Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got my baby king on oct29. I fed him 2 pinkys and he ate them wonderfully. He shed the following week. He hasn't eaten for 3 1/2 weeks. I have tried thawed pinkys, live pinkys, & fuzzys. The pet store said that the snake was a great eater. The tank is 75-80 degrees. And he has a hiding place on each side and fresh water everday. Also I have tried feeding him in his tank & in another carrier. No luck. What do I do. **Our last snake was a baby milk and it stopped eating & died. Very scared.

Many things could be causing your snake not to eat. Sometimes they go off feed for the winter, even though you are providing a hot spot. This is natural for eastern kings in much of their range. By the way, 80 is not all that warm for the hot spot in my opinion. You can try bumping the temp up to 88-90 on the hot end and also providing a moist hide as well. The humidity this time of year gets very low and giving them the option of a moist hide might help. (moist spagnum moss inside an appropriate sized plastic tub with a lid that has a hole cut into it for the snake to get in and out. How big is the enclosure? If the enclosure is too large the snake can feel vulnerable and if it's too small you will not get a good gradient. If he does not eat after another week or so after trying some of these and other things people will mention I would place the snake into an unheated dark room where the temps get into the 50's and let it brumate for the winter. Make sure he has fresh water and check on him every week or so. Warm him back up at the end of Feb. or early March and after several days try feeding him again. You sure picked some "tough starting snakes" in Eastern kings and milks.(IF the first was an Eastern Milk). Good luck.

A snake's gut I compare to an engine. Well fed it runs properly. Even a slight drop in temp can "shut off" the breakdown processes and cause the snake to go off feed. Increase temps as suggested and try everything again.

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Doug L