Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Got my california king 2 years ago when he was close to 2 years old. He never had a problem eating prekilled mice and would always accept them.

In the past 6 months, his appetite has gone down to the point of going a month(s) at a time where he may or may not eat just one mouse.

I can't do frozen thawed because my wife won't let me keep mice in the freezer so I'm stuck getting "prekilled" mice from my local pet store.
My problem is - I hate having to kill a mouse (as humanely as possible though with one whack to the wall) and having it go to waste. If he's not going to eat it, there's no reason for the mouse to die. (That's just my personal belief.)

I just recently gave in and tried a live one, but he's scared of it. He'll follow it around flicking his tongue and as soon as it turns around he takes off in the other direction.

A dead mouse can be sitting in his feeding container for hours without him even touching it. Finally, take him out back in the cage and dead mouse flushed.

Any ideas on what the problem could be?

Look at the thread below entitled "King still won't eat" posted by Spec_King for the conditions you should have in your enclosure as well as what you should do if the snake won't eat. If he's interested in the live mouse, you could try going with a live fuzzy rat. They move around, but it's not the rapid movement of an adult mouse, and you don't have to worry about the snake getting bitten. I generally don't feed live either, but my Cal king decided that she doesn't want frozen rats anymore.

Good luck!

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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
0.1 Domestic Shorthair Mix Cat - Pirate

It's VERY normal for snakes to go off feed during the winter. What you describe, and the duration, are different.

My guess is either:

1. Temperature is too low. Get a basking lamp of 150 watts and ensure that your basking area of the terrarium is at least 85 degrees during the day.

2. Snake is ill, and should be examined by a veterinarian, to include looking at feces under microscope to search for possible parasite infection.