Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm new to owning snakes and i have some questions.

1) is a 20 gallon tank to big for him?

2) the place i brought him from sent him out to me on the day that he was supposed to eat. whats a good way to get him to eat on his own i dont want to force him?

3) i left a live pinky mouse in their with him and if he doesnt eat it how long before it dies and if it does die will it still be good for him to eat?

i say a 20gal is ok for a kingsnake for life... a 20gal long is even better.

you should let your snake settle in before you try feeding some snakes need to get accustom to their new "living quarters" before they feed

you can always try to freeze the pinkie (if he doesn't eat it)... freeze it before it dies that is so there is less decay,,, defrosting when you're ready and try feeding him frozen/thawed prey.

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Royal Blue ReptileZ

Home of Bklyn's Finest Brooksi

Buy you a book on kingsnakes.....learn as much as you can about them.Read what you can find on the internet get info anywhere you can. And you took a great step by asking your question here. Sounds like "Z" gave you good info. Best of luck to you and your new friend.
Toby

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www.Wood-N-Snakes.com

1)when is a good time to try re feeding him?
2)which book on kingsnakes would you say is the best to get?

As far as feeding him you can give him 24 hours to a couple of days will not hurt. Books wise is harder to say there is a wide variety of books. Im sure other can better suggest a great starter book.
Toby
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www.Wood-N-Snakes.com

Here's a few books I own. The one in the middle deals with just the common (getula) kings, but is a very good book by David Perlowin. The two books on the outside deal with all the kings and milksnakes. Both are by Markel & Bartlett.
As far as feeding, my policy for any new snake I receive is I give them 5-7 days to adjust to their new setup and surroundings before I make any attempt to feed.

Steve

>>1)when is a good time to try re feeding him?
2)which book on kingsnakes would you say is the best to get?

I think your Thayeri looks very simular to mine. And I also see you've sent him to the Jetzen school of hand feeding, LOL

Steve

done it once it kinda grows on ya. I have a couple of thayeri that will feed in my hand. Plus it makes for some cool pics too.
Thanks
Toby

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www.Wood-N-Snakes.com

This is what I do…
I hope that you have researched the basic needs for your new snake and understand them. and that you have it all set up. Now …
leave it alone for three days. Do not touch it! It has been through shipping and has been handled, bumped, shoved and trucked around for a few days. All of this is very stressful.
Your snake should ease down from the shipping and start to relax after a few days. There is no race to eat. It can go a few days or weeks without eating. Just provide fresh water every three days. The last thing you need is for it to regurge its meal due to stress. Remember that this can dump its stomach acids and this could make you wait even longer to start a healthy feeding schedule.
Then after it eats leave it alone for another three days change the water on the third day and then start handling it.
If a snake of mine does not eat, I do not try to feed it every day after that. i just leave it alone. And try again the next time I change the water.
A new snake does not want to be handled and if you are patient and under stand this you will show it you are not a reason to stress out.
Hope this is helpful to you. It is so hard to give advise because what works for some may not work for others so keep in touch and let us know how thing are working out for you.
o'yeah go to frozen thawed pinks asap-and if your live pink dies trash it. i have over 25 cal kings they all eat f/t mice. you should be able to get them.
nice snake !!!
jason wilson

Thanks everyone for the advice.
he must of eaten the mouse sometime tonight.
I've read everything possible on snakes their is for you to read online.
I read something online that said i should leave a little something of mine that smells like me so the snake will get used to me. does that work?

Ive never thought of that...That might be an interesting progect tell me how it turns out.

another question
how do you guys get your snakes to eat out of your hands? does that affect their digestion?

i cheat hahaha. the JETZEN feeding style started in the west coast in the late 19 hundreds.this is the first pic of him feeding his first thayeri.i don't know how he does it.some say he once raised birds.but only he can tell the real story
sorry john i needed the laugh.

isn't that the famed giant blind thayeri found in the dog caves of northern florida?

a pic of the giant theyri in combat with a cave dog.

i am glad that it has eaten for you. to bad you missed it feed but i would advise you to not handle it for a few days still. the books listed above are great books. ow and sorry for the joke below i could not help it. i was blown away with the hand feeding thing too.then seeing some of the killer feeding pics prompted me to try it.i let the mex black king bite the pink then i picked him up right after and took the pic. then put it back down.i mostly keep large adult cal kigs and they all have too strong of a feeding responce for me to get up the nerve to try it with them.
thanks
jason

Good choice on a Kingsnake for your first one. I guarantee you it won't be your last. This is one of the most addicting things (next to crack cocaine) a person can be involved in (keeping snakes, that is.) It gets extremely expensive and the girlfriend/wife always will be upset (except for mine, she loves my snakes as much as I do), but it's all VERY worth it. It's like raising a child that NEVER cries, but it does sh!t all over the place like one though. Good luck with everything.



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1.0 Goini
0.1 Hypo. Floridana
0.1 Sumatran Blood Python