Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a young (12 inch) nuevo leon king purchased from a pet store on 9 December and I can't get him to eat! Was told he ate a thawed pinkie the day before purchase - it's been three weeks and I'm getting really concerned. He's active at night so I'm thinking he should be hungry by now - cage temperature is in the mid 80's to 90, humidity in the 50s, has two hide boxes and we don't handle him much - we've offered him thawed pinkies three times in a separate container and he's shown no interest. How long can he safely go without eating? And can anyone give me an estimate of his age based on his size? THANKS!!!! Karen

just because you have the temps right doesn't mean that will be enough to keep it feeding through the winter. Remember the day night light cycle has changed too and can be a contributing factor as to why it's not eating. At 12" it is most likely a 2006 model but it is entirely possible that if it was a slow feeder all along it could be a 2005 model.

Mexicana, in my experience, can be very temperature sensitive snakes. If it won't eat, give it a three week cool off in your garage. After that time take it out and restore it to room temps 77-82 and keep the light on in the room for extended periods of time (tricks the snake). You might even have to start out with mice tails for the first 3-6 feedings and then it should start taking brianed pinks. I'm speaking from experience as I've got one that did the same thing. It is now eating pinks without hesitation.

Good luck,
Russ Bates

OK, thanks Russ! I feel kinda silly asking this, but "mice tails" ?? Is that literal, or figurative for some snake food I don't know about?

Try lowering your temps some. My temperature range for Nuevo Leon kings (thayeri) is from the low to mid 70's on the cool side of the enclosure to the low to mid 80's on the warm side. Use an undertank heating pad or strip on one side of the enclosure and adjust the temp until it is in the low to mid 80's. I let the other side of the enclosure stay at room temp. The key is to let your snake have a range of temps to choose from. My thayeri usually choose the cooler side.

That being said, out of 6 baby thayeri I have right now, 2 are not eating at all. This time of year some snakes choose to shut down and brumate (the snake version of hibernation). I put them in a cool, dark place and just check their water once in a while. They can go months without eating in most cases. In the spring, I will bring them back up to temp, and they start eating again. I don't feed my adult snakes at all during the winter, and I only feed the neonates that want to eat.

Your 12" snake was born this year. It sounds a little small, for a snake that was supposedly feeding before you bought it. You might want to check with the pet store and see if you can return it. If you keep it, try to change the temps, if that doesn't work, you may want to cool it down for a month or two and try feeding later.

Greg

Thanks, Greg! This is our first snake so I'm just not sure what to expect. I'm using an undertank heating pad and a basking lamp on one side of the tank; he's ALWAYS on the cool side, tho. Is it absolutely necessary or recommended to move him to a separate containter to feed? And what do you think about trying some lizard scent on a pinkie, or resorting to a live pinkie?

I would think about getting rid of the basking light, kingsnakes don't need it. There are several advantages to feeding in a separate container, but it's not necessary. Live pinks might stimulate a feeding response, so would lizard scenting, but I would try other techniques before scenting.

Some commonly used techniques for troublesome feeders include...... Try putting the pinkie in one of the hides, and let your snake hunt it down and find it. Put your snake and the pink in a deli cup with the lid on or in a closed paper bag overnight. Brained pinks sometimes work (gross, but cut the pink's head open and smush out some of the brains). There are lots of tricks, and I believe there is a forum on KS.com for troublesome feeders.

I keep my neonates in small, shoebox size, plastic containers. Youngsters feel more comfortable in smaller, confined spaces. If you have yours in a 10 gallon tank or something, you may try feeding in a small container. I always feed at night, and leave the pink in all night.

Try not to stress, I have raised tons of hatchlings and only had one die of starvation. That snake never ate once from hatching until it's death at about 9 months of age. Try to resist desperate measures like force feeding, which can cause injury and stress to your snake. Patience, and experimenting with conditions have always paid off for me.

"he's ALWAYS on the cool side, tho."

Your snake is trying to tell you something. You said he is active at night. That plus your above statement should be a clue to you.

Have a warm spot somewhere in the cage with and without hides, and let the rest of the cage cool off to whatever. See what he chooses.

Greg,
How can you be so sure the snake is a 2006 hatchling coming from a pet store? Did you sell them the snake?

I've had yearlings that were only 12" as they were very difficult feeders.

Russ

P.S. Really nice pics...did you get a new camera?

Same old camera, Russ. I always get better shots when I use some natural light in the equation. They were shot in my kitchen, of all places, using natural light coming in from the window, combined with flash.

I'm not positive her snake is a 2006, but I would hope a 2005 would be bigger than 12 inches. I know some unscrupulous breeders feed their neonates just enough to keep them alive, and in some cases, difficult feeders can also be small, but personally I would be suprised if a 12" thayeri would be a 2005.

I just had the same problem with my new 2 new Kings. I tried putting the snake in seperat containers with the pinky over night and when I checked it in the morning I found my snake resting on the mouse like it was his best friend. This had me worried to say the least, I figured I may have to do the force feeding thing or get a lizard and scent the mouse with it.

So I figured I would give it one last try and decided to do the unsightly braining method. I took a razor and sliced about 1/8" deep from the top of the head between the ears towards the nose for about 1/4" or so. Then pinch the head between your fingers a little and look for fluid to come out of the slice you just made. I never saw any brains; maybe if I squeezed harder I may have, but I didn't. When I introduced it to my first snake it got a lick of the mouse and took to it instantly. I was amazed that it made such a difference, but it did. I tried it with my second king and it had the same effect but had to put that one in a smaller container for about ten minutes until it got a good taste (or smell) of the fluid from the mouse.

I read several post on this and thought it would make any difference but I was wrong. Give it a try and let me know what happens. Good luck!