Now you should understand, that books are only the view of that person. And clearly not about the snakes. Just that one person.
Also, its not that the authors are WRONG, its just that they area not completely right either.
The main difference is, in nature they take advantage of times of abundance. Also in nature, times of abundance are not consistant. They may last a week, a month, a season, a few years. They do not follow human schedules. Like every five days or once a week, they feed as fast and as much as conditions support.
All snakes in nature seek to progress and grow as fast as possible. This may occur, or not.
Also in many cases, its science that has let you down. Biology, is based on many assumptions. Many many assumptions. Then science tells you not to make assumptions. hahahahahahahaha Unfortunately science does that with animals.
The best example is, field studies are all about quantifying. That is, averaging large numbers. That is, if something is to be valid, it must be taken from large numbers(large sample size), not from one or a few.
Now for the problem, the average snake in nature dies quickly, on "average" only the top few percent survive. We should really copy that top percantage, not the ones that will end up DEAD.
Consider, a pair of wild kings only has to replace themselves once in their lifetime in order to maintain the population,
Two surviving maintains the population, four surviving doubles the population. And snakes are long lived. So yes, its not about the average.
The key to survival is to get to adult size, as quick as possilbe. So I ask, why do they WANT to take a long time to do that. What? they like being prey for larger animals? You do know that toads consume neonate snakes, hahahahahahaha as babies, they are toad food.
In captivity, people do not like to think or make changes. So thw authors want to do something that does not require change.
In this case, you cannot feed everyday for the rest of your snakes life. But you can feed everyday until your snakes reaches its genetic potential, in size. Consider, if they feed and utilize food on a daily basis, they reach full size very quickly. Then they require other conditions.
Also, if the animal shows signs of distress, all you have to do is give it a rest. And think about what you did wrong. Wow, how hard is that? The snake needs to pass food as fast as your feeding it, if it cannot then check and recheck available temps.
Next is the other human problem. We somehow think the sun revolves around us, Hmmmmmmmmmmm it doesn't. So normally, if something is not working right, we love to blame the stupid animal. It must be its fault, surely it cannot be mine. After all, I control everything, and I am doing what Bob told me to do. Sorry Bob, you wrote the book, so i get to use your name.
The key is simple, all neonates should grow long and slender, no matter how much they consume. If they are growing thick and not long, they are not able to obtain the usable heat they require. They need to raise their metabolism to match what they consume(thats being a reptile)
The solution to chunky young snakes is, provide more heat and keep feeding.
Once they reach sexual maturity, Normally the females use all energy towards reproduction and again do not become fat. They will also stop feeding when they are ready.
Males at times stop feeding during the breeding season. But some don't. In that case, you can either offer smaller meals(best) or do what occurs in nature, go long periods without food.
In nature, adults go for months and months without even attempting to feed. They control their hunger and their energy usage but picking cooler temps. But if for some reason, an individual needs food, it will eat and seek hotter temps, temporaraly.
Normally wild snakes(adults) gourge themselves after the end of breeding/laying season. Mid to late summer, on into mid winter. Depending on availibility and temps. This is kings by the way.
Live bearers, have a slightly different stradgey, They normally resume lite feeding in mid april when gravid. Then heavy feeding after the neonates are dropped.
Also, the power feeding you mention is absolutely normal and part of their(genetic) ability. But the keeper must support the animals ability to accomplish that quick growth.
In nature, they live in areas where the high usable temps are off the charts(at least our charts), normally 150F or higher, usable temps. And the low temps are much lower, but not in all areas, then they perfer. They seek what they need below that extreme high.
In areas where the low temps get to high, they estivate, that is, they go dormait and wait it out, just like when outside temps get to low. But don't fool yourself, they are NOT hibernating like a bear. They just lovered their temps and limit use of the surface, they are indeed active and doing stuff, just really slowly.
Reptiles, utilize the temps they require by behaviorally selecting what temps they need. They NEVER occur in areas that only have 83.76F That is NOT part of their natural ability.
Dang, I just wrote a book. Anyway, nothing against those folks, they wrote what THEY as individuals understood, or could convey to you. Its just not everything about the kingsnakes, its just what they know.
In otherwords, if you want to duplicate the authors, then copy them. But if your want to understand what the snakes actually do, they listen to the snakes. In this case, the ability to grow FAST and power feed is absolutely part of a snakes genetic makeup. SImply simply simply put, in nature we all know they consume HUGE prey items. And have no problem doing so. When they do, they seek high temps for short periods to break down the food bolus. Then move to cooler temps as the boluse is digested. In captivity, they do not have a choice, so they BARF it up. Go figure! Whats wrong with those dang snakes? Nothing, its whats wrong with us thats the problem.
I guess I could have only written that last paragraph. hahahahahahaha dang coffee. Best wishes and happy keeping.
