Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a pair of '02 Arizona Kings that have NEVER refused a meal since I purchased them last fall. I have heard that as they mature, they will shut down eating in the fall in preparation for the winter. They have started refusing a few meals already and it is barely August(!) and I assume they will be slowing down soon.

I'm curious to see what your experience is with these snakes. What time of the year do they stop eating, and when do you hibernate them?

Thanks in advance!

I live in the Prescott, AZ area (5,000-7,000 ft elevation) where pyros are found in the wild. I have some wild-caughts and some captive breds from wild-caughts. Most of my pyros shut down in late August/early September, BUT........they also experience "closer" to the same weather conditions (barometric pressure/humidity, etc..) as they would in the wild as compared to other people's pyros. Some people's pyros do not shut down early, but mine do. And when that happens I try to find the coolest spot in the house; a room with cement floors that is a little sunken in and I set the tubs on the cement. I try to keep them cool since they won't feed and around here (Prescott area) the night time temps start to drop at the end of August.

Kerby...

...I have 2.5 long-established (minimum 6 years old, and 1 male no less than 17 years old received as adult in 1988) who all continue to feed until I cut them off in early October. These 7 snakes will continue to feed beyond this point if offered food. My experience in the past with recently-captured wild-caught specimens is that they'll begin fasting as early as late August. After 3-4 seasons the fasting date became later and later. Captive-bred animals generally feed better later into the fall.
Scott J. Michaels DVM