Clutch of 5 cal kings.
Two fed on f/t pinks out of the egg and never ate again.
Three did not feed before first shed.
Several weeks after first shed, still not feeding.
One finally took a f/t pinky - but did not take 2nd one offered at next round of feeding. One has now taken 2 live pinkies.
I tried scenting but I think I didn't do it properly.
Tonight I went out and caught a single baby sceloporus - and put it in with one of the non feeders. Almost instantly he was chasing it, and very quickly had caught it, constricted it, and now has a lump in his belly.
Obviously I need to enhance my scenting skills, but there's an abundance of fence lizards around here, so tomorrow - hopefully I'll have success w/ the other two non feeders.
Hopefully it will only take a few meals to get them to take pinks. But this definitely is a desired prey issue, how fast he went after that lizard indicates he had no problem eating - he just wanted something else.
I know I risked parasite transmission - I just couldn't justify killing baby lizards in the freezer only to find out they insisted upon live prey. Next year, I'll catch some gravid fence lizards and hatch the eggs reducing the odds of parasites with live feeds.
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11.14 L. getula californiae (Cal. King)
2.3 L. getula nigrita (MBK)
1.0 L. getula floridana (Brooksi)
1.1 Pantherophis guttatus guttatus (Corn)
0.1 Pituophis catenifer catenifer (Pacific gopher)
0.1 Heterodon nasicus nasicus (W Hognose)
4.2.14 Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata - (Cal. Alligator Lizard)
