Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a 1.5 yo male az kingsnake.... live in chilly upstate NY... he last ate around aug-sept... i understand that they can shut down eating so i cooled him in a dark room at around 45-50 degrees for a few months.. I took him out of cooling around 1 month ago, and he is still refusing to eat.. he is still active, but looks to be losing weight pretty good now...im not sure what else to try, i tried braining a pinky, i tried feeding in brown bag, leaving fuzzy in tank overnight, but he still refusing food.... he has been shed twice since i took him out of cooling, but still refusing food... he used to eat real good this past summer, but towards fall got real real picky, and now has shut down completly... what should I do at this point? i have a female az king, who is also picky, she will eat a small fuzzy once per month(i try to feed her once per week, but she refuses)... temps on warm side of tanks are around 80 degrees, and cold side is around 68-70 and hummidty is around 40ish...... im not too worried about her as she eats once per month, but im scared about him now.. i tried everything..thanks, Pete

Someone mentioned that these snakes are sometimes clued into where they originated, and that when the weather is warm in their native range they will commence to feed again, even though they may be several generations removed from their native ancestors.
forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Flagstaff&state=AZ&site=FGZ&textField1=35.1981&textField2=-111.651&e=0
I have chosen Flagstaff, Arizona as a fairly close locale. See how cold it is now there. Maybe your snake "thinks" he is in the world he has millions of years of ancestral history to be influenced by. When it gets into the 40's to 50's F at night in this Arizona location maybe he will begin feeding.

If he is getting too thin go get an anole and feed him that. I'd suggest a fence lizard but those are not available much in New York! LOL!

I have one little 08 male who has not eaten since July of '10, but he is in fine shape and will likely get with the program as have all my other pyros, who are eating enthusiastically now. He has always just been not a big eater, but is healthy non the less.
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Bob
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire
Keeping cats allows man to cohabitate with tigers. Keeping reptiles allows man to cohabitate with dinosaurs.

If you go with the feeder lizrd route, I would recommend freezing the lizard to eliminate some of the internal parasite load. Nothing worse then giving your snake worms or some other parasitic infection when trying to get him healthy and eat. However, I don't think feeding him a liazrd is necessary at the moment. I kind of feel it is a seasonal thing.

Pyromaniac's suggestion is feasible. Snakes have a biological clock and from my expierence with pyros, some can and will hold off from eating for some time, particularly males in breeding mode. Since you took him out of cooling, he should be cruising around and looking for a mate, am I right? Snakes do that and often won't feed in the process.

Zach probably hit the nail on the head.....
Not only do they sometimes shutdown for winter but males usually shut down throughout breeding season......More the reason to fatten them up in the late summer and fall..........
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...

Well, my little 08 pyro Zane finally ate the other day. I had put him in his feeding jar but he had not eaten so in exasperation I put his food in a little cup under the box hide he shares with the two 09 sisters. He is the one on the upper part of the photo, with a full belly. His mates had both eaten their fill two days prior. You can see his expanded belly in the photo I took this morning. The other sister is under the platter.(I had removed the box to get this shot).

I think I will feed him in his habitat from now on, and just take the girls out for awhile so he has no disturbance. He is such a weird little dude, so different than my other pyros in his preferences.

Maybe just put your pyro's food where he likes to nest, and check every few days to see if he ate or not.
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Bob
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire
Keeping cats allows man to cohabitate with tigers. Keeping reptiles allows man to cohabitate with dinosaurs.

good point, but how long should a dead mouse last before it goes bad? i remove after a few hours and throw it out....

I leave fresh killed mice in for about 24 hours. Frozen thawed I leave about 12 hours, maybe longer in the winter. In the summer everybody mainly eats right away so it is not much of a problem. Also I have bull and gopher snakes to eat what the pyros don't eat. I give it the old smell test; if it smells off I toss it.
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Bob
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire
Keeping cats allows man to cohabitate with tigers. Keeping reptiles allows man to cohabitate with dinosaurs.

? not sure other people's thoughts on this....
I have one male pyro and a female knob....they both actually hate to eat till they hit the 80 degree mark...has to go a little over 80...they like it around 82 -83 it seems....
not sure where others keep the temp....I bought these and kept them to utilize the bottom shelf...but they hate it down there...so they have to be up at least 3 or 4 levels till they get happy....this year they ate...male didn't want to at first...one shelf bump did it....female was cool with eating...at the momment they seem fine....

not sure if this helps....I'd say bump temps to 83 and try...
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........JY

An absolutely essential piece of equipment is an infrared thermometer gun. In my cabin the temps get down into the low 40's at night but the snakes have a permanent hot spot which is in the 90s' and assorted other spots in the cages that vary in range from 40's to 70's at night and 60's to 70's during the day. These are early spring household temps. They like all these different ranges. The temp gun is mainly to make sure the hot spot is where it is supposed to be at.
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Bob
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire
Keeping cats allows man to cohabitate with tigers. Keeping reptiles allows man to cohabitate with dinosaurs.

Well...
If you provide a single enclosure with a thermal gradient from 70F to 90F then there is no reason to raise or lower the temps......the snakes will choose the temps it wants to be........83F is in there somewhere.........Humidity gradient is key too...not only for feeding or breeding but for overall health of the snakes.......
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...