Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My cali king has not eaten in over 2 weeks. He is acting fine and climbing around the cage a little more than normal. I have put 2 different mice in teh cage and he is more interested in trying to climb out.

I have had him since January and he has eaten a hopper ever week since then - I think he is about 2yr and 30" long. He doesn't look skinny.

Please help

Male kings and a lot of other snakes start to go off feed this time of year. I wouldn't worry about it to much. If it's two or three months down the road and he is still not feeding than that another story. I know you want your snake to eat and grow and be healthy, I'm the same way, but sometimes you just have to wait them out. Just in case make sure all aspects of husbandry are alright. Just my opinion with limited info.
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Matt Kauffman

Thanks for the info. This is my first snake and I got him in January. He has always fed every week. He doesn't seem skinny and suprisingly he is more active trying to climb the aquarium. Sounds like I have to wait it until he is ready. Tahnks again for the help.

With falling temps outside and shorter days, your snake is probably just doing what comes naturally. You may want to start lowering the temps in his cage.

I just posted here not long ago about a similar problem. My 6 year old Cal king abruptly stopped eating about 11 weeks ago. I took her to to vet because I'm a big worrier. She had nothing physically wrong with her, and she was in good condition. The vet's advice was to up the temps and try feeding in 2-3 weeks, with limited handling. To make a long story short, I wouldn't worry. 2 weeks isn't much at all. If you notice anything abnormal (besides the lack of appetite), I would take the snake to a good herp vet.

Hope this helps
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0.1 Banded California kingsnake - Zorro
1.0 Betta fish - Billy
0.0.3 White Cloud Fish
1.0 RES - Chopstick
0.1 Australian Shepherd - Jet
2.1 Domestic Shorthair Mix Cats - Robert Bob, Nimbus, & Pirate

I've got WC Cal King bagged in '07 as a neonate. He fed fine until around september (as I recall) then got real fussy, then turned-off altogether. One night, sometime in November, while messing around trying to find a way to get her interested I accidentally left the top off for a while and when I came back she was gone. I found her on the crawl in March, a little bit lighter but no worse for wear. She then fed well until a around early August and turned-off again. She has barely lost weight but I've had enough of the bullsh*t and so put her down for the winter along with my Western Hog which does the same thing.

btw, both snakes get especially hyper when they turn-off and I think it is because they are searching for a route to a hibernaculum rather than for food.

Hope that helps ease your worries