When I first got my kingsnake Jormungandr, he was not a very nice snake. He used to strike at you when you walk past his cage. He would come flying out when you opened his cage with mouth wide open. He was a total biter! One day when I was holding him, he must have been hungry. He got a hold on my pinky finger and proceeded to swallow it! He got all the way down to where the finger connects to the hand and I could not get him to let go. I tried putting his head under cold water. I tried the mouth wash trick. I even tried smacking the end of his nose with a pen. All to no avail! He would not let go. I didn't want to hurt him and just yank him off. You can rip their teeth out or even break their jaw doing that. So after my last try of trying to pry his jaws open with no success I ran the sink full of luke warm water and stuck him underneath. I figured he would have to let go in order to breath! He did finally let go to come to the surface and breath. But boy did it take forever! Snakes can hold their breath for a really long time!

I'm glade to say that after a year of handling him even while being bitten that he is used to it and no longer bites. He has turned into a pretty calm snake. I've warned everyone he has gone off to do a breeding loan with about his past of being a biter and they just can't believe that sweet little snake was like that lol!