Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Has anyone had a kingsnake suddenly decide it didn't like F/T anymore? Mine did that for a while, and I got her back on. Now, she's refusing them again...She's had several good feedings prior to this, but it's driving me nuts.

I'm going to try a live fuzzy rat and a F/T rat scented with tuna fish.

Oh - and I know someone will ask:

Temps: 80-82F(warm)/ 76-78F (cool)
Humidity: 30-40%
Substrate: Aspen
Kingsnake: 7 yr old Cal king (spoiled rotten)
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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

Half my snakes go off feeding and only take live.When they take the live food you can slide in a few FT as they finish the live one.You can get a few more meals in them that way w/o having to use live.
When they are hungry enough they will eat FT so dont worry.
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"Wake me when its April"

Doug L

Tuna fish?

Seriously?

Yep, I've heard people have success with chicken broth and bird dander too.

For my neonate black king, I tried everything and eventually it ate after I rubbed it all over one of my geckos.

A lot of things can be used for scenting...other snakes, anoles, geckos, frogs, skinks
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1.0.0 Lampropeltis getula holbrooki
0.1.0 Lampropeltis getula californae
0.0.1 Lampropeltis getula nigra
1.0.0 Lampropeltis mexicana thayeri
2.3.0 Eublapharis macularius macularius
0.0.2 Rhacodactylus ciliatus
0.1.0 Gerrhosaurus major major

Can't use geckos...I have a personal attachment to one of them... I'm not really worried about her. It's just an irritation more than anything else. She's 7 years old and has just started doing this now...-_-

Thanks guys!

Here's the offending turkey:

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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

I can tell just by the look in its eye...it's dickin' with you ...but what a snake! Geeesh!

...send her to me!
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Diego

SWCHR

I don't even see yellow creeping up from the bottom scales.

np

>>Can't use geckos...I have a personal attachment to one of them... I'm not really worried about her. It's just an irritation more than anything else. She's 7 years old and has just started doing this now...-_-
>>
>>Thanks guys!
>>
>>Here's the offending turkey:
>>
>>
>>
>>-----
>>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
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Thanks,

Frank Roberts

Beautiful cal king!! She just doesn't want you messing up her perfect scales!

I love my geckos too ....I certainly didn't kill them....I just rubbed pinkie all over one of my male leos. The black king took it without hesitation, worked like a charm.

Now mt Cal King eats anything that moves!

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1.0.0 Lampropeltis getula holbrooki
0.1.0 Lampropeltis getula californae
0.0.1 Lampropeltis getula nigra
1.0.0 Lampropeltis mexicana thayeri
2.3.0 Eublapharis macularius macularius
0.0.2 Rhacodactylus ciliatus
0.1.0 Gerrhosaurus major major

.
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"Wake me when its April"

Doug L

Canned salmon works really well, also. That's how I get baby Hognoses to eat rodents.
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Diego

SWCHR

Diego, fish juice, lizard juice, tomayto, to ma toe, is all the same! LOL!
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Todd Hughes

Snakes refuse food for lots of reasons. Seasonal changes, internal changes like ovulation, poor environmental conditions, etc.

If your snake refuses frozen but can be tempted with live she is probably borderline on any of these areas, or in this case, all of them.

She is probably ovulating which is uncomfortable, although if everything else is right she should be ravenous before and after. She may smell other male snakes in the room. Another curious phenomenon I have seen is that when people turn off the heat in the spring the house actually gets colder than it was in the winter and some snakes will revert back to a brumation state. Lastly your conditions are marginal. That is not a great hot spot for digestion and the humidity is pretty low.

Overall I wouldn't worry. If her body condition is good then she will eat when she is hungry. In the mean time give her a bigger temp gradient.

My male hognose will somewhat switch his preferences (tuna fish dipped hoppers, toad-scented hoppers, unscented hoppers) and my WC female Cal switches between live rat pups and live mice, so, you're not alone.

reako45

Would you want frozen-thawed food, always the same type?

In the wild, they stalk and eat live prey. It REALLy is best to provide it to them. My kings have all preferred live prey, and a naturalistic habitat.