Bitten Much?

[Spankenstyne]

I lost count long ago. I like 'em feisty but my Cape gophers are my worst biters at the moment. It used to be probably 50 or more bites per session before they calmed down. Now the male never bites, he's super docile, but the girls are another story. They're down to maybe a dozen times now per session so there's progress being made lol. My garters haven't been biters yet, just the usual attempts at flight at worst but quickly calming down.

My opinion is it's always our fault when we get bit. They're just doing what they're programmed to do, whether it's defending what they see as a threat or trying to eat what they see as food. Getting tagged is sort of a rite of passage, you're not a true snake keeper until you've been bitten

Here's one of my Goins Kings letting me know I shouldn't get complacent and make sure I wash my hands between bins when feeding, not just when I'm done. Gotta love the feeding responses in these guys:







Really going for the kill



The aftermath of about half an hour of chewing. Always looks worse than it is. Just had the funny pin-prick mouth patterns on the finger



My wife laughed, she kept reminding me that normal people don't go grab a camera when their animals try to eat them..

[jitami]

My wife laughed, she kept reminding me that normal people don't go grab a camera when their animals try to eat them..

LOL Love it I have to admit I was a little disappointed that I didn't even have a mark to take a picture of when the corn finally got me. Should have got the tiny bubble of blood before washing my hands I guess

[GarterGeek]

I lost count long ago. I like 'em feisty but my Cape gophers are my worst biters at the moment. It used to be probably 50 or more bites per session before they calmed down. Now the male never bites, he's super docile, but the girls are another story. They're down to maybe a dozen times now per session so there's progress being made lol. My garters haven't been biters yet, just the usual attempts at flight at worst but quickly calming down.

My opinion is it's always our fault when we get bit. They're just doing what they're programmed to do, whether it's defending what they see as a threat or trying to eat what they see as food. Getting tagged is sort of a rite of passage, you're not a true snake keeper until you've been bitten

Here's one of my Goins Kings letting me know I shouldn't get complacent and make sure I wash my hands between bins when feeding, not just when I'm done. Gotta love the feeding responses in these guys:







Really going for the kill



The aftermath of about half an hour of chewing. Always looks worse than it is. Just had the funny pin-prick mouth patterns on the finger



My wife laughed, she kept reminding me that normal people don't go grab a camera when their animals try to eat them..

Is Goins Kingsnake the same as Appalachicola kingsnake? Aren't both Lampropeltis getula goini? I have one (who bites just like yours does!) and I'm terribly confused with its name. You could say I'm in need of a classification clarification! I have also heard that they are sometimes referred to as Lampropeltis getula meansi. There seem to be two groups of them; ones with red and ones without, is that just a difference in traits?

Your snake has some beautiful coloration by the way.

[Spankenstyne]

Is Goins Kingsnake the same as Appalachicola kingsnake? Aren't both Lampropeltis getula goini? I have one (who bites just like yours does!) and I'm terribly confused with its name. You could say I'm in need of a classification clarification! I have also heard that they are sometimes referred to as Lampropeltis getula meansi. There seem to be two groups of them; ones with red and ones without, is that just a difference in traits?

Your snake has some beautiful coloration by the way.

Thanks and yeah they're the same snake, so many names. Goins, Appalachicola, Meansi all the same snakes. The one pictured is one of the "blaze phase" examples. It was very bright orange as a baby, which washes out into a reddish orange or peach tones as they get older, more commonly losing all or almost all of the red & orange tones. These seem to be holding their colours pretty well so far though, usually by now there is very little or no traces of orange & red. Here's the same snake as a baby: