Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My adult male Cal king has been refusing food since July, and seeing as how he was a little overweight to begin with, I didn't get to excited about it... He took one mouse between July and when I put him in the spare room to brumate sometime around christmas...

FR had mentioned that the reason he wasn't eating would pertain to conditions he was being kept in, so I decided to try something...

While he is hibernating, I disinfected his cage and set it back up EXACTLY as it was while he was in it, then I took my subadult female calking and put her in his cage... in 3 weeks, she has taken 3 meals, no problem, no hesitation...

Now, the biggest reason I moved her was because were her cage sits, its kind of hard to get to to feed and clean, so I figured while the male was "sleeping", I'd make her easier to reach... I think after this, when I bring the male back out, I'm going to put him in her old cage and see if I can convince him to start eating again...

Any input on what his deal may be would be helpful... I should add that about the time he started refusing food, he was biten by a mouse that I screwed up and didn't kill when I tried to stun it... He ate after that, but not nearly as well...

Old pics of the male

The female

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~Maggie~

"Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious."
1.1 Cal Kings
1.0 Mali Uromastyx
1.0 Brooksi
0.1 Red Belly Piranha
1.0 Quarter Horse
1.0 Australian Shepherd

The mouse bite may have affected him in a negative way, my calkings had always been on the shy size unless the prey item was small. They shied away from larger items at first, then when left alone, stalked them and overpowered them. I feed live only to my larger snakes, stunned to snakes I want growth from, and live pinks and fuzzies to all. Once they can bite, they get whacked.
I would start him off with many small items and switch to a small and medium, then upgrade to what ever level you feel comfortable with. When he really gets going, try the larger sizes, building up his musculature and confidence at the same time!
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Todd Hughes

Well that would explain why he seems to only want fuzzies... Thanks for the advice, I'll give that a try when I warm him up...
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~Maggie~

"Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious."
1.1 Cal Kings
1.0 Mali Uromastyx
1.0 Brooksi
0.1 Red Belly Piranha
1.0 Quarter Horse
1.0 Australian Shepherd

CAL kings not eating or shy, holy moly, they will normally take your head off, and right out of the egg, until they die of old age.

heck, I have two in the incubator room now, and they will eat everyday, no problem in fact, several times a day.

About prey size, they should try to eat you. Mine will grab anything, and it does not have to be alive or even an animal.

I figured this out a very long time ago. WILD snakes feed with vigor and aggression. They take anything within their relm of prey and they do so with no questions asked.

Anyother then that is because conditions are POOR.

It appears here, keepers are not sure of what conditions mean. They seem to think its temps. Which is surely a part, but only a part. For snakes, conditions are, proper temp range, proper humidity range, and Proper security. The last is very important, its all about mental security. If they do not feel safe, they will fail.

So please consider the above. Cheers

Cal kings are one of the best feeders around. Occasionally I have a few that dont like to eat from tongs because they are scared of me, but if left alone they gorge just like the rest of em.

I guess I should clarify, none of my calkings are wild caught, I have never hunted their range. These are c.b., from who knows where and I do not know what regimen was used to feed them. When they get here, I put them up, provide 2 hides and water, sometimes a hide is a water bowl, and let them do what they do. I agree that wild snakes are usually the best feeders FOR ME, but I have gotten some c.b.'s that were more difficult to assimilate! Yes, I make them do what I want them to. If they aren't IN the wild, they are no longer wild. But the FEW calkings I have are the hardest to start FOR ME. It may be a humidity thing, I don't think it is a temp thing, or a security issue. Once I get them over the "hump", they do well, so far. I haven't lost a calking yet, knock on wood! You are, of course, correct Frank, in that any mistake made in my snake room is mine, I just find them a bit harder than my other kings and even milks and longnoses. The rat snakes are a breeze, no muss no fuss, and the bull/gophers are no problem eother.

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Todd Hughes

I too have had several cal kings that were picky eaters. It kind of turned me off of kingsnakes for a long time. I started out with corns, then got a king soon after, and it was a horrible eater for me. I got rid of it, because I didn't want to deal with that. Then, I adopted a king, and it was a bad eater, too. Both of these were albinos. I see some of the same things in them that I see in a lot of leopard geckos. They're intimidated by food, and some don't seem to know what to do with it. I know several people who had leopard geckos that seemed terrified of crickets, and would hide rather than eat them.

It almost makes me think maybe it's a problem from inbreeding CB snakes. I've heard that that's the problem with some leopards- they've been inbred so many times to produce traits that they're a little retarded. I've heard a couple breeders theorize this, and one of the guys who sells at the local shows said a few years ago, he bought a couple WC snakes and bred them all into his lines, and the babies were better eaters compared to those in previous years.

Maybe it's that "wildness" that's gone, or maybe it's something else. But, you're not the only one experiencing it, and you're not imagining it!

to see I'm not the only one with a finicky eater... Hopefully trying to start him back on fuzzies when he comes out of brumation will encourage him to start eating again like he did before he got bit...

I just find it funny that I was told a few months ago that he wasn't eating because I was an idiot and his setup was wrong when I hadn't changed anything with the setup and the female is doing just fine in the exact same setup...
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~Maggie~

"Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious."
1.1 Cal Kings
1.0 Mali Uromastyx
1.0 Brooksi
0.1 Red Belly Piranha
1.0 Quarter Horse
1.0 Australian Shepherd

Not finicky, just "skeered"! LOL, most of my king snakes are w.c. and I see a definite difference in them versus my captives, but once they get going they are fine, I think a rodent to a lizard eater may be a bit intimidating. I have no albinos, only a white wall speck and she and the male het do not fit this mold, they are as I would expect a king to be, ravenous!!!
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Todd Hughes

yeah, "skeered" is right lol...
I'll keep you posted about wether or not your tip helped...
thanks again
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~Maggie~

"Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious."
1.1 Cal Kings
1.0 Mali Uromastyx
1.0 Brooksi
0.1 Red Belly Piranha
1.0 Quarter Horse
1.0 Australian Shepherd

I've never come across a cal king that didn't want to eat. They are always convinced they're starving!

One of my coworkers actually had his try and swallow a pair of feeding tongs. Mine has tried to eat fake plants before.

They're awesome, aggressive eaters and ballsy little snakes.

~jenny
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"Polysyllabism in no way insures that what you're saying is actually worth being heard." - Blake (an e-friend of mine)

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