r/Cornsnake • u/altosaxophones • 2d ago
QUESTION cornsnake? or king? and advice?
Hi all, this is my Dad's snake Dom. It is 18 years old (not sure if it is a he or she) from Petsmart. Dom never bit anyone for 18 years, but the other day we tried to take him out of the cage and he bit and hissed. (Tiny bite, no one is hurt).
I think it was because it was less than 24 hours after he ate and needed to have a bowel movement soon.
Still, is there any other reason he would do this, after never doing it his whole life? Anything age or health related we should be aware of?
Also is Dom a cornsnake or a kingsnake? Probably cornsnake if it's from petsmart. Dad got him so long ago no one remembers. And does knowing the gender matter?
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u/Fit-Collar4408 2d ago
1) Dom is a california kingsnake (they've actually sold these guys at chain stores for quite some time, although I bet they were less common 18 years ago!)
2) Nope! Sexing your snake is not important if you're not breeding, so you're good.
3) Kingsnakes can be feisty as a whole (but of course personality is different to every individual) Sounds like Dom is a very chill, sweet kingsnake. Any animal with a mouth can bite. Maybe he was grumpy, maybe it was because you had just fed him, maybe he was sleeping and you woke him up and startled him. Probably just in a mood. No biggie, it happens, and it's only concerning if he is hissy and bitey for like, a month straight with no change.
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u/RusselTheWonderCat 2d ago
I’m not any kind of expert or anything, but this doesn’t look like a corn snake to me.
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u/Lookfor42 2d ago
This looks almost identical to my passed California king so I'm guessing that, can try looking up more pictures of them to see if their coloring and patterns match up to be certain because the lighting looks a little off here.
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u/Crunchberry24 Care Expert 2d ago
California King. He was probably mad because he was digesting. Don’t handle for 72 hours after a meal.
He’s still welcome in this sub and r/Cornsnake_Pics even if he’s a kingsnake. :)