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Thayers refused meal?

karma279 Nov 08, 2008 07:39 PM

I picked him up over the summer. He's been a great eater... live mice. The other day we offered him food on 3 occasions in 3 different locations and he wouldn't take. I'm assuming it's the cooler weather here in N GA? The temp in my house has dropped with the outside temp. The only external head offered is a small UTH placed under the hide on medium power.
He is in a 10g which suffices his size.
Never had any shedding issues or any other problems at all with this snake. This will be my first winter with him...

Replies (5)

karma279 Nov 08, 2008 07:47 PM

I guess I could have searched the forum...
Looks like he's wanting to go down for the winter? Should I unplug the UTH as well then?

charleshanklin Nov 08, 2008 11:23 PM

...
>>Looks like he's wanting to go down for the winter? Should I unplug the UTH as well then?

Only if it has been a couple weeks since he has eaten last. A warm water soak will also help to make sure his belly is cleaned out. If you don't turn the heat off and he refuses to eat he will most likely lose a lot of weight. Especially a little guy which is what it sounds like you have.

karma279 Nov 10, 2008 01:21 AM

It's been a few weeks since he has eaten... at least 4. He's an '05 adult male. He's a decent size.. at least 22" and as round as a large male thumb at the knuckle.

This is my first winter with him... or any North American Colubrid that do not have to have a lot of external heat.
He seems to be getting under the newspaper and aspen a lot recently...
What should the temp be when they go down and you take off any heat source?
Image

coffeecreature Nov 11, 2008 12:32 PM

It's my first time with a king brumating as well. When I lived in TX, I kept my Cal king at the same temps year-round, but now that I live in his natural range, I'm letting him basically be exposed to the outdoor temperatures and a small amount of natural sunlight.

He always had a healthy appetite, but in late September, he got picky about his food - went from f/t hoppers to live pinks. Then he stopped eating altogether, became a lot less active, and acted more annoyed than usual when I would take him out and try to feed him.

So I turned off the UTH and I'm leaving him alone (except for providing fresh water) until it warms up and he seems more active again. I'm actually happy that he's brumating because he's just big enough to breed for the first time when spring comes, and I've been told he's attractive enough that I could easily arrange for him to spend some time with a female.

pikiemikie Nov 24, 2008 11:14 PM

They should do fine down to 33 degrees but I wouldn't let it go down that far........40-50 degrees should be fine....3 or 4 months.

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