Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have read several different things about california kingsnakes, none of which seem to answer my questions. I come to you in hopes of getting such answers. I work at a pet store, within which resides the most beautiful lavendar california kingsnake. I have had him sexed, he is male. As soon as I saw we had him in, I began handling him regularly. He has responded well to the handling and even allows me to pet the top of his head now. My concerns are these: recently he has begun regressing back into the musking, tail twitching, and writhing of a frightened snake. When we got him in, he was eating up to 4 fuzzies in a sitting, whereas now, he goes through phases where he will not eat at all and appears to have the darkness in the underbelly, a sign of not having defacated. He is usually pretty regular. He finally defacated and we got him to eat one fuzzy the other day and the following day he started striking at me through his habitat, slamming his nose into the glass, but would not eat another fuzzy. Do you have any ideas what could cause this behavior? Also, in regards to his size, how long does it take to get larger? I thought originally that he was a hatchling of maybe a couple months when we got him in, but recently was informed that he was a transfer from a different store, who had him for 11 months. I absolutely adore this snake and am concerned about these issues. I don't really know a whole lot about snakes, but I am passionate about them and am trying to learn more. Any information you may provide would be helpful. I just need to know if these behaviors are normal and if not, what I can do to fix the problem. Thank you.

Do you have undertank heat or overhead light?

Need more info really.

it is overhead light

Get a real thermomoter and measure the holding tank.Maybe the snake was cold when you first got him from the other pet store and therefore more mellow ?
Snake growth and feeding are directly proportional so if the snake eats well it can be 2 - 3 feet in a few years.If it eats poorly it can take 5 years to get that size.
Darkness under the belly? Is this snake going into shed?
How big is this snake?
Does it have a hide box?Do you know about mites ?
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"You look like a guy caught smugling reptiles in his pants" John McCain to David Letterman
Doug L

If a snake is too cool, it may adopt a defensive stance more readily, as it cannot move away as quickly. I have not had snakes like this, but such behavior has been noted in lizards, particularily tegus (Tupinambis ssp.). This would also explain the reluctance to feed. As for striking against the glass, I have an eastern who does the same thing from time to time. I have also seen this behavior in Amazon tree boas at reptile superstores. As long as it is not too frequent, this habit is more amusing than worrying. If this becomes too common, however, the snake may destroy the front of its head. Snakes feel pain, but do not learn from it very easily. Even worse, the snake can get mouthrot, which can be fatal. I'm assuming your pet store has a vet? If you see signs of mouthrot, see the vet as soon as possible. If you do not know what mouthrot looks like, there is another post on this forum with some pictures. All in all, you don't have to be too worried, just keep an eye on the snake, which it sounds like you are doing already. You may want to see the store's vet about medicine to help it defecate.

Best of Luck,
Pinstripe

thank you for the info...he went to the vet today...i hope to hear something tomorrow...the temp is 84 on the hot side and 78 on the cool side and he has his hiding log...maybe i just worry too much but he has been my baby since he came to the store... he has no mites but i am unaware of mouthrot...i need to look that up thanks!