Posted by:
zach_whitman
at Thu May 12 01:04:20 2011 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by zach_whitman ]
Males will usually be a bit bigger with kings but its not an exact science. More relevant is the fact that males will go off feed or much longer than females. They refuse food all winter and then again over the breeding season.
There are many snakes that will naturally go off feed during the winter. I personally believe that it has to do with light cycles from natural light sources. Some people (usually the ones with snakes in the basement) say that they don't observe spontaneous hibernation, but I can assure you that it happens in some perfectly healthy snakes. It may also have to do with the genetics and original locality of the individual snakes. In my experience this phenomena is also much more likely in males.
Regardless going nine months of the year is unusual but not in and of it self cause for concern in an otherwise healthy snake. I would be able to offer more advice if you gave some more specifics of your husbandry. Specifically the exact temperature gradient at different types of the year. Going off feed when its still hot in august is just plain unusual. I would imagine they could try to estivate (sp), but I wouldn't think your home would be comfortable for you at temps that high.
I would have another person resex your snake. And please post more specifics about your husbandry. Otherwise my basic rule of thumb is I don't care if a snake is anorexic if it isn't loosing weight no matter how long its been. I would highly suggest weighing your snake on a regular basis. I would be very surprised if it did not loose more than 10% of its weight over a 9 month fast. This would be cause for concern.
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RE: Any suggestions to my concern? - zach_whitman, Thu May 12 01:04:20 2011