Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My first feeding is coming up on this Tuesday
and I'm little unsure of how exactly to go about
it. (iv never fed or seen one fed) the books iv read did not give a detail description
of how to, just basically spoke of the problems that might occur.
i already fashioned a "shoebox" it's a large plastic Tupperware container
with holes for air and a lid etc.
do i put the snake in the container or tank and just drop the mice in? And let
the snake do it's thing?
or do I dangle the food in front of the snake until it's in it's mouth and then
let the snake be?
The care taker I got the snake from said (he's a trust worthy guy) that the snake
is eating a "fuzzy" like a horse every ten day's.

Thank you, you folks are great
Dallas Wiebelhaus

Cal Kings will eat practically anything you put in front of them. I'm not sure if you're feeding live (not a good idea) or frozen/thawed, but your snake will probably take either one with no problem. Just put the mouse (make sure it's not cold if it's F/T) in the container, put the snake in, and leave them alone for 15 minutes or so. I'd put something on top of the box just to make sure the snake can't get out. The mouse should be gone by then; if not, give it a little more time.

Also, I think just one fuzzy every 10 days isn't enough for a young snake like yours. One once or twice a week is more like it. Adults don't need to eat as often as juveniles. I don't know if you know about this, but some (not all) kings will automatically go into brumation (semi-hibernation) mode in the fall and stop eating. This is necessary for breeding, and not all kings do it automatically, but some do (like mine). So you want to make sure your snake is eating well over the summer just in case it decides to skip eating a few months in the winter.

OK, sorry so long. Oh, I forgot to tell you, no hot rocks. They're too hot and dangerous for reptiles--don't ask me why they sell them! Also, please don't type in all caps--it's considered shouting and not very polite.

Hope this helps,

Jeannie

Your super cool! thanks alot and longer is better!!
more information, the fuzzy's will be frozen
and she also seems alot happier without the rock!
you will be seeing me around here often --
good bunch of folks
thanks again,Dallas

Cal Kings are really pretty easy. Just remember they need warmth, but not a lot of heat. My room temps are pretty cool in the spring and fall, but since the snake has belly heat, he is just fine and quite active. Your setup sounds great other than the heat being too high.

Another hint: frozen mice are much cheaper if you buy them over the internet, even with the overnight shipping fees. You have to buy quite a few, though--usually 100 or more.

Happy Herping!

Jeannie

Yes,
the places in my area are charging . 99 cents per pinkie and a little
more as they get larger. Iv checked a few sites and I think the best
worked out to about . 77 cents per fuzzy which I'm sure the savings would ad up
over the year! and really in comparison I think it's a lot cheaper than feeding a domestic animal.
I'm a young father 23 and i have 2 young girls 2 & 5 and my wife and i where
looking for something that i could do that would also include my girls (a lot of
my hobbies are "grown up stuff" or are not really appropriate for kids.
and we all love animals,zoo's,books,kid's books on the subject etc.
it just seemed like the right place to start, and I'll tell ya, my oldest girl is
just about to pee on herself!! ha ha it's really cool
and the people involved that we have came across seem like good folks.

But anyway, where do you get your feeders at online? -- if you don't mind doing
the free advertising.

Thanks,
Dallas

The Mouse Factory, and I've always had good product & service from them. A lot of people use RodentPro (I think that's the name), but their smallest package is 100. Mouse Factory packs in 25s and 50s. I buy different sizes, and 100 of just one size is a little much for me.

"My" king actually belongs to my oldest son, who is now 11 and starting to take over most of the care for his snake. I also have a 7 yr. old who has a rosy boa, but I do all the care for that snake. I have 2 snakes of my own, another rosy and a corn. Snakes are a great educational tool for kids. I'll be homeschooling my oldest for middle school in another year, and I'm planning on doing a unit on herpetoculture and genetics in either corns or ball pythons. It's great your girls (& wife) are into snakes. Too many girls think they're icky, but I never did, lol.

Have fun!

Jeannie

actually rodentpro will sell you the numbers that you want. You have to call them to order odd numbers instead of using their website. There is no minimum order for them. And they are really nice people.
-----
sue

np

I alway feed mine by hand, if yours is on fuzzies then you can try to get him out of biting you by offering your fingers to him after the first fuzzy with the smell of mouse on them. He probably will bite you a few times but will hopefully let go after a while. It's worked on my cali king, he was 5 months old when i had him, now he will sniff my fingers but not bite.
The albino I've got that's about 3 yrs is another matter, will always bite, she even was closing her mouth on me even though I didn't smell of food, she could just smell food in the room.
I also feed all mine out of the tanks, it's more fun dodging them when you've got more room.

Mike