Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I bought a striped california kingsnake this past Wednesday from a petshop. She is about 9 inches long. The problem I have with her is, she won't eat. I know usually snakes take a while to eat because I had my garter snake for two weeks before he ate. But right now I only have a 7 day warranty on her and I don't want her to starve herself. She doesn't even seem interested in the food, she just looks and turns her head. I tried adjusting the temperature, I tried putting her in a dark place alone with the pinky for one hour, I tried shaking it so it seems alive, I tried throwing it at her so she would strike at it, but NOTHING! Can I please get some help or reassurance.

And no that is not her in the pic, but she looks exactly like that

One of the best ideas i use to get them feeding is to put them and the pink in a small deli cup. Use a white 1/4 pound cup if you can get one put the snake and mouse in there and leave them for a bit. That does seem to do the trick more than not.

Some snakes just like their privace for eating
w

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Dan S.
Crotalus & Company

It sounds like the snake just isn't hungry. Mine has exhibited that same behavior from time to time, and I just let him go without for a week and then tried feeding him again. As long as the snake remains hydrated and appears healthy (good muscle tone, etc.), it should be fine for it to go without food for a bit. Hope this helps!

post a pic of the actual snake please. We would like to see its condition.

BTW that is a nice desert striper you have a pic of. Is your the same? Does it have a white or yellow stripe?
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I don't need no spell chack.

This is her right here, ready to strike at my hands in front of the glass even though I did nothing to provoke her.

Its hard to tell from the pic but that does not look like a desert striper like in the other pic. Yours has more yellow stripes especially on the belly.

Also that snake is to big to be feeding pinks. Look like it should be on hoppers or at the very least LARGE fuzzies.

Pinkies do not privide adequet nutrition. See two seperate threads below on this subject.
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I don't need no spell chack.

You mentioned that you tried wiggling the pinky so it appears live. Have you tried an actual live one? Most pet stores feed live prey. Your snake just might not be taking thawed yet.

Try live. If it eats it, the next feeding offer a small live pinky, and after it eats that offer a thawed one. Do that a few times and then offer only the thawed.

Good point on the live rodents, if you alrerady havn't been offering them. ...Your snake is much more likely to take a live fuzzy if you have been offering F/T.

Only thing you should do is get a live hopper or fuzzy. Pinks are mostly made up of water and little esle. Pinks offer little or no protien, calcium or the vitamins you snake needs to be healthy at this stage in development. You could probably feed it pinks every day and it would still be severely malnutritioned.
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I don't need no spell chack.

It sounds like your snake may be simply just spooked a little, or this could be a possibility.

Sometimes there are snakes that may be prone to be more sensitive to changes in their enviroment than others. Some snakes you can take home, put it in its' new cage, throw a mouse in and WHAM! they will eat it instantly. Some others though need some more time to become adjusted and in complete comfort with their new surroundings. The transportation from the pet store or show to the new cage can be stressful.

I would first make sure your snake has an adequate hide box or two in its' cage, to make sure it feels like it can retreat from what it senses first as danger, so it feels secure. Put two hideboxes in the cage if you only have one as an experiment. The more secure it feels, the more relaxed and open to eating and getting used to its' new home the snake will be. You showed the snake was striking at you for no reason. The snake is simply stressed and scared and does not know that you are not a threat to it yet. Remember, to them, we may appear to be this huge " giant " to them.

Also, make sure the cage is not too big, in other words, the cage should not be so big in that the snake feels like the area is too " open ". You probably have it in the proper size cage but I just wanted to suggest this as well. I have seen where baby snakes were placed in huge cages and they refused to eat.

As far as temps, I keep my kings on an average of 80-81. If the temps are really high, they can be prone to being almost too active.

In all, give your king some time alone completely. I would not mess with it for at least 3 days. That way, he or she can get used to their new home. Then, I would try a pinkie placed in there with the least amount of distraction possible. In fact, leave the room and turn off the lights if you can. I have had picky or sensitive eaters prefer that before.

Take care and keep us posted.
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Genesis 1:1

Thank you for you're advice, I really appreciated your help. I will leave it for a few days and try feeding again. And Bluerosy she is not too big for pinkies lol. For some reason she looks so big in the picture but that is truly not the case. She is about the girth of a pinky finger or even thinner.

I can tell from the pic how big she is. I have been taking pics of snakes for a long time.

She is to big for pinkies. Read the 2 threads below on this subject.

You snake was born last summer. It should be pushing 24" by now. When they are under my care they push close to 3' or more at the same age as your snake. Youe snake is very undernourished. Like feeding a human chicken broth in the first few years of life. In the wild snakes eat full bodied mature prey for their first meals and have a terrific growth spurt. The likelyhood of them coming upon pinkies is very rare. Most of the time their first meals will be another snake, swifts or skinks. The growth spurt they "should" have determines the health and longevity of the snake in the long run. Get some fuzzys or hoppers into that snake asap. You'll be glad you did.
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I don't need no spell chack.

Get the date and check the whole thread as it appears on the actual page. These links will not show all the replies.

http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=1288151,1288151

http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=1291630,1291630
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I don't need no spell chack.

Okay, I tried fuzzies as well. That was the first thing I tried, then I thought they were maybe too big, so I offered pinkies. I will try again though.

She finally ate just a while ago. I went to the petstore I bought her from yesterday and they said she was a good eater so I tried again today. I tried the fuzzy like BlueRosy said, but she completely ignored it. She used it as a pillow. Then I misted the tank with water, and put a pinky in the tank. Tongue flicks increased and she went for it.