed fuzzies for the past year, have you not increased the food size as he grows. If not, he is not getting enough food and will be extra hungry. this will make him bad-tempered."

-No, she was on pinkies up until 4 months ago. Then I switched to fuzzies. She is not very big at all but hoppers are still too big for her (don't worry, I know when to move up to the next size of mice).

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Grammostola rosea 0.1.0
Pandinus imperator 2.0.0
Lampropeltis getula nigrita 0.1.0
Uromastyx maliensis 0.1.0
Rhacodactylus ciliatus 2.2.2
Uroplatus henkeli 0.0.1
Eublepharis macularius 1.0.0